Are my pigs getting along?

[Mystic_corgi]

I ve never owned two guinea pigs before now and this is only my second time owning any sort of guinea pig so the interactions they have with each other are still new to me. I have two boars that are about 9 months old and I am not sure if they are getting along well or not. I see them both able to eat next to each very well and eat from the same bowl and share their water just fine. However, they purr at each other A LOT and I know a purr can be good or bad and I am not sure which it is... and they also seem to get in disputes and teeth chatter at each other and seem to have issues with sharing hides. The hides have multiple ways to exit so they are able to get away. Should I be worried?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Your boys are right in the thick of their teens, and both being the same age and hormonal at the same time intensifies things . Teeth chattering and rumbling is normal for teen boars. If they like each other, one is happy being dominant and the other happy being submissive, and they aren’t fighting, then leave them to sort things out between them.
When you say issues sharing hides, what is happening? how many hides do you have? It is normal for them to not want to share though - it’s very rare to ever find my two boars in the same hide,
How big is their cage?
How long have they been together?

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

 

[Mystic_corgi]

Your boys are right in the thick of their teens, and both being the same age and hormonal at the same time intensifies things . Teeth chattering and rumbling is normal for teen boars. If they like each other, one is happy being dominant and the other happy being submissive, and they aren’t fighting, then leave them to sort things out between them.
When you say issues sharing hides, what is happening? how many hides do you have? It is normal for them to not want to share though - it’s very rare to ever find my two boars in the same hide,
How big is their cage?
How long have they been together?

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

That makes me feel a little better haha xD I dont believe they are full on fighting just purring and chattering at each other I have seen them try to hump once or twice which I ve heard is a dominance thing.
The hide issue seems to be that if Tofu (the more submissive one) is in a hide then Wasbi (the more dominate one) tends to purr at him to make him move and Tofu normally exits the hide through the back entrance. They have two atm a Log hide and a big wood hide I got from amazon, they also have a hammock and I hope to get them a tunnel soon! The cage is a 2x3 grid cage and we plan to make it a 3x3 soon.
I havent had them very long it will be two weeks this Tuesday they do seem very good about sharing veg, hay, water, and pellets and will eat out of the same bowl too, I do know for a fact they have been together for a long time I adopted them from a lady on craigslist who had had them since they were baby piggies.

 

[Piggies&buns]

ah ok, so when piggies change environment it causes them to have a hierarchy sort out, so what you are dealing with is a newly rehomed piggies in a hierarchy sort out during their hormonal teens - bit of a double whammy! If they like each other and want to be together then they will come through it just fine, it just looks messy to us. (It’s if there is an underlying problem with their bond that environment and territory changes can destabilise things and cause a bond to break). Humping Is entirely normal. Rumbling, humping etc, all those mild dominance behaviours, you will see them do it throughout the entire lives.
the dominant piggy has the right to choose the best hidey. as long as the submissive is being allowed to rest and isn’t being chased out constantly, then don’t be too concerned about that. I would add more hides though, i prefer have at least one hide per piggy - so for two boars, have four hides, I just find it means there are plenty of options. Also ensure their cage is big enough (180cm x 60cm for a boar pair).

if you do ever find food issues, then instead of using bowls, scatter feed their veg and pellets just around the cage. 1) it means no food hogging can occur as the dominant can’t be everywhere at once and 2) it encourages foraging behaviour and keeps them occupied.

 

[Mystic_corgi]

ah ok, so when piggies change environment it causes them to have a hierarchy sort out, so what you are dealing with is a newly rehomed piggies in a hierarchy sort out during their hormonal teens - bit of a double whammy! If they like each other and want to be together then they will come through it just fine, it just looks messy to us. (It’s if there is an underlying problem with their bond that environment and territory changes can destabilise things and cause a bond to break). Humping Is entirely normal. Rumbling, humping etc, all those mild dominance behaviours, you will see them do it throughout the entire lives.
the dominant piggy has the right to choose the best hidey. as long as the submissive is being allowed to rest and isn’t being chased out constantly, then don’t be too concerned about that. I would add more hides though, i prefer have at least one hide per piggy - so for two boars, have four hides, I just find it means there are plenty of options. Also ensure their cage is big enough (180cm x 60cm for a boar pair).

if you do ever find food issues, then instead of using bowls, scatter feed their veg and pellets just around the cage. 1) it means no food hogging can occur as the dominant can’t be everywhere at once and 2) it encourages foraging behaviour and keeps them occupied.

Thank you so much! this is really helpful for me :3

 

[Hbell17]

Piggy and buns gave out great advice and tips... Make sure you keep an eye out for any wounds on either piggy. My girls always act similarly when I put them in their smaller cage (Midwest cage) for when I clean their main cage (3x5). It'll probably calm down when you get them a bigger cage since when I put them back in their main cage they just go back to normal... I never had boars or 2 piggies the same age for a long period of time. But I had 2 pigs before I got my current oldest (tiki) that I'm assuming we're the same age,but the one died shortly after (former parents daughter was rough and injured her plus the daughter had a skin allergy to them) so when, the first pig took dominance(kiki). Once kiki died i got ava and tiki took dominance. Then I got ellie and of course tiki made sure ellie know she was the boss. Ava kinda showed dominance too but at the same time mothered her