Boar bonding help

[Lizzierse45]

Hi! I’m desperately seeking advice rn on bonding. To cut a long story short…
years ago I adopted a single Guinea pig from a rescue. Not knowing much at the time… I had no knowledge of said Guinea pig needing a companion but over a short amount of time I realised that he needed a friend. 2 years ago I went searching for a young boar to bond with my already older Guinea pig. However in doing so, I adopted a crazy Guinea pig lol I had no idea at the time just how hyperactive he was. When it came to the bonding process he kept trying to hump my older Guinea pig who seemed perfectly okay being alone. He began to show signs of aggression and I got scared so I separated them as to not cause any harm to my older pig. However last week my older Guinea pig passed of old age sadly. And now I have the chance and the space to double my cage size and finally get a companion pig for the younger crazy one. Not wanting to make the same mistakes again any advice will be greatly appreciated. I do have a few questions…
-lots of websites have told me that after the New Guinea pig and my Guinea pig have bonded and are friends that its important for them to move into a house that they both know and have at some point both lived in. However like I said above I currently have two separate cages stacked on top of one another, one is holding my current remaining Guinea pig and the other empty ready to house temporarily the new pig. My plan was to obviously keep them separate and do scent swapping and then let them meet gradually over time until they got alone then move them both into a xL cage together once bonded. I just brought a huge cage that I thought I had to do as I couldn’t bond two Guinea pigs and then put the pair back into one of the two cages that had been lived in by both of them as it would cause territorial fights. I’m confused now. How can I get these two Guinea pigs to happily live together in a new cage.
Any and all advice is welcome! Thank you
-website that said about their new home needs to be a cage that they had both previously lived in…
https://www.pdsa.org.uk/pet-help-and-advice/looking-after-your-pet/small-pets/introducing-guinea-pigs#:~:text=But%20it's%20important%20to%20take,existing%20guinea%20pig(s).-

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry for your loss.

First thing to mention is that humping, chasing and rumbling are perfectly normal behaviours and it is how they bond and reinforce their relationship. So when he did it to your other piggy it wasn’t a sign of a problem. You only separate boars if there is a full on fight - anything else you leave them to get on with it. You are going to see this all again when you bond your piggy with a new friend.
He absolutely does need a new friend though, piggies can appear to be ok alone but they usually aren’t - they get on with life because that is what they have.

Secondly, Scent swapping and gradual bonding etc is not how it is done.
Scent swapping sometimes has the potential to cause problems and not actually be helpful for the bonding day.
Boars can’t be put together and then separated repeatedly for bonding. Bonding is a one time event seen through to conclusion (whether that be success or failure) on that one day. (Gradual and interrrupted bonding can be done for fear aggressive sows, but for boars it can just hamper the process)
If you put them together for a while, and then put them back into their own cages, then put them back together for a while the next day, what actually is happening is their bonding process is being stopped every time. They then have to start from the beginning again the next day but still don’t get any further into the process due to another separation being carried out. It is very frustrating and stressful for piggies to go through that and in some cases can mean the bonding process fails because of it.

Thirdly, should the new piggy be a youngster (under four months of age) then he cannot go into a cage on his own (and certainly not a stacked cage) - neutral territory bonding should be done on the day you bring him home. Youngsters need constant companionship and guidance.
Stacked cages are only useful if you have two bonded pairs. Single piggies can’t be in stacked cages as the ability for interaction and companipnship is removed as the piggies cannot see or smell each other between the bars. Single piggies need to be in side by side cages on the same level.
If you can’t do the bonding on the day you bring him home, then ensure the piggies are in side by side cages for the night and then do the bonding the next day. You also cannot quarantine a young piggy for the same reasons.

The best way to find him a new friend for him is to talk to a rescue centre. Two piggies need to be character compatible to be able to form a functioning hierarchy. A rescue can help find a character compatible match for him to ensure they have a good bond. Some will also do the bonding for you.

It is absolutely fine to buy a piggy from a pet shop - although we always recommend rescuing as the first course of action where possible. The issue with buying is that you don’t know whether the two piggies will like each other particularly once the youngster becomes a teenager. In this case you do need to have a plan b if the bonding doesn’t work or fails down the line.
As I said, single piggies can’t be in stacked cages and must be side by side so you would need to have a plan to be able to bring the top cage down to floor level with the other cage.

This is our rescue list sl you can see if there is a recommended one near you.
Recommended rescues

If you need to do the bonding yourself, then you put the piggies in a neutral territory bonding pen - somewhere which is not the normal territory of your existing piggy (so not in his cage) - bath tub can even work or a kitchen or bathroom floor if you can secure an area. Don’t add any hides in the neutral pen, only add hay and water.
They stay in that pen for several hours (the bonding guide I’ve added below explains the behaviours you are looking for) to get through the early stages of acceptance and forming a bond. If it’s working out (again, you are going to see dominance behaviours), then while they are in the pen, you clean down the cage they are to live in permanently together. It does not have to be a cage they have both lived in - but what you do need is a cage which does not carry the scent of just one piggy. It either needs to be scent free (hence you cleaning it down if just one of the piggies lived in it) or the scent of both of them. To do that you can put bedding in the bonding pen for them both to scent mark, and then add that bedding into the cage they will live in.
What you don’t want is for your current piggy to see the new piggy as an invader in a cage which is only carrying the current piggy’s scent.

After several hours in the bonding pen and if things are ok between then (ie no fighting), you can move the two piggies into the cage together. At this point you can add open ended hides.
It will then take around two weeks of being in the same cage together for them to fully sort out the fine details of their relationship.

If the bonding does not work in the neutral pen (due to the piggies not being Compatible) or fails down the line then they need to live in separate side by side cages. Living as neighbours is an acceptable way for two piggies to live.
i have a bonded pair of boars who live in one cage. I also have two other boars who used to be a pair but their bond broke down and they now live side by side. They are much happier like this as they don’t have to share a territory but still get companipnship and interaction between the bars.

You do need to make sure the cage is big enough for two boars to live in. They require a cage measuring 180x60cm as boars do need more space. Lack of space can cause tensions which can lead to fights.
Also make sure you use hides which have two doors (so tunnels). Single entry hides can cause problems if one piggy traps the other inside. Also ensure two of everything in the cage - two bottles, two hay areas etc. We recommend not using food bowls and instead scatter veg and their one tablespoon of pellets each into a hay pile. That encourages foraging, keeps the occupied but also helps prevent any food hogging and ensures they both get their share.

This guide explains how to carry out the bonding, the neutral territory requirements as well as the behaviours you will see.

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

These guides details more about boar behaviour

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

 

[Lizzierse45]

Thank you SOOO much!
I will make sure to follow everything you said!
I had no idea about the cages on top of each other being an issue! Thank you so much for telling me, I have already moved them to the same level!
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment such helpful advice!
This has helped soooo much xx
-Lizzie