How To Deal With Boys’ Behaviour After One Has Been Ill.

[Nicky71]

Hello .
I have a pair of neutered and bonded males , one of whom has been “hospitalized” since Saturday afternoon . Today he came home (yay!) though he is still on meds.

However , on being reunited , the boys at first seemed happy to see each other when introduced from either side of a wire barrier . When I put them in together , the boys squared up to each other with yawning , nose - to nose -offs, squaring up with a sideways head position , loud chattering and a mutual teeth “jabbing” incident . No harm done .
I now discover that I probably did wrong by introducing them in a pen which had places to hide and one hay box and one bowl of pellets . I also probably did wrong by intervening in their dominance behaviour but I was concerned that while one of them was “weak”’after his illness it was a worry that they would fight at this time .
Advice on rebonding my boys with one still in the process of getting well gratefully received.

 

[Gia]

I'm not super experienced in this subject as my boys have always gotten although, but if worse comes to worse, you could try a buddy bath. The water kind of takes their mind off of fighting. It's kind of a last resort though.
Good Luck!
Gia xoxo

 

[Wiebke]

Hello .
I have a pair of neutered and bonded males , one of whom has been “hospitalized” since Saturday afternoon . Today he came home (yay!) though he is still on meds.

However , on being reunited , the boys at first seemed happy to see each other when introduced from either side of a wire barrier . When I put them in together , the boys squared up to each other with yawning , nose - to nose -offs, squaring up with a sideways head position , loud chattering and a mutual teeth “jabbing” incident . No harm done .
I now discover that I probably did wrong by introducing them in a pen which had places to hide and one hay box and one bowl of pellets . I also probably did wrong by intervening in their dominance behaviour but I was concerned that while one of them was “weak”’after his illness it was a worry that they would fight at this time .
Advice on rebonding my boys with one still in the process of getting well gratefully received.

Are they still together or separated? Unfortunately medical separation is the biggest cause for fall-outs in adult guinea pigs of either gender. There is a growing recognition even in vets that bonded guinea pigs should be kept together as much as possible but it is going to take some time to percolate through.

If you have split them please keep them in adjoining pens so they can interact through the bars and then conduct an introduction in a place that has only got a pile of hay in the middle and two water bottles at opposite ends. Give them joint laptime together to keep the bond alive as much as possible. Rub them gently with a soft rag to mingle their scent.

Once you have committed, you need to see a boar bonding through. Illness can bring changes in dominance/awake aspirations of the top spot if the ill piggy is the dominant one. There is going to be some inevitable dominance as the boars need to re-establish a hierarchy.
Tips For Post-operative Care (contains a chapter on re-uniting companions at the end)
Bonding: Illustrated Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics

All the best!

 

[Nicky71]

Are they still together or separated? Unfortunately medical separation is the biggest cause for fall-outs in adult guinea pigs of either gender. There is a growing recognition even in vets that bonded guinea pigs should be kept together as much as possible but it is going to take some time to percolate through.

If you have split them please keep them in adjoining pens so they can interact through the bars and then conduct an introduction in a place that has only got a pile of hay in the middle and two water bottles at opposite ends. Give them joint laptime together to keep the bond alive as much as possible. Rub them gently with a soft rag to mingle their scent.

Once you have committed, you need to see a boar bonding through. Illness can bring changes in dominance/awake aspirations of the top spot if the ill piggy is the dominant one. There is going to be some inevitable dominance as the boars need to re-establish a hierarchy.
Tips For Post-operative Care (contains a chapter on re-uniting companions at the end)
Bonding: Illustrated Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics

All the best!

I'm not super experienced in this subject as my boys have always gotten although, but if worse comes to worse, you could try a buddy bath. The water kind of takes their mind off of fighting. It's kind of a last resort though.
Good Luck!
Gia xoxo

Thank you. I have read about this.
They do hate baths though so I would only do it if all else fails. X

 

[Nicky71]

Are they still together or separated? Unfortunately medical separation is the biggest cause for fall-outs in adult guinea pigs of either gender. There is a growing recognition even in vets that bonded guinea pigs should be kept together as much as possible but it is going to take some time to percolate through.

If you have split them please keep them in adjoining pens so they can interact through the bars and then conduct an introduction in a place that has only got a pile of hay in the middle and two water bottles at opposite ends. Give them joint laptime together to keep the bond alive as much as possible. Rub them gently with a soft rag to mingle their scent.

Once you have committed, you need to see a boar bonding through. Illness can bring changes in dominance/awake aspirations of the top spot if the ill piggy is the dominant one. There is going to be some inevitable dominance as the boars need to re-establish a hierarchy.
Tips For Post-operative Care (contains a chapter on re-uniting companions at the end)
Bonding: Illustrated Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics

All the best!

Thank you . Alas I’ve gone and separated them for the time being but I can now put them in opposite ends of my CC cage with barrier panels between . Going forward , I will try all that you have suggested .
Many thanks .

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you. I have read about this.
They do hate baths though so I would only do it if all else fails. X

Buddy baths are only worth trying if you have two nearly fallen-out teenage boars that are covered in stinking testosterone laden pee and if you want to try another introduction again within 24 hours. Otherwise it is only an added stress factor that doesn't contribute anything towards a successful outcome.

Your boars either come to the decision that they want to be together when the chips are down or not. The dominance may go right up to the wire, but they will hopefully decide that they do not want to cross the line.

 

[Nicky71]

Thank you for the advice . Currently watching them bicker in an un- furnished pen with only hay in the ring . Lots of face to face chattering . Do I let them fight if it comes to it ?

 

[Nicky71]

They haven’t fought !
Mostly they are now sitting apart but opposite each other on different sides of the same pen just sitting there .
I need to go out in a bit and don’t know whether I should put them back in CandC cage with the partition or leave them in the pen where they are , together ?
Advice appreciated. Goodness me what a mitherer I am !
Thank you , amazing forum people . x

 

[Nicky71]

Just to update - the boys are re bonded. Thank you for the advice .