Laaaauren
Junior Guinea Pig
Hello everyone,
I need some advice regarding my two boys. I know mounting is a common behaviour between boars, even for those who have been housed together for a good length of time. We adopted a young boar called Casper (currently about three months old now) not too long ago to give our older boar Pebbles (roughly 4.5 years old) some companionship after he lost his brother. We introduced them slowly, following all the correct steps to ensure both felt comfortable with the other. The bonding seemed to work well as there was very little aggression besides the occasional teeth chattering, rumble strutting and mounting.
Currently they are living together and have two of everything (bowls, bottles, houses etc) to avoid any disagreements but for the most part they seem to be alright with each other.
However, Pebbles is currently on anti-inflammatory medication for an unidentified mass on his side (which seems to be going down, fingers crossed
) so he’s a little uncomfortable because the vet believes it may have been putting a little bit of pressure on his gut. He’s still eating, drinking and acting as he normally would for a piggy of his age but one problem we’re facing is Casper keeps mounting him and from the squeals Pebbles is making it sounds as if he’s uncomfortable. I know that often it can sound a lot worse than it actually is and Pebbles used to mount his brother and vice versa. However, I don’t want to risk him becoming stressed or even more uncomfortable as it could put him off eating. Casper is very persistent - last night he would not leave poor Pebbles alone, he would mount him regardless of what he was doing. I was constantly having to take Casper off him and put him in another part of the hutch but he would just go right back once I’d shut the door.
I just want to keep my boys happy so any advice is appreciated!
I need some advice regarding my two boys. I know mounting is a common behaviour between boars, even for those who have been housed together for a good length of time. We adopted a young boar called Casper (currently about three months old now) not too long ago to give our older boar Pebbles (roughly 4.5 years old) some companionship after he lost his brother. We introduced them slowly, following all the correct steps to ensure both felt comfortable with the other. The bonding seemed to work well as there was very little aggression besides the occasional teeth chattering, rumble strutting and mounting.
Currently they are living together and have two of everything (bowls, bottles, houses etc) to avoid any disagreements but for the most part they seem to be alright with each other.
However, Pebbles is currently on anti-inflammatory medication for an unidentified mass on his side (which seems to be going down, fingers crossed
) so he’s a little uncomfortable because the vet believes it may have been putting a little bit of pressure on his gut. He’s still eating, drinking and acting as he normally would for a piggy of his age but one problem we’re facing is Casper keeps mounting him and from the squeals Pebbles is making it sounds as if he’s uncomfortable. I know that often it can sound a lot worse than it actually is and Pebbles used to mount his brother and vice versa. However, I don’t want to risk him becoming stressed or even more uncomfortable as it could put him off eating. Casper is very persistent - last night he would not leave poor Pebbles alone, he would mount him regardless of what he was doing. I was constantly having to take Casper off him and put him in another part of the hutch but he would just go right back once I’d shut the door.I just want to keep my boys happy so any advice is appreciated!
