Am I doing the right thing?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Tastyshrimp

Tastyshrimp

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jun 5, 2011
Messages
13
Reaction score
2
Points
130
Location
Oxford/Surrey
Hello everyone,

I'm new here, so let me begin by saying hello! :)p

Also, let me apologise in advance, because this might be a bit of an essay. Thank you for taking the time to read - I would be really appreciative of any help and advice.

My partner bought me two weanlings from Pets at Home for my birthday at the end of February, two boys named Darwin and Spudley. I would always prefer to rehome piggies from a rescue, but as this was a surprise I wasn't able to do so. Anyway, we took them home, decked out their shiny new two-storey hutch with cosy bedding, hideys, tubes, food and water and let them settle in (indoors first then outdoors when the weather improved). They want for nothing!

I quickly noticed that these boys were probably not going to be best buddies; come morning feeding time, I would find one of them in the top hidey and one in the bottom - they never wanted to snuggle together. Fine, I thought, as long as they're secure and content I won't worry. However, over time and as they matured, they began to exhibit dominance behaviour. A look through various resources reassured me that this was normal and they would settle. Okay, I thought, I'll leave them to it. By now though, they had two food bowls, two water bottles and two hay racks...just in case!

Soon after getting the boys we got a run, which I extended to give them loads of room to run and popcorn away. They seemed to love it, and for a time things were okay. However, one morning I found Darwin with an injury to his lip. I observed them together and didn't see anything too aggressive, but decided on a buddy bath and full cage clean by way of damage limitation. This also allowed me to clean and inspect the wound, which wasn't as bad as I'd feared. Things settled again, but then came another bite...and another...poor Darwin! The final straw came when I found him one morning with a badly bleeding ear. I took him to the vet for treatment, and she suggested I get them both neutered...I haven't done this as I keep reading on forums like this that it won't change their behaviour! All that money and distress for no change at all? I'm not convinced...

Anyway, so now they are separated, with one level of the hutch each and the run bisected with grids. I have tried several re-introductions on neutral ground, but alas with no joy; it seems that, while Darwin is a joyful, chilled out fellow, Spudley is quite a vicious blighter and I've separated them again to keep them safe. It's not just the normal dominance behaviours - it's proper teeth chattering, hackles raised, incisors bared and lunging that is quite scary to behold.

My question is, am I doing the right thing? I would love to build a huge indoor cage so they can always see each other, but alas it's just not possible, so they have to stick to the two-storey hutch outdoors. They do get 10 hours of run time each day to socialise safely (in good weather, of course!), but it breaks my heart that they can't get on. I'm not sure where to go from here - keep the status quo, try rehoming one, neuter them? I love my boys and want them to be as happy as they can be :(

Thanks again for taking the time to read this sorry tale. I hope you might be able to help, I wasn't expecting to have such challenging piggies (my first two were mum and daughter and there was never any trouble)!

Bye for now! x
 
hi

as they are going through the hormonal stage i would keep them seperated for now. once they have passed this (around a year old) you could try and re-introduce them, this may or may not work.

neutering does not effect their behaviour and is therefore only necesarry if you want to have them both done and get them both a girlfriend each. if your vet suggested neutering as a way to make them get along i would change your vet!

as long as they can hear and smell each other and can still chatter away to each other i wouldnt worry to much for now about having them apart.
 
Hello there!

Thank you so much for your kind reply. It's nice to have some reassurance and I'm so pleased that you agreed about neutering being non-essential. I did tentatively correct the vet, but she was insistent...thank goodness for places like this forum where people know their piggies better! :)

I will keep things as they are for now, and as you suggested try re-introducing them when they celebrate their 1st birthday!

x
 
hi

your welcome.

i hope you do manage to bond them when they're a bit older. If not they will still be young enough to neuter and have girlfriends.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum!

Fall outs of boys are always so gutting. You have done absolutely the right thing at any stage, so no blame on you - you are a caring piggy mummy! Please take your time to think through your options.

I would not try to reintroduce your boys for the time being, as they have obviously never got along all that well and they are currently right in the middle of the big hormones anyway. These usually last from about 4-12 months old and end when the boys finish growing and their bodies settle down as mature adults; until then further fall outs and fights are most likely if you try them to get along again. Reintroductions after a bloody fight with bites most often fail unless both boars are pining to be with each other again; if that is not the case, I would leave it.

Have you got the space to be able to rebond either boy with a new boarfriend? If you can find a rescue within your reach that offers boar dating, you might be able to find each of them a friend he really likes, which would increase the stability of the bond enormously (nothing is ever completely failsafe). it is admittedly not the best age to bond them, but it can be done.

Another possiblity to think of is having either boar neutered by an experienced vet and living with a sow each; they must be coming up to the age when that is possible. You will have to weigh up the fairly small risk of an op and the not inconsiderable risk of post op complications against the fact that cross gender bondings are the most stable and boars are usually ever so happy to live with a girl! Neutering sadly won't change boar behaviour, so that is NOT an option.

