Guinea pig dominance

[CegsD]

Hi there guinea pig parents. It's been a while since I last posted. I have 2 males sharing a cage and they are nearly 2 years old. Only last week I discovered a white mass on the rear end of our American guinea pig Tango, and I had to cut and wash it out of his hair. Thinking it was calcium deposits I just let it go. But yet again now today, there's another large mass on his fur. I managed to wash it all out again but it's not small by any means. Googling info just now it seems its actually the other male piggy ejaculating on poor Tango so not a nice thing to know that's going on!
Has anyone else had this issue? what did you do to overcome it? All I can think of now is putting Tango in permanently with my other 2 male piggies.

 

[Deleted member 151640]

Its completely normal, we call it boar glue, due to how hard it gets. It is semen from a hormonal boar, I have two boys and every couple of months I had to cut out "glue" from one of my boys back.
It may not be pleasant but it is normal, some boars have even been known to masterbate.

Please do not separate them and certainly do not put him with another already bonded pair. What is happening is natural.
You may find these guides helpful:
Boar Care: Bits, Bums & Baths
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

 

[Piggies&buns]

Boar glue is perfectly normal. There is nothing you can do about it and there is also nothing you need to do about it - leave them to it. You should not separate Tango from his friend. It is just part of boar life - everybody with boars will be finding boar glue at some point. I have four boars myself.

Definitely do not put Tango in with your other boar pair. Boars can only be kept in pairs and if you try to put Tango in with them it will ruin their bond, cause fights and you will be likely to end up with all your piggies needing to live as singles permanently in separate cages.

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?

 

[CegsD]

Thanks for your replies. I gave Tango a break last night by putting the other piggy in a pop up cage, thinkTango appreciated it as I could see on the camera that Gerald was pestering Tango constantly. I'll put them back in together today. My males are quite good they mix daily outside in the run/pen area I made. There are only 2 I need to keep separate as they definitely don't get along! Glad to know it's normal. Advice online I found stated it wasn't common so I panicked. Thanks again.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thanks for your replies. I gave Tango a break last night by putting the other piggy in a pop up cage, thinkTango appreciated it as I could see on the camera that Gerald was pestering Tango constantly. I'll put them back in together today. My males are quite good they mix daily outside in the run/pen area I made. There are only 2 I need to keep separate as they definitely don't get along! Glad to know it's normal. Advice online I found stated it wasn't common so I panicked. Thanks again.

Don’t separate them too often because it can destabilise a bond and cause more harm than good. Only separate if absolutely necessary.

If dominance becomes too much and is causing stress, then a temporary separation for a few days then a neutral territory reintroduction to allow them to decide if their bond is still functioning is best. This is a one time thing.

If you mean you allow bonded pairs to interact in a playpen with other bonded pairs, then we would strongly advise against that. To piggies every meeting is a bonding session which will cause a shift in hierarchy, additional dominance and has the potential to break bonds. It is stressful for them.