Help & Advice Please :)

[Nicolexox]

Ive had my two male pigs for just over a year now (Merlin & Arthur). In the last couple of months my pigs have started to fight a lot.

Merlin seems to be the instigator in the fighting as he just won't leave Arthur alone. He chases him, he kicks him and bites his backside. Arthurs long haired and suffers the most in the fights. We try keeping them apart as much as we can but we don't have the facilities for them to be permanently apart plus the fighting isn't all of the time.

In the last couple of weeks Merlin has changed. He won't sit for cuddles (wants to escape) he pesters Arthur all of the time and yesterday he made the rare chirp noise.
I've been putting them in the indoor run for food as I do normally and then putting one of them back in the cage for some space. The last two times I've done this Merlins gone psycho. He runs around bitting at the cage possessed. Its like he has anxiety when he's apart from Arthur but when they're together he treats him like he hates him.

Ive had piggies for years and I've never had to experience this before and ive always had males.

Has anyone ever had a psycho guinea pig with anxiety and ADHD?

Thank you from a worried pig mother

 

[Mother Hubbard]

@Wiebke

 

[GPTV]

Have you had them checked over for mites/lice etc sometimes I think they can make them change personality a bit.
Are they both fit &well, no underlying medical conditions making them more skittish/temperamental?
No signs of fungal or wounds/abscesses/pain that may change their mood?

How old are they &have they always lived together?
If they've just hit puberty it may just be the hormones racing?

Afraid I've only ever had girls & been lucky mostly with few issues bonding.(only twice when introducing older/bigger/ dominant piggies &wow they did NOT get on! I had to separate immediately

Hope u can sort things out ,sure somebody will be on here soon to give some better ideas - looks like wiebke 'been tagged already xx

 

[Swissgreys]

@GPTV asked some good questions.
The sudden change in behaviour could be hormones, but it could be something simple like skin mites too.
I would definitely take them both to the vets for a check up in the first instance.

Also how big is their cage?
I know boars require quite bit of space, because even when they get along they need room to spend time apart, as well as two feeding dishes, water bottles, hideys etc.

I am sure someone more knowledgeable will be along soon with some other suggestions.

 

[Wiebke]

Ive had my two male pigs for just over a year now (Merlin & Arthur). In the last couple of months my pigs have started to fight a lot.

Merlin seems to be the instigator in the fighting as he just won't leave Arthur alone. He chases him, he kicks him and bites his backside. Arthurs long haired and suffers the most in the fights. We try keeping them apart as much as we can but we don't have the facilities for them to be permanently apart plus the fighting isn't all of the time.

In the last couple of weeks Merlin has changed. He won't sit for cuddles (wants to escape) he pesters Arthur all of the time and yesterday he made the rare chirp noise.
I've been putting them in the indoor run for food as I do normally and then putting one of them back in the cage for some space. The last two times I've done this Merlins gone psycho. He runs around bitting at the cage possessed. Its like he has anxiety when he's apart from Arthur but when they're together he treats him like he hates him.

Ive had piggies for years and I've never had to experience this before and ive always had males.

Has anyone ever had a psycho guinea pig with anxiety and ADHD?

Thank you from a worried pig mother

Hi!

Please have your two boys vet checked by a piggy savvy vet as to whether there is a medical reason for the change in behaviour. Suddenly not wanting to be touched can be caused by mange mites, and the irritation can make a guinea pig moody. There may also be another reason for this change in personality.

I would also strongly advise that you do a trial separation, but not to see how Merlin does (you know that), but more importantly how Arthur reacts. If Arthur perks up noticeably when he is away from Merlin, then it means that he is very stressed and bullied in his bond and that the bond is dysfunctional. Bites to the rump that break the skin are usually the end of the line for boars.

How big is your cage? Can your boys get away from each other?

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