Boris and Stanley

[Borisandstanley]

Hey,

My boys Boris and Stanley are approximately 6 years old. They've had two homes before me. I've had them for over a year.
Boris used to be dominant but recently Stanley has started to act more dominantly. A couple of days ago Stanley was chasing Boris around for probably a few hours in the morning, trying to hump him and stand on him. By about lunch time we made the decision to split them up for a couple of hours. Boris just slept. Bit worried the relationship is changing because he's getting old, or poorly? But they're about the same age I think. I will ask the owner I got them from to see if they have more information I think. We carefully reintroduced them and are getting on well again now. We're also getting a new larger cage and have given them two food bowls.

Before this happened we were also wondering about introducing new companions for them. As they are getting older I don't want one left on its own. But at the moment I'm not sure it'll help Boris much at all. Bit of a risk to introduce a new male anyway, and I think it might be too late to get them castrated as they are pretty old. Don't want to put them through it.

Any advice would be welcome,
Cheers,
Kate

 

[Piggies&buns]

Any sudden change in behaviour like this warrants a vet check. Sometimes this kind of thing can be down to the dominant feeling under the weather and the submissive therefore tries to take over. The vet would be my first port of call for such a situation.

Changing a cage size, won’t fix a dysfunctional bond. In same cases it can make things worse. Getting a bigger cage constitutes a change in territory which will set off dominance as they reestablish themselves. You must be very careful about changing cage size and use soiled bedding in the new cage so it still smells of them. You will still see dominance, but hopefully they will still see it as being their territory and the effects can be minimised.
A boar pair need a cage measuring 180x60cm (6ft x 2ft)

Unfortunately, you cannot add any other piggies in the same cage with a pair of boars. Boars need to be kept in pairs only and if you were to add another boar in with them there is a high risk of huge problems, fights and separations. It’s lovely you are thinking ahead but really until one passes and the one left behind can go for bonding ideally at a rescue centre, there is little you can do. Even if you were to get them neutered, then you couldn’t add any females either as for a pair of boars, having a sow in the same cage is a huge no no (itll cause fights), but even having a sow in the same room as boars can cause problems.
The only real option if you want to ensure the remaining piggy is not alone, is to have an entirely separate pair of boars kept in a separate cage. When one passes, the piggy left behind can have through the bar interaction with the pair but you can’t put three boars together at all without causing huge problems.

 

[Borisandstanley]

Hey,
Update!
I took Boris to the vets. He's ok, but they noticed he has a dodgy hip. Have some pain killer for him and vitamin drops for the water. Seems to be perking up! Yay. They're getting along better again too, but if Stan starts chasing Boris again, we'll take Boris away for a bit to a separate area to rest.
They also trimmed Boris's teeth a smidge, they weren't to bad but a bit long. Going to compare his and Stanleys teeth in a bit. I was wondering, does the process hurt? Doesn't sound fun. But I couldn't watch as covid rules prevented me going in. He most probably just didn't like being messed with too much.
Also, new cage arriving on Tuesday! Woop!

 

[Bill & Ted]

Hoping Boris is alright. Be very cautious about vets trimming incisors, they can make a mess and unbalance the mouths in general. Make sure he is eating well and can pick up his food, sometimes vets do not angle the teeth correctly or cut far too short and the go cannot pick up food. Guinea pig teeth are all different and their incisors are long compared to a rabbit or another guinea pig so don’t compare. Was there a reason why the vet performed this procedure? Guinea pigs teeth are best left alone, they are self sharpening and designed to wear down as they eat, unless Boris is having problems eating steer clear of this procedure and tell your vet to leave well alone x

 

[Piggies&buns]

And in addition to the brilliant advice from Bill&Ted - you dont want an inexperienced vet doing anything to piggy teeth - we see all too often that it can make things worse. I would like to add that you should not add vitamin drops to their drinking water. It can change the taste of water and stop them from drinking water. Plus as water intake varies widely, they may simply not get enough to even make it worth giving them additional vitamin c. If they really do need additional vitamin c (which is unlikely if it is just a matter of routine, given piggies get all they need from their hay, veg and their limited amount of pellets - scurvy is not common) then giving it directly (by way of a syringe directly to the poorly piggy) as a two week short course by way of a boost for a poorly piggy, such as if they are suffering from a URI is fine, but if you continually overdo the vitamin c long term, then their bodies get used to higher levels, so if the levels then drop (even if the drop means that their levels are what would otherwise be considered normal), then that can cause scurvy symptoms. Excess vitamin c is excreted in the urine.

 

[Siikibam]

Please do be careful about separating and reuniting too often. That in itself can lead to issues. Hopefully you won’t need to though.