Humping Ugh...

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Kerrie74

Kerrie74

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Hello all.

I know guinea pigs humping is normal because they need to sort out who is in charge but my two older boars are doing my head in with it lol. I have 7 guinea pigs in total, 3 sows in one cage, two younger boars in another and the 2 older boards in another, now the little boys seem to get on fine, I don't see them humping, they do the weird thing with the heads, it's like watching a couple of stags lol but that's the worst I've seen them do, the girls also seem to be sorted, one of them like to moan a lot and tends to try and pee on the other girls ugh, but they move, no idea why she's like that as all but one of our piggies are adopted and then we have the older boars...

What can I say about Sheamus and Big E but OMG why is it taking so long for them to sort out who's the boss? I've had the boys for just over a year, the humping used to be back and fourth, then it was Big E trying it on with Sheamus when Sheamus was ill, then humping each other again and so on. I don't understand who the boss of the cage is because Sheamus tells Big E off and has bitten him previously, he bites him now but pulls his fur he hasn't drawn blood again.

Should they have sorted out who's boss by now or is this an ongoing thing and is there something I can do to ease it because I'm worried that Sheamus will bite Big's again? I can't say it's because they're above the sows because when they were in a single cage it was just as bad if not worse and we've only had the girls since about October 2014. I just want them to be like the little boys we have lol, the little boys weren't even a bonded pair, we got Storm first and Snow a couple of months later but they bonded well and Storm used to look after Snow... I just don't get why Sheamus and Big E have to constantly do it.

Could it be because Sheamus won't let Big E get his own way and bites him etc?

Thanks in advance
 
Kerrie74 said:
Hello all.

I know guinea pigs humping is normal because they need to sort out who is in charge but my two older boars are doing my head in with it lol. I have 7 guinea pigs in total, 3 sows in one cage, two younger boars in another and the 2 older boards in another, now the little boys seem to get on fine, I don't see them humping, they do the weird thing with the heads, it's like watching a couple of stags lol but that's the worst I've seen them do, the girls also seem to be sorted, one of them like to moan a lot and tends to try and pee on the other girls ugh, but they move, no idea why she's like that as all but one of our piggies are adopted and then we have the older boars...

What can I say about Sheamus and Big E but OMG why is it taking so long for them to sort out who's the boss? I've had the boys for just over a year, the humping used to be back and fourth, then it was Big E trying it on with Sheamus when Sheamus was ill, then humping each other again and so on. I don't understand who the boss of the cage is because Sheamus tells Big E off and has bitten him previously, he bites him now but pulls his fur he hasn't drawn blood again.

Should they have sorted out who's boss by now or is this an ongoing thing and is there something I can do to ease it because I'm worried that Sheamus will bite Big's again? I can't say it's because they're above the sows because when they were in a single cage it was just as bad if not worse and we've only had the girls since about October 2014. I just want them to be like the little boys we have lol, the little boys weren't even a bonded pair, we got Storm first and Snow a couple of months later but they bonded well and Storm used to look after Snow... I just don't get why Sheamus and Big E have to constantly do it.

Could it be because Sheamus won't let Big E get his own way and bites him etc?

Thanks in advance
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Some boars hump mutually just in the way of saying "hey, I'm here with you, mate". Your two boys have long since worked out a relationship between them even though it is eluding you. I doubt that there will be bites again, provided your two older boys are out of the big hormones. I also don't think that the bite was that deep or intentional, as otherwise, they would likely have had more fights, teeth chattering or Big would have very much kept out of Sheamus' way. how old are they exactly?

Your two younger boys are currently measuring up to each other. it's called "chinning up". Every pair of piggies has its own style.
 
I'm not exactly sure on their age as all but one are adopted and even then I'm not sure on the one we bought age, when we adopted them the lady at the rescue said they were around 18 months, we've had them almost 13 months so I would say they are around 31 months or 2 years and 7 months roughly?

Sheamus has been known to chatter his teeth at Big's but this was when Sheamus was recovering from a URI and an ear infection, we ended up having to take Big E out of the cage for a little bit, in regards to him biting, as I recall Sheamus may have been ill again, ear infection as I recall, he bit Big's on his stomach and private parts :/

Just to explain about Sheamus, he has been ill with URI's and ear infections a few times we have been told that it's possible that Sheamus has a brain lesion which could be the cause of all the illnesses, he's also not the biggest of boars, I'm just explaining so people don't think I'm not looking after him properly! He only went for an health check the other day because he has a mark on his eye that two vets have said is a scar but when since does a scar grow.... That's him in my forum pic :)

I don't like that Sheamus is being constantly bothered by Big's, I don't mean to sound rude here but Big's isn't the brightest of guinea pigs lol.

The little boys are fine, they don't really bother us, very funny to watch though, they make each other jump and I'm going to assume that Storm is the boss because Snow follows him about sometimes, not unless he's doing that to wind him up because Snow is the naughty one out of the two lol.

