Help! New boars owner here!

[gabaika]

Hi everyone!
I need some help with my boars!
They got together to my house, one is a little boar and the doc told me that he had around 2 1/2 months. The other one seems bigger and is supposed to have 2 years but the doc didn't confirm anything.

The problem is that the older one keeps circling around the little one by purring. He then puts mouth in the butt of the little one. I can't really see what he does but sometimes when I try to stop him (as I can hear the little one squeaking) he nibbles my hand and sometimes he pushes the little one up into the air. I have already separate them, as I fear that he could injure the little one.

I can't seem to find why he does that, but I feel that makes the little one very nervous.

Have you seen this behavior in your boars?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi everyone!
I need some help with my boars!
They got together to my house, one is a little boar and the doc told me that he had around 2 1/2 months. The other one seems bigger and is supposed to have 2 years but the doc didn't confirm anything.

The problem is that the older one keeps circling around the little one by purring. He then puts mouth in the butt of the little one. I can't really see what he does but sometimes when I try to stop him (as I can hear the little one squeaking) he nibbles my hand and sometimes he pushes the little one up into the air. I have already separate them, as I fear that he could injure the little one.

I can't seem to find why he does that, but I feel that makes the little one very nervous.

Have you seen this behavior in your boars?

Hi

These are very normal mild dominance behaviours; they are called rumble-strutting and bum sniffing. Please stop worrying - you want to see them at this stage since they are part of your boys establishing a working group hierarchy in their new territory; this is at the very heart of social guinea pig life. Do not interfere and just let them get on with what they need to do.

For learning more about guinea pig behaviours and boars you may find these links here helpful:
- Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
- Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
- A - Z of Guinea Pig Behaviours

- A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
- Boar Care: Bits, Bums & Baths

These links are all part of our very practical and helpful New Owners information and how-to advice collection that
helps you to learn what is normal and what not and to avoid the most common pitfalls that await the unwary. Here is the link, which you may want to bookmark for browsing, reading and re-reading at need as you will take different things away at different levels of experience. Over 15 years on this lively forum and our own experience going back in some cases half a century have gone into our guides: Getting Started - Essential Information for New Owners

 

[gabaika]

Thank you so much for your help! I'll try to read them all.

In case of some kind of injury or sickness, should I keep them apart?

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you so much for your help! I'll try to read them all.

In case of some kind of injury or sickness, should I keep them apart?

Please keep them together as much as possible; separation is a huge source of stress for guinea pigs and can lead to avoidable permanent fall-outs. There has been a big change of heart on this aspect over the last decade as the importance of companionship for guinea pigs has become clearer.
Right now, your little is still very much at an age where he is desperate for company and is relying on the guidance from an older 'guardian' piggy willing to be his teacher and protector; he is very much a schoolboy. What you are observing is the mildest form of daily dominance behaviour.

If you want to learn more about development over the course of a lifetime from birth until old age/death, then you will find my article series for Guinea Pig Magazine (which I have permission to share with this forum) in this link here fascinating (PS: You can also find it in the information collection): Journey through a Lifetime: The Ages of Guinea Pigs

I would however recommend to double-check the gender of your youngster, just to make sure: Illustrated Sexing Guide

 

[gabaika]

Thank you again for your help! I'll do that
The vet checked both of them and they're both boys
I'll keep them together and hope for the best!

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you again for your help! I'll do that
The vet checked both of them and they're both boys
I'll keep them together and hope for the best!

The real test comes throughout the teenage months when the baby develops his adult identity, which can result in a personality clash. However, fall-outs between boars of different ages are much rarer than between boars of the same age. You can find detailed information on that and what to look out for via our boar guide but that is still quite a bit in the future and may never become an issue for you.

Try to take a leaf out of your piggies' book and enjoy each day you have with them as the precious gift it is. See watching them interact as an opportunity to learn about their own fascinating world and not as a potential fight.
Here is some helpful practical advice for owners suffering from anxiety: Pet Owners Anxiety - Practical Tips For Sufferers and For Supporters

 

[Merab]

Welcome to the forum.
Hope you continue to find it helpful.
Have fun too.
We would love to see pictures of your boys

 

[Cheekypigs]

Yes, piggy pictures please!