Advice please

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Nomsie

Nomsie

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Hi everyone, sorry that my first post is to ask for advice! I have been reading posts on here for a while, but thought that I should join as I'm a bit worried.

I got my two beautiful piggies about a month ago. They are both boys, one is a smooth and the other is a rex. I was told that they had both been together since being very small babies, so I should hopefully not have issues with fighting etc. Until now all has been good. I have seen them doing the rumble strutting thing etc, but after reading up on it I think this is normal? They seem to have been settling in really well. Piggle is very adventurous and relaxed and not at all skittish, whereas Teddy is more nervous, but loves cuddles :)

So to get to the point, they seem to have been getting along great, always cuddling up, sleeping in the same compartment etc, however yesterday when I fed them I noticed what looks like a scratch just on the top of Teddy's nose. Then this morning when I checked on them Piggle was upstairs alone, and Teddy was on the bottom floor, which is a bit unusual. Now I'm panicking that they've been fighting. I haven't seen them fight at all but I know that at this age issues can start. Am I over reacting? It's been years since I last kept guinea pigs and I just really want them to be happy.

Sorry for the long post!

Nomsie
 
From what I gathered from this forum, pigs can have a falling out at any point in their lives. So even though they may have been okay since they were babies something could have happened to cause them to fight. And depending on how old they are they could be going through that hormonal phase which might cause problems too. I'm not as experienced as some people on here but I would say to keep a close eye on them for now and if you notice anything more serious separate them immediately.
 
Hi. Sorry you are worried about your pigs. I know how it feels as I have two mini-asbo-fighting-boy pigs!
I am a bit new to give you proper advice but there are loads of threads in the Behaviour forum bit about this kind of problem. It does sound to me like they may have had a tiff so you do probably need to check them over really carefully for any other nip marks and keep watching them - which is sounds like you are doing:) Goodluck and i am sure the big chief piggy gurus will give more info as well:)
 
I have three boars myself, two bonded and one single (due to be neutered tomorrow) so I’ll give you all my advice and knowledge i know about boars and their behaviour!
Firstly how old are your two gorgeous boars? Are they roughly the same age or two different ages?

Rumble strutting/ mild teeth chattering/ humping/nose offs are all normal in boar world, the dominance behaviour really hits home in their hormonal months between eight weeks and 14 months old.

Artie, when he was a wee younger always had wee scratches on his nose where Harvey had grazed him from bonking him on the nose with his teeth when he was warning Artie to leave him alone.
It’s good to see that they’ve separated themselves, boars need plenty of space to get away from one another when things get a bit heated.
To help with their dominance issues I’d strongly suggest two of everything, ie. Food bowls, hay trays, water bottles, hideys, toys etc. This way they don’t have to share and can have their own space and items.

If you do have hideys in the hutch make sure they have two exits or entrances so one pig doesn’t become bullied by the other. I found with my two it was easier to use cardboard boxes (from supermarkets) as I could make three or four exits in the boxes rather than using plastic hideys.
Oh and too add I’d suggest plenty of run time too so they can let off some steam running around and exploring.
If things do start getting a bit heated between the two, teeth chattering becomes loud, one starts lunging at the other it might be worth to try a bonding bath and completely clean the entire cage and toys from their original smell. You can also try a mesh divider (so they can still see one another and hear) in the hutch if one is becoming bullied by the other this way their bond isn’t broken but they can have a rest from one another.

If you need anymore advice/help/support just ask!

Laura x
 
Hi Nomsie, Piggle and Teddy welcome to the forum :)
Audio Heart (Laura) has said it beautifully........ :)
we do have a thread which i'll attach for you also about bonding and boar behaviour........
Hope you have fun on here, hope you can also post some pigtures in our story section at some stage, would love to see your little boys x)


Glynis, Velvet and Onyx x

on intro's and reintro's:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38562

boar behaviour:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=28949
 
Thank you for all your replies, they are all really helpful. My piggies are both about 5 months old, as I say I've had them for about a month and apparently they had been together since babies. Will keep an eye on the situation, although they seem to be friends again now. They were cuddled up again in their outdoor run and when I've just peeked at them they were lay full out relaxing right next to each other.
Maybe I was over reacting a bit :red, so I will try to chill out! Reading the threads regarding behaviour and introducing has shown me that the behaviour I have witnessed is normal :) Plus it has been very warm, so maybe they were also just a bit irritable from that too!

As I say, I just want them to be happy. I usually take things a bit far, as to me my pets are my babies. So here's an example - when I brought them I got the biggest cage the store sold. They lived in it for 3 days whilst I convinced my fiance that they are part of the family so should live in the lounge with us. This then turned in to how I wanted them to have a nicer home, and more space than in the shop brought cage. So we went out and brought a large cabinet, which we have adapted in to a 3 storey piggy manor house! They love it! People from work think I'm mad, but watching them popcorn around with so much more space makes it all worthwhile. It's lovely watching them - they have such distinct personalities. Anyway, thanks again for all your help, I really do appreciate it :)

Nomsie x
 
Ok, so I've been keeping an eye on them and they seem to be getting along fine. They live in my lounge and I've been with them in here this morning, no fighting etc that I've seen or heard. Just looked in their cage to check on their food and Teddy has a mark on his nose again, but they both seem happy enough in their bed area. What should I do? I haven't seen or heard them fighting, and my neighbour is supposed to be looking after them this weekend whilst we go camping. I'm worried about leaving them with her if they are having a falling out! Help! 8...
 
Looking at it again it's in exactly the same place as the one I noticed when I first started this thread, so is it possible that he's just knocked the scab off the scratch?
 
Hi there,

are you able to post a picture of the scratch? I am wondering if it might be something else all together like fungal.

Maybe have a look at the pics on this site:
http://www.guinealynx.info/fungus.html

Fighting pigs will tend to bite rather than scratch and fungal can sometime start on the nose and look like a bit of a scratch (see pics in the link above)

I really do not mean to alarm you as so please don't worry unnecessarily but people have been known to mistake it for scratches in the past so probably worth mentioning just in case.

Laure
 
They may have already sorted who's the boss hense why they were sleeping apart. Have you checked them for cuts? look at their back close to bum area, ears and nose. But just keep an eye on them cos the smallest thing will set them off but hopefully you got a happy pair.

Tell your neighbour to have a towel ready to separate them incase they get into fur ball fight.
 
Laure, thanks for the tip. Looking at the link has made me think that perhaps this could be fungal. I've googled it and the scratch on his nose looks exactly like one of the pics brought back on the search 8...
At least this may mean that they're not fighting, but with being away for the weekend I'm not going to be able to take them to the vets til Monday :( will this make them really ill?

Teddy and Piggle's worried Mom :(
 
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