The girls chin up too and they also do a weird thing which looks like they are sticking their chests out.
 
Adult boar pairs (agter 25 months of age) are usually stable, but there can be the occasional upset through illness or changes in the territory (with some boars that can even include a cage clean). Your little boys will most likely change somewhat once they hit the big hormones.

Girls can their moments, too! I have got 20 of them at the moment, so I should know...
 
Lol yeah one moans and moans all the time and all the other girls have to do is go near where she's sat! Then if she gets too annoyed she tries to pee on them, it was missing and hitting the wall ew, it's ok though we rebuilt their C&C's now, we had to get rid of their old correx as we moved and wanted to get them new stuff, they now have a high back so she can't pee on the wall any more lol.

Is there anything that we can do when cleaning the older boys out? We leave the same beds in unless they are dirty, just a different fleece liner.

Ugh I hope the little ones don't start doing what Big E does rofl. They get on very well.... atm!

Thanks for the info/advice:)
 
Hello,

just a quick update.

Last night Big E was again bothering Sheamus, Sheamus started to snap and chase Big E and even chattered his teeth at him, we removed Big E over night and put him back around 30 minutes ago, again he is bothering Sheamus and again Sheamus is snapping and chattering his teeth. I think we now need to split them up and put them in seperate C&C which will be next to each other, I really don't want to because we don't exactly have the space to do that in this bungalow, as it is 5 of the guinea pigs are in my bedroom (we got the guinea pigs when we were in a bigger property). I know neutering Big E probably won't help so I'm not going to waste money or stress him out for no reason.

If anyone has any other ideas, please let me know.

Thank you.

Oh one other thing... do guinea pigs normally chat their teeth at humans? lol... My son had Big E in his room last night and he was looking through his bars and chattering his teeth at him! He turned the light on and he ran off. He's done it while sitting on me before, I think this one was chattering, it's a bit like that noise Hannibal Lecter makes in the film lol.
 
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I had 2 boars (one has now passed) and they at first used to teeth chatter and pounce but after a few days they got on just fine. I believe you only separate them if blood is drawn, but I'm no expert. And one of my other boys nibbles, he isn't a fan of cuddles etc and sometimes chatters his teeth at me when I try to pick him up, grumpy old man
 
Our two boys, ZumZum and TomTom, The GPM ASBO Twins, used to hump on passing each other, just like a pat on the shoulder. TomTom has sadly left us and Zum has a quartet of girls to look after now.
So, if your boys hump in passing, it's not a problem.
 
As I put in the first post the boys were bonded when I got them it's been over a year since we adopted and apparently they were together before we adopted them and she said their age is roughly 18 months at the time of us adopting, it's not a few days and it's certainly not in passing otherwise I wouldn't be concerned, Big E is sort of stalking Sheamus, if that makes sense. He will make a bee line for Sheamus from the other end of the cage. This time around it's been going on for 3 - 4 weeks.

They are back in together at the moment but we're keeping an eye on them because Big E is STILL bothering Sheamus, purposely stopping him from eating, drinking etc. just so he can hump him which then leads to Sheamus making a loud ranting noise, fur sticks up, he's gotten on his back legs, chattered his teeth both yesterday and today and he's been chasing Big E around the cage, yes he has snapped but pulled his fur this time not drawn blood as he did last year.

As I also said up above Sheamus has a possible brain lesion and I'm sure Big E constantly bothering him doesn't help.

So I'm wondering if putting them in separate cages next to each other is the best option or if there is anything else I can do to help the situation?

Thanks for the input :)
 
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Never mind, I'm going to persevere and if it gets too bad I'll then consider splitting them up. I'll see how it goes for the next couple of days.

Thanks for everyone's input :)
 
Hi, just found this post and am hoping somebody can help. 2 of my young boys were fighting then one was humping the other, when they had finished, the "humper" kind of rolled over and when i got merlin out, he had this white waxy substance on his back. Ive bathed in warm water and tried gently peeling the stuff off but it was upsetting him...any advice would be really really appreciated. Ive had the 3 since friday.
 
It's something piggies secret from their gland which is where a tail would normally be, don't worry it's normal.

The boys got pretty bad the other day, well I say the boys, Sheamus again, teeth chattering, up on his back legs and then went for Big E, didn't bite though but it certainly scared Big's, however Big's is STILL bothering Sheamus and we're not sure if it's due to Big's stressing Sheamus out but he now seems under the weather, he keeps getting impaction and he's eating what he usually eats, he does get impaction from time to time but he's had it for the past 3 or 4 days. He's going to the vets tomorrow.
 
Was it was a very white substance that looked a bit like pva craft glue or wood glue. If so, then it would be 'boar glue' ejaculated sperm. Notorious to remove.