If you are very tight on space, you could think about contacting a rescue to "exchange" one of your boars in order to rebond one with a more suitable friend and leaving the other at the rescue to find a new friend and a good home through the rescue. I understand that this is not a very palatable choice and it should only be an option if there is no other way to do both boys justice.

For such supposedly "easy" pets, piggies can be surprisingly fickle and difficult, can't they?
 
Last edited:
Oh, thank you so much for your reply! :)

It's so great to know that there are a number of options, and I will need to have a real think about things over the next few days. I really do like the idea of them having a sow-friend each, but I suspect the lack of space would, sadly, be something of an issue. I'm just pleased that for now they are safe while the hormones rage (!) - it's bought me some time to make more decisions.

They certainly can be a challenge, that's for sure! But they're so lovely, they melt the heart x)
 
Would you have enough spaces for a 2x4? If you do, I'm sure you can do 2 of the 2x4 stacked up, that'll save you the spaces!
 
yes, you've definately done the right thing, they sound like typical stubborn teenage hormonal boys! haha! i would keep trying when they're abit older, absence makes the heart grow fonder so maybe once they've had a taste of being lonely and their hormones have settled they might calm down. good luck x
 
HI there, I know exactly how you feel. I bought myself 2 beautiful 14 week old gpigs (2 boys) and at first they got on so well, Keith seemed to look after the slightly more timid Phillip. They still do get along majority of the time (lots of popcorning, squeaking when fed, chasing and playing with each other in a fun way, etc), but i have noticed in the past 2 days or so, that Keith is starting to pick on Phillip a little bit more. I think they may have had a bit of a ruck last night when I put them to bed, as when I went to clean them out this a.m., it looked there had been a bit of a dust-up. I may be being an overly concerned, protective new gpig owner, but I just want them to be happy and content.

Just like you, it breaks my heart to see them squabbling, but I am going to take some days off work to sit with them during the day to monitor their behaviour to see if it is a spot of bullying on Keith's part, or whether its just a bit of a hormonal ruck, its so difficult to tell what they've been up to when I've been out at work all day. I was going to try to make my presence unknown for a few hours and just sit and watch what actually goes on in there when they think they are alone.. If they are both equal and its just a bit of a dust-up, i dont think I'd be so worried, , but if its bullying, I think i will start to get quite worried then. I will keep an eye of Keith and Phillip and let you know what happens and perhaps we could compare notes?. Good luck with your two boys, hopefully the gpig owners on this site can provide some good sound advice. I'm new to this forum, but it seems like a great forum! Will be thinking of you and your boys!

H
 
Oh dear, we are very lucky as when we got the two boys they are together in the cage and they never hurt each other and the pet shop told us that they are brothers. They do fight sometimes but only by making an angry noise otherwise it is not the aggressive fight, no one get hurt and one will always give way. The just do have two plates as one eat very fast whilst the other is taking his own time , they are trained which one is their plate.but toilet trained is not possible.
I hope your boys eventually become buddies.
 
oh my god i just had to do the same thing last week! my boys are nearly a year old and whilst had the odd bicker nothing to bad and always seemed to calm down after a few hours apart!
i ttried everything the bath thing, the two of everything! and yet just a few days off the year birthday {i had them from about 8 weeks so not their home birthday} :) i came home and world war 3 had gone on! there was sawdust everywhere and poo all over the floor! and they were just sitting and looking at each other. moved hugo into the run on the floor and got ralphy out as there was a clump of hair in the bowl. double checked him nothing untill i see a red streak on his white bum. sure enough there was a hugo shape teeth mark on him not to deep so washed it.
i thought this was weird as hugo is the more chilled out piggy. so double checked hugo and he had ralphy shapped cuts so rushed out to get somthing to rehome the pair sepearte.
since then ralphy is a changed piggy always weeeking and looking around {he can still see hugo} but they both seem better by themselves.
i think your doing the right thing and my pair nearly made it into the safe zone but sadly not meant to be so now i have piggy towers on one side of the dinning room and hugos penthouse on the others. they all sit and chat and look around. cuts are healing nicely too so lucky in someways
 
Hello again,

I just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who has replied - it's all so helpful! :)

The boys seem to be settling alright now, despite being a bit unsure when they were first separated (Spudley in particular was very vocal!). Darwin seems so much less stressed now than when he was with Spudley, so that at least makes me feel happier.

I am investigating all options, although the C&C stacking cages are just not possible as my boys live outdoors. I would love to have them indoors but there is a lack of space and my partner wasn't agreeable, so for the summer at least we have compromised and keep them outside. We spend almost all our spare time out in the garden anyway so they probably get more company that way!

Anyway, thanks again everyone, and I'll keep you posted! :)
 
Could you find a hutch that you can stack underneath or on top of the other?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top