Getting Past The Teenage Years (two boars)

Mystic_corgi

Mystic_corgi

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I am still quite new to owning guinea pigs with only owing 3 in my lifetime and this is my first time having two guinea pigs together. I own two boars named Wasabi and Tofu who about 9 months old. They seem to get along quite well for the most part. They are able to share food bowls, water bottles, the hay rack and I have seen them share a hide once or twice. My concern is the constant purring at one each other and they chatter at each other often too, I am not quite sure if this is will all blow over after they calm down or if I should be looking to separate them. I am also worried they will fight and I have no idea what to do in that case.
This is partly my fault for not doing proper research on guinea pig pairs before adopting them. Any tips would help me greatly thank you!
 
This is very normal - rumbling and chattering is a mild dominance. It’s definitely not grounds to separate them If that is all they are doing.
How long have you had them, how long have they been together?
if they were to have a full on fight, then you immediately separate them using a towel/oven gloves and put them into separate cages. This kind of fight means a permanent separation.

how big is their cage?
Do all the hideys have double exits? (Nothing with only one exit?)

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
 
Piggies&buns said:
This is very normal - rumbling and chattering is a mild dominance. It’s definitely not grounds to separate them If that is all they are doing.
How long have you had them, how long have they been together?
if they were to have a full on fight, then you immediately separate them using a towel/oven gloves and put them into separate cages. This kind of fight means a permanent separation.

how big is their cage?
Do all the hideys have double exits? (Nothing with only one exit?)

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Click to expand...
Thats good that what they are doing now is normal! its very scary to see sometimes I hope it wont get any worse between them I would hate to separate them they have very cute moments together.
I have had them for about 2 or so weeks now I got them from a lady on craigslist that no longer wanted the pair. I am not sure how long they have been together, but I have assumed she got them from a pet store at the same time and have probably been together most of their lives. (I cant confirm this)
The cage is a 2x3 grid c&c cage and we plan to make it a 3x3 soon!
I have only one hidey that is not a double exit its a little log hide on the top platform of the cage the rest are multiple exit hides (they are so hard to find >.<) I have at least double of everything, except the hay rack. I just am worried about them possible getting more annoyed with each other and this whole thing never dying down.
 
they will have been in a period of reestablishiing their relationship for the recent period as this happens when piggies are put in a new encironment.

I'm afraid a 2x3 c&c cage is not big enough for two piggies and it most definitely isn’t big enough for two boars. A 3x3 also isn’t big enough for boars. Two boars need a cage using 14 grids - so either a 5x2 or a 4x3. Lack of space can cause problems in a boar bond.
you must be very careful when increasing a cage size for two boars as, it constitutes a change in territory which will set off dominance. There is a section in the comprehensive guide for boars which details things you must do to successfully change their cage size.

always ensure there are places to each. I would personally get rid of the hayrack altogether and just out hay on the floor - it encourages natural foraging behaviour, makes it much easier for each piggy to get to hay as it can be accessed from multiple sides and if also keeps them occupied. I also don’t use food bowls and scatter feed veg and pellets.

two boars will always display dominance behaviours throughout their entire lives, it’s just it happens more often while they are teens
 
I really cant make our cage much bigger :c it does have a second story on top (which I know is not equal to the overall floor space) I am not sure what I can do on making the cage bigger but I can try and figure something out :3. I would scatter feed and lay hay on the floor but they are not on fleece at the moment and I dont want to encourage them to eat the aspen shavings they are on.. we are wanting to switch to fleece soon though :3 I just need to find the time to make them thank you for that tip though! I do normally scatter my veg and pellets, but I never liked to scatter the hay they make such a mess of the cage XD and so much hay goes to waste I think its a matter of preference sometimes. Thank you for the warnings and advice I appreciate it greatly!
 
Boars are more territorial and do need much more room than a pair of sows. Lack of space can be a real issue for boars, particularly if there are underlying problems. Just something to bear in mind. Mine were originally in a 5ft x 2ft cage (which is the minimum for Boars) as teens it caused dominance and tensions. as soon as they got extra space they calmed down as they had much more space to move freely around each other and didnt feel the other was encroaching on their space.
Yes if you don’t want to scatter hay then that’s fine, it’s just a tip that can really help when dealing with teen boars.
They won’t eat the aspen just because hay is on the floor though. Mine are bedded on aubiose and hay and they never touch the aubiose at all. Yes it is a lot of hay waste and mess but that’s piggy owning!
 
Piggies&buns said:
Boars are more territorial and do need much more room than a pair of sows. Lack of space can be a real issue for boars, particularly if there are underlying problems. Just something to bear in mind. Mine were originally in a 5ft x 2ft cage (which is the minimum for Boars) as teens it caused dominance and tensions. as soon as they got extra space they calmed down as they had much more space to move freely around each other and didnt feel the other was encroaching on their space.
Yes if you don’t want to scatter hay then that’s fine, it’s just a tip that can really help when dealing with teen boars.
They won’t eat the aspen just because hay is on the floor though. Mine are bedded on aubiose and hay and they never touch the aubiose at all. Yes it is a lot of hay waste and mess but that’s piggy owning!
Click to expand...
I will have to get creative for making more space but legit anything for my pigs! xD Do you think instead of scatter feeding hay two hay racks would work the same? I have seen tofu try and eat the bedding on occasion that might have been because it was his first time on the new bedding so I think it just scared me0 0-0
 
Yes two hay racks would definitely be better (or hay trays). With boars you really do need to double up on everything - you don’t want to give them any reason to get cross with each other. If the dominant claims something for their own (which is their right as dominant), then the other piggy can end up being pushed away from food and hideys which obviously isn’t good So ensuring multiple other options will really help
 
I have an extra rack hiding around here somewhere, i knew it would come in handy xD we also were planing to delicate a tub for a hay room for them to enjoy so hopefully that will help them too once we are able to add on to the cage
 
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