Boar bond - baby coming up to teens

[JaseChase]

I can't quite tell if my boys are having bond trouble or not.

Eddie is 11 weeks old and 644g, so I don't think he's hit his teens yet, but I am starting to see some tension between him and Tofu (4 1/2yo boar). Tofu is having an arthritis flare at the moment, he's got another vet appointment tomorrow - I wonder if he's more irritable and reactive because he's unwell? I would usually bring them both to the vet, but I'm not sure putting them in a carrier together is a good idea at the moment. I don't really want to leave Eddie home alone though as he's so young. Would you risk the carrier in this situation?

Behaviour so far has been teeth chattering, chasing, lunging which are all relatively mild. Then a couple of days ago, Tofu wanted to kick Eddie out of a hidey, Eddie wouldn't back down, the teeth chattering escalated to rearing up and then Eddie flew at Tofu.

I checked them both over, no bite wounds. Since then, things have been up and down - sometimes they nap together, eat together, wash faces, and spend time near each other, other times it's more teeth chattering and chasing/kicking out of hideys. Eddie is backing down now and it hasn't escalated beyond that. The problems usually happen when I'm cleaning out their cage and changing their fleece (I am always careful to not clean the whole cage at once, have two of everything, only two-exit hideys etc).

Their cage is a 6x2 C&C so if they have a proper falling out, I can split it and keep them separate. I'm kind of expecting Eddie to try taking over as boss pig once he hits his teens proper, as Tofu is older and frailer and has been submissive in his previous bonds - I just don't want to lose my nerve and separate them too early if they do have trouble

 

[Wiebke]

Hi

You can bring Eddie in a separate but adjoining carrier if you have concerns so they can still smell and hear each other and the little one is getting accustomed to vet trips and being handled at a vet's.

 

[piggieminder]

As Wiebke says above or take a spare carrier so you can separate them if they do kick off. That partly depends on the type of roads you are travelling and how easy it would be to pull over if necessary. I've found the journey into the unknown makes them cuddle up and tolerate each other, any friend in a crisis!

 

[JaseChase]

Thank you both unfortunately as I’m disabled and reliant on public transport, I have to decide before I go as I can only bring one carrier with me

I’m leaning towards bringing them together - they’ve been in the carrier for previous vet trips and always been fine. The tension is really only when I clean, so if I put some fleece from the cage in with them I *think* they’ll be fine. They still nap together a lot in the cage and Eddie still runs to Tofu when he’s spooked by something

It’s that or leave Eddie at home, which isn’t my first choice. Would I need to reintroduce on neutral territory in that scenario?

 

[Mrs Tiggy Winkle]

Thank you both unfortunately as I’m disabled and reliant on public transport, I have to decide before I go as I can only bring one carrier with me

Very good point. I don't drive either, and I had a fair hike from the bus stop to my vet's so I would only take 2 transport cages if I happened to have an unwell guinea from each group. In fact, I very seldom took more than the unwell guinea(s) with me and I never, ever had a problem with the bond afterwards, despite the healthy guinea(s) being at home while I was at the vet's. For me, the unnecessary weight of an additional guinea pig was just too much to cope with. My arms and shoulders get very tense when I carry things and then they ache. From being on this forum, I realise in the UK it's best practise to take the whole bond with you or at least 2 if you have more than three guineas in a bond, but sometimes guineas' Human has to compromise with own situation.

Good luck with Tofu at the vet's tomorrow. I hope they can find what's wrong with him and then help him. If you take Eddie, I hope he appreciates his intro to these vet's and that they find him adorable.

 

[JaseChase]

Very good point. I don't drive either, and I had a fair hike from the bus stop to my vet's so I would only take 2 transport cages if I happened to have an unwell guinea from each group. In fact, I very seldom took more than the unwell guinea(s) with me and I never, ever had a problem with the bond afterwards, despite the healthy guinea(s) being at home while I was at the vet's. For me, the unnecessary weight of an additional guinea pig was just too much to cope with. My arms and shoulders get very tense when I carry things and then they ache. From being on this forum, I realise in the UK it's best practise to take the whole bond with you or at least 2 if you have more than three guineas in a bond, but sometimes guineas' Human has to compromise with own situation.

Good luck with Tofu at the vet's tomorrow. I hope they can find what's wrong with him and then help him. If you take Eddie, I hope he appreciates his intro to these vet's and that they find him adorable.

That’s very true about finding the balance between piggie needs and human needs. Where possible I always try to bring the both of them, and I’m lucky to have good public transport with minimal walking & a carer/PA who usually drives me. She’s off sick at the moment though so I had to find a workaround - I can’t drive due to seizures, they won’t give me a licence haha

I brought both Tofu & Eddie to the vet in the carrier and they had no issues, which is reassuring. I think if they ever fell out properly and had to be kept separate, I’d have to just bring the poorly piggie with me unless my PA was able to drive. I just can’t manage two carriers with my walking stick

They’ve gone back home together now and are sitting sharing a pile of hay. Tofu’s on some antibiotics, and I’m hopeful if he starts feeling better the tension between them will settle down again. I am aware Ed is approaching his teens though so I’ll be keeping an eye on them just in case!

We think we’re going to neuter Ed once he’s big enough. As he’s likely to outlive Tofu and could be in the height of his teens when it comes to finding a new friend

 

[piggieminder]

Glad you got on okay at the vets.
My single boars go to the vet on their own I don't take a bar buddy. I only take two if they are a pair, with a spare carrier if they have a I'm only tolerating you type bond.