Male dominance and now fighting.

[Srg70]

I got two males that I thought was bonded from a small local owned pet store not a big chain one. They take wonderful care of their animals and are more expensive than petco but I support them with my business instead of petco or PetSmart. They were adult size and I asked how old they were and store owner didn’t know so I assumed they were a surrendered pair. Scooby is a very quiet and layed back. He can even be lazy. Not doing anything but stay in his hidey coming out to eat only or when I set up the large play area. But if the hidey is available he’s in it. Most the time he teeth chatters at Shaggy if Shaggy wants in also. Shaggy never a teeth chatter at Scooby. BUT Shaggy is an agitator and if Scooby is out a lot of the time Shaggy tries humping him. Shaggy is very active. Well other than that they never fought. A few days ago my husband bought me a couple baby females. One one day and next day another because I told him they couldn’t be alone. And that’s when my trouble started. At first Shaggy went crazy wanting them. I have them in a separate cage of course but now moved them to a different room. But still not far enough. And when I hold a female they know it. I had to change shirts and towels before going back to males. But then last night they started fighting and I split their Midwest cage to separate them. Today I opened it up and let them in large play area. They were almost back to their normal self. shaggy trying to him Scooby. and Scooby teeth chattering. But doing ok. I ran to laundry room after about an hour in the floor to do pig laundry of course and came back to Shaggy with a bloody face. I separated them again. Found a vet an hour away to get them fixed when we get that much money together. But then read that it will probably not help them fighting. My goal was to keep all four together in a c and c. But I don’t have room for 2 large cages. But I could figure something out. 3 in one and 1 in Midwest one. But until the boys are fixed and wait the required wait time of 1-2 months the females will grow some more because they are so small. Which male will be better Scooby who is calm and quiet but aggressive when Shaggy pushes him or Shaggy who is not aggressive but is an agitator and a wild little boy chewing on the cage going crazy. ( will that calm down after being fixed since he just started it a couple days ago to try to get to the females). Any help is most welcome. My husband thinks we need to rehome 1 male. I don’t. I’m very attached to Shaggy my white Abby.

 

[Siikibam]

I’m sorry to say but the scent of a female (or females) can cause a stir in a bonded pair. That’s probably what happened. Secondly, you can only have one boar per group of sows. So your wanting to put all four together will not work at all.

Your choices now are as follows:
- neuter both and after six weeks introduce them to one of the females each.
- keep them side by side so they can still communicate through the bars (each needs to be in a cage 120x60cm)
- get the boys a boar friend each from a rescue that offers dating. That way they choose their own friend.

In the meantime, don’t put them together again. When you handle them, you have to handle the boys first, and then the girls.

Neutering won’t change their behaviour so I would only do it if you plan to pair them with sows. I would also double check the sex of the girls.

 

[Srg70]

Thank you for the much needed help. I have a lot of thinking to do. I don’t want to rehome either male. My husband does and put the 2 females together and one male together. But will do what I want. If we do put 1male with the females after neutering which one might be a better choice? Scooby that is very calm most the time. But he is the one that bit the other male. He is the most aggressive of the two if pushed. And he will teeth chatters a lot. Even at me at times when he don’t want to be picked up. Or Shaggy that is not at all aggressive but is very active and a agitator?

 

[Wiebke]

I got two males that I thought was bonded from a small local owned pet store not a big chain one. They take wonderful care of their animals and are more expensive than petco but I support them with my business instead of petco or PetSmart. They were adult size and I asked how old they were and store owner didn’t know so I assumed they were a surrendered pair. Scooby is a very quiet and layed back. He can even be lazy. Not doing anything but stay in his hidey coming out to eat only or when I set up the large play area. But if the hidey is available he’s in it. Most the time he teeth chatters at Shaggy if Shaggy wants in also. Shaggy never a teeth chatter at Scooby. BUT Shaggy is an agitator and if Scooby is out a lot of the time Shaggy tries humping him. Shaggy is very active. Well other than that they never fought. A few days ago my husband bought me a couple baby females. One one day and next day another because I told him they couldn’t be alone. And that’s when my trouble started. At first Shaggy went crazy wanting them. I have them in a separate cage of course but now moved them to a different room. But still not far enough. And when I hold a female they know it. I had to change shirts and towels before going back to males. But then last night they started fighting and I split their Midwest cage to separate them. Today I opened it up and let them in large play area. They were almost back to their normal self. shaggy trying to him Scooby. and Scooby teeth chattering. But doing ok. I ran to laundry room after about an hour in the floor to do pig laundry of course and came back to Shaggy with a bloody face. I separated them again. Found a vet an hour away to get them fixed when we get that much money together. But then read that it will probably not help them fighting. My goal was to keep all four together in a c and c. But I don’t have room for 2 large cages. But I could figure something out. 3 in one and 1 in Midwest one. But until the boys are fixed and wait the required wait time of 1-2 months the females will grow some more because they are so small. Which male will be better Scooby who is calm and quiet but aggressive when Shaggy pushes him or Shaggy who is not aggressive but is an agitator and a wild little boy chewing on the cage going crazy. ( will that calm down after being fixed since he just started it a couple days ago to try to get to the females). Any help is most welcome. My husband thinks we need to rehome 1 male. I don’t. I’m very attached to Shaggy my white Abby.

Hi and welcome

You can't keep more than one neutered boar with females; otherwise there will be fights. Unfortunately introducing sows to into a boar room can cause a major upset. With two boars you are always going to look at a two cage solution; if you are short on space, then they will have to go on top of each other. You can either have the two boars and the two sows living in different cages or pair up each boar with a sow once the boars have passed their 6 weeks post op safety wait. Or you can try to rescue date your two fallen out boars with another boar each and keep them as two pairs.

Alternatively you can keep two fallen-out boars as next door neighbours with full interaction (body language, pheromones and vocal; guinea pig social interaction is much more complex than you'd expect) for ongoing stimulation. We have got a number of members that have got 'can't live together but can't live apart' boar pairs like this.

Please be aware that neutering doesn't change behaviour or personality, or even the testosterone output massively (I've had enough 'husboars' stink up my piggy room, thank you!). All it does is take away the ability to make babies.
You are also looking at a 6 weeks post-op wait (the little surprise baby in my avatar picture is the unplanned legacy of a supposedly safe over 5 weeks post op boar - not one of mine - just to make the point).

Please take the time to read these guides here so you have a better understanding of the situation and can make some informed decisions about how you want to move on:
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths, Facts and Post-op Care

These guinea pig rescues are only decent ones in Texas that I have come across but I don't know whether you can get to them?
Austin: Austin Guinea Pig Rescue
San Antonio: https://secondchancecavy.com/
Dallas/Ft Worth area: Texas Rustlers Guinea Pig and Small Animal Rescue

 

[Siikibam]

He’s not aggressive, he just doesn’t get along with the other.

Whether they get on is about character compatibility