Hey there!

This is what I have done. In my .env file, I have set the default db connection:

DB_CONNECTION=CONNECTION1

And, in config/database.php,

I have:

'connections' => [
        'CONNECTION1' => [
            'driver' => 'mysql',
            'host' => 'host1',
            'port' => 'port1',
            'database' => 'database1',
            'username' => 'username1',
            'password' => 'password1',
            'charset' => 'utf8',
            'collation' => 'utf8_unicode_ci',
            'prefix' => '',
            'strict' => false,
            'engine' => null,
        ],

        'CONNECTION2' => [
            'driver' => 'mysql',
            'host' => 'host2',
            'port' => 'port2',
            'database' => 'database2',
            'username' => 'username2',
            'password' => 'password2',
            'charset' => 'utf8',
            'collation' => 'utf8_unicode_ci',
            'prefix' => '',
            'strict' => false,
            'engine' => null,
        ],

Then, in my model, I use,

DB::connection('CONNECTION1')->table('test'); 
DB::connection('CONNECTION2')->table('test2');

PS: I am also a beginner in Laravel and my suggestion might not be optimal. :-)

Thanks.