Rumble strutting

[Artemis]

Hi

My boys have started rumble strutting at each other more and more, one of them actually kind of reared up but then pooped his pants when i sniffed *rolls eyes* and that was the end of that.

I'm trying to watch them more to see if this is likely to become a problem. How much of this is normal? They were 8wks when we got them apparently (if you believe what they tell you, it seems all p@h pigs are 8wks, from the huge to the tiny mallethead) and we've had them..ummm....since about the 16th of may, I make that to mean they would be about 12wks old?

At what point do I need to be concerned..of course I know if they are full on scrapping but if anyone can give me some pointers to look out for. They sit and eat next to each other, despite my fears, they do still sleep together and they share the bed area and an igloo type thing, even though I have put in a log cabin type thing downstairs just in case one wants to escape.


they have a 4ft, 2 level hutch...i think its 4ft by 2ft, its one of the large hutches anyway and as i say they have 2 choices of sleeping area. Help please

 

[Wiebke]

Frequent rumblestrutting is normal boar behaviour, depending on the character combination. Your boys' hormones are obviously starting to wake up as they come up to the stroppy age.

What is not normal is incessant humping which goes on for several days and bloody fights. The odd scuffle and little scratch can happen; any bites to the face or bum area are a reason to separate.

Have a look at the boar behaviour thread - it spells out really well which behaviour is acceptable and which isn't.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=28949