Boar Conflict.

[2Pigs2Many]

Hey guys! I've been under some great stress over my 2 babies and I need your opinion/help. Please bare with me, this will be long but I wanted to give as much information as I could to get better help.

I got the brothers, Smores and Teddy, when they were just babies, now they are a little over a year and have always been with each other. They get fresh water everyday, a small bowl of high-quality pellets, fresh hay that never runs out, one multi-vitamin every morning, plenty of space to run, hidies plus a tunnel, and fresh vegetables once a day.

Recently one of them, Smores, has been doing nothing but chattering his teeth, I've read up that this means that he is angry/agitated. He does it to me and his brother. When he does it to me, it's usually because I'm not fast enough when I'm feeding him or he doesn't want me cleaning his cage because it's his territory and I'm invading it. His brother, Teddy, from what I can tell is the boss pig of the two, the alpha if that's what you even call it. He's so very friendly and kind to his brother and I, he is always in a good mood. Literally I have never seen this guy other than just full of excitement and pure happiness. Teddy only chatters when his brother starts up with an attitude and stops when his brother does. It all started after work, I always pet them when I get home and Teddy loves it when I scratch his butt (lol), so when I gently scratched his booty I felt rough bumps. I picked him up and inspected them and found these scabbed up wounds on his rump... I just had a rush of a ton of negative emotions. Fear, anxiety, nausea... I nearly cried because they mean everything to me.

Teddy's already been to the vet once due to something wrong with his knee and made him limp around. Smores actually took that opportunity to mount him and harass the living hell out of him because, I guess, he wanted to take the spot of boss pig when he saw him showing weakness. I ended up separating them with a divider, they slept side by side between the divider it actually made me sad because deep down I know they have a bond but recently I'm beginning to question it.

Anyway, back to the present, I didn't even know if I should have went to the vet. I'm a nurse so I at least have a basic knowledge on these things, I just cleaned him up after seeing no signs of infection and applied triple antibiotic ointment. I have no idea if it was self-inflicted or if they got into a scuffle but I have a feeling Smores tried to fight him. I ended up shaving the area of his butt where his wounds are so I could easily clean and assess the wound sites. (It hurt when I went to lift his fur at the wound sites, so I thought this was the best I could do... since it will grow back anyway.)

What do I do regarding Smores being angry all of the time? I always make sure everything's perfect for my little prince, but I feel like it's not... enough? I have them separated again with their divider, they can see each other and bump noses but it'll stop him from initiating any fights.

Thanks...

 

[Jesse's pigs]

Are you sure the wounds are from a fight? It could be self inflicted or even a fungal condition? Could you upload a picture? From what you describe it sounds like you are having a hormone spikes with your boys and the dominant member is having to stick up for his right to stay top pig. My Mo chatters quite alot and most nights I have mounting and rumbling sessions.

We advise to separate if the guinea pigs draw blood and see how each member responds. If they're missing each other it's clear that it was just a little fall out and they are better together.


I might take Teddy to the vets for a checkup if I was you to have the wounds looked at.

 

[Wiebke]

Hey guys! I've been under some great stress over my 2 babies and I need your opinion/help. Please bare with me, this will be long but I wanted to give as much information as I could to get better help.

I got the brothers, Smores and Teddy, when they were just babies, now they are a little over a year and have always been with each other. They get fresh water everyday, a small bowl of high-quality pellets, fresh hay that never runs out, one multi-vitamin every morning, plenty of space to run, hidies plus a tunnel, and fresh vegetables once a day.

Recently one of them, Smores, has been doing nothing but chattering his teeth, I've read up that this means that he is angry/agitated. He does it to me and his brother. When he does it to me, it's usually because I'm not fast enough when I'm feeding him or he doesn't want me cleaning his cage because it's his territory and I'm invading it. His brother, Teddy, from what I can tell is the boss pig of the two, the alpha if that's what you even call it. He's so very friendly and kind to his brother and I, he is always in a good mood. Literally I have never seen this guy other than just full of excitement and pure happiness. Teddy only chatters when his brother starts up with an attitude and stops when his brother does. It all started after work, I always pet them when I get home and Teddy loves it when I scratch his butt (lol), so when I gently scratched his booty I felt rough bumps. I picked him up and inspected them and found these scabbed up wounds on his rump... I just had a rush of a ton of negative emotions. Fear, anxiety, nausea... I nearly cried because they mean everything to me.

Teddy's already been to the vet once due to something wrong with his knee and made him limp around. Smores actually took that opportunity to mount him and harass the living hell out of him because, I guess, he wanted to take the spot of boss pig when he saw him showing weakness. I ended up separating them with a divider, they slept side by side between the divider it actually made me sad because deep down I know they have a bond but recently I'm beginning to question it.

Anyway, back to the present, I didn't even know if I should have went to the vet. I'm a nurse so I at least have a basic knowledge on these things, I just cleaned him up after seeing no signs of infection and applied triple antibiotic ointment. I have no idea if it was self-inflicted or if they got into a scuffle but I have a feeling Smores tried to fight him. I ended up shaving the area of his butt where his wounds are so I could easily clean and assess the wound sites. (It hurt when I went to lift his fur at the wound sites, so I thought this was the best I could do... since it will grow back anyway.)

What do I do regarding Smores being angry all of the time? I always make sure everything's perfect for my little prince, but I feel like it's not... enough? I have them separated again with their divider, they can see each other and bump noses but it'll stop him from initiating any fights.

Thanks...

Hi and welcome!

How big is the cage the two boars are in?

Have you seen a vet for mange mites and fungal infection to exclude self-inflicted biting, which is much more common although most people first think of a fight?

Young adult boars can still experience the odd hormone spike for a day or two, but it should generally not lead to a fall out or a full-on fight if they have the space to get away from each other.

Is your underboar visibly perking up when he is away from his mate? In that case, you have to consider bullying.

Here is our guide for boar problems. If you reintroduce the boars on neutral ground (please heed our bonding advice and take the time to carefully read it all), you should see pretty instantly from their behaviour whether they have indeed fallen out or still want to be together, according as to whether tension is sky high from the word go and whether dominance is in the high or the lower end of the spectrum. The guides that are linked into our fallen out boars guide will tell you exactly what to look out for.
Boars: Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

I would recommend that you make sure that you get your own sleep. Your boys won't attack each other through the bars if you have secured any divider properly.