Adolescent boys not getting along

[New_guinea_mum]

Hi everyone,
I’m a newbie! I have two male pigs, they are approx 6 months old, had them from 12 weeks.
They currently live in the house in a spacious cage. They are two lovely social boys. However, since adolescence they are fighting in the run.
They are doing the what I have learned is normal dominance thing. No biting just some chasing, jumping and strange sounds.
It was only ever in the run, as soon as they were back in the cage they were happy.
One has stayed very soft and sweet and happy to be handled and comes to me confidently. But the other (the trouble maker) has become more unsociable with me and doesn’t like to be handled. It takes me a while to catch him now... I try to pause to stroke and reassure him but if I don’t get him to the run quick I’m sure he would jump out my hands to the floor!

So my question is, is the fight for dominance short lived and will by moody boy come round to me eventually? I spend lots of time trying to hand feed him treats and win him over.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Merab]

Welcome to the forum.
There are some excellent guides on guinea pig behaviour on the forum which you might find helpful.
Your boys’ behaviour sounds normal for boars at that age when teenage hormones are rampant.
I have sows so I think some of the boar owners will be able to help you better.
Please can we see pictures of your boys

 

[Wiebke]

Hi everyone,
I’m a newbie! I have two male pigs, they are approx 6 months old, had them from 12 weeks.
They currently live in the house in a spacious cage. They are two lovely social boys. However, since adolescence they are fighting in the run.
They are doing the what I have learned is normal dominance thing. No biting just some chasing, jumping and strange sounds.
It was only ever in the run, as soon as they were back in the cage they were happy.
One has stayed very soft and sweet and happy to be handled and comes to me confidently. But the other (the trouble maker) has become more unsociable with me and doesn’t like to be handled. It takes me a while to catch him now... I try to pause to stroke and reassure him but if I don’t get him to the run quick I’m sure he would jump out my hands to the floor!

So my question is, is the fight for dominance short lived and will by moody boy come round to me eventually? I spend lots of time trying to hand feed him treats and win him over.

Thanks in advance!

Hi and welcome!

Your two boys are currently at the time in their lives when the testosterone output is at an all time high. It is one of the crack points for teenage boar bonds.

Please take the time to read this guide here. It takes you through the phases of the teenage months; what you can do to minimise likely flashpoints, what not to do; how you can work whether a bond is still viable after a bust up or not and what your various options are if the bond has broken. Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

Key to any successful piggy bond is character compatibility; this is unfortunately not something that pet shops can provide when their customers pick the guinea pigs rather for looks than whether they are hanging out together. Once the testicles start descending at around 4 months old and are usually fully descended at around 6 months of age, the big hormone spikes happen that are putting this character compatibility under a real stress test. Not all boar pairs make it. Unfortunately, you can't change personalities and outlook. But by reading the guide, you will hopefully have the tools to work your way through the issue as best as possible.

 

[tatals]

I had pretty much the same experience recently, but my boys turned out to become super friendly towards each other, so fingers crossed! If they're not biting, don't worry too much about it.

Also, my Oreo was super unsociable around me, but I followed the guide Wiebke provided in the post before and he has been great with me!

 

[New_guinea_mum]

Thank you both. Glad it’s normal I’m just praying they stay friends! Here they are right now. 20 mins in the run so far and doing ok. Just a bit of chasing. The grumpy one is in the back. He doesn’t come too close to me

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you both. Glad it’s normal I’m just praying they stay friends! Here they are right now. 20 mins in the run so far and doing ok. Just a bit of chasing. The grumpy one is in the back. He doesn’t come too close to me View attachment 104506

Have read through this guide for making better friends with him in way that your boy instinctively understands. Please accept that by far not all piggies are cuddly and that he is currently a typical teenager - with you, too!
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips

 

[New_guinea_mum]

Is it possible to post videos on here?

 

[tatals]

Have read through this guide for making better friends with him in way that your boy instinctively understands. Please accept that by far not all piggies are cuddly and that he is currently a typical teenager - with you, too!
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips

By the way, this is the guide I was referring to. I misread before.

 

[Little Piglets]

Just be careful and mindful and continue to observe them. If you start finding tufts of fur or scabs start appearing everywhere from their rumps to even their faces, and/or you start seeing a bunch of "yawning" where the mouth goes fully open and teeth are shown (looks exactly like a yawn, but will keep happening every so often) be prepared to separate. My smaller boar ended up with a hole the size of an eraser on his side which I missed until the area got sticky with clear stuff I pulled w/o thinking and exposing the hole, which was literally a HOLE i.e. you could see into it as their skin is loose and doesn't have the layers of fat like ours do apparently.

He was separated with a wall divider and I was able to get a band-aid on him then wrapped his torso with that wrap that athletes use that's non-sticky but grabs to itself. He thankfully healed as it was the holidays and vet was out.

However, I reached in and inadvertently poked him about two nights ago and he bit into my middle finger just below the fingernail. I instinctively PULLED away and heard a crunch and he was almost 5" off the cage floor before he let go. The crunch was him hitting my bone and losing grip and biting back harder which slid. I've got a 1/4" rip on the skin and it hurt it like hell and wouldn't stop bleeding.

Point is, if/once they start getting aggressive, and/or drawing blood, be extremely careful. I made the mistake of using a divider which I'm assuming he reacted to me thinking I was the other boar. Be safe!