On the other hand, if it was a dirty waxy substance from where his tail would have been, it would be grease from his grease gland.
http://www.guinealynx.info/grooming.html#grease_gland
 
Hi Dindypig, yes! It was exactly like that! Had a right game trying to get it off. In the end i had to very carefully cut some of his fur as it was stuck fast! Dont want to be doing that on a regular basis so hopefully soon they work out whos boss! Thanks for your responses :)
 
I have boars; whenever I get a new boar, I always try and get a very young one, as the adults I have are "automatically" dominant. However - when the little one starts growing up, often the little guys will try to show their manhood by humping the larger, older males. And often times, on the head! The older ones seem to take it in stride, most of the time. However, one of my older boys apparently had enough of THAT one time, he flipped his head, up in the air went the little pig, who landed in a bowl of water! Little guy was unhurt, but needless to say, he didn't go after his buddy for a long while after THAT.
RE boars humping, fighting, etc. Has anyone else ever noticed if their boars get testy right before bad weather or if the barometer is falling? Seems a day before a bad storm, my boys get grumpy; we're due for thunderstorms here in the Washington DC area tomorrow and this morning my 2 oldest pigs, normally gentle giants, were fussing and humping.
 
Hah, no I've not noticed that, but I live in the UK and yeah we get lots of rain but it's nothing like you guys get in the states.

I'm actually starting to wonder about the age of Sheamus and Big E, for some reason my instincts are telling me Sheamus is a bit older than Big's even though the rescue said they came from the same person, but it doesn't necessarily mean they are from the same litter, parent's etc. just that they were together when they were rescued. I get that boys hump, but what I don't get is why Big E constantly insists on trying to do it or just coo at Sheamus where as Sheamus only does it now and then, we do have a feeling Sheamus is the dominant one just because of how Big E reacts when Sheamus gets angry, he doesn't do it back, he makes like a dog whining noise, like he's upset lol and then flys across the cage when Sheamus chases him, he has never shown anger towards Sheamus. I find my piggies very puzzling lol.

I also have 3 sows, two seem to get on well with each other but they both seem to dislike the third one, now we only really noticed this we lost the fourth one, so we think that maybe she was the dominant one of the sows, very sad really about Badger and how we lost her.

The little boys are the good ones at the moment hehe.
 
Kerrie74 said:
Hah, no I've not noticed that, but I live in the UK and yeah we get lots of rain but it's nothing like you guys get in the states.

I'm actually starting to wonder about the age of Sheamus and Big E, for some reason my instincts are telling me Sheamus is a bit older than Big's even though the rescue said they came from the same person, but it doesn't necessarily mean they are from the same litter, parent's etc. just that they were together when they were rescued. I get that boys hump, but what I don't get is why Big E constantly insists on trying to do it or just coo at Sheamus where as Sheamus only does it now and then, we do have a feeling Sheamus is the dominant one just because of how Big E reacts when Sheamus gets angry, he doesn't do it back, he makes like a dog whining noise, like he's upset lol and then flys across the cage when Sheamus chases him, he has never shown anger towards Sheamus. I find my piggies very puzzling lol.

I also have 3 sows, two seem to get on well with each other but they both seem to dislike the third one, now we only really noticed this we lost the fourth one, so we think that maybe she was the dominant one of the sows, very sad really about Badger and how we lost her.

The little boys are the good ones at the moment hehe.
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Don't know that it always matters who's older, esp. if the animals are close in age; just a matter of "type A versus type B personalities," maybe? RE my boys, if they're humping and neither one is fussing or acting aggressive, I just let them go.... can't give advice on sows, sorry, I've never had them.
 
Ah no I didn't mean there was anything wrong if he was older, just that he seems older.

I don't butt in if it's humping, I butt in when Sheamus starts to chatter his teeth and stand on his back legs lol, he already bit Big's twice last year.
 
Kerrie74 said:
Hello,

just a quick update.

Last night Big E was again bothering Sheamus, Sheamus started to snap and chase Big E and even chattered his teeth at him, we removed Big E over night and put him back around 30 minutes ago, again he is bothering Sheamus and again Sheamus is snapping and chattering his teeth. I think we now need to split them up and put them in seperate C&C which will be next to each other, I really don't want to because we don't exactly have the space to do that in this bungalow, as it is 5 of the guinea pigs are in my bedroom (we got the guinea pigs when we were in a bigger property). I know neutering Big E probably won't help so I'm not going to waste money or stress him out for no reason.

If anyone has any other ideas, please let me know.

Thank you.

Oh one other thing... do guinea pigs normally chat their teeth at humans? lol... My son had Big E in his room last night and he was looking through his bars and chattering his teeth at him! He turned the light on and he ran off. He's done it while sitting on me before, I think this one was chattering, it's a bit like that noise Hannibal Lecter makes in the film lol.
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My 2 chatter at me if I am not cleaning their cage out quick enough or not feeding them quick enough. Or if I am trying to lift them out. (Little terrors.)
 
Lol well Big does it when he's sat on you, you don't even have to touch him! and Sheamus did it to my son yesterday but that is the very first time he's ever done that to a human so I'm going to assume it's because he's not feeling great and getting fed up of having his bottom cleaned :/
 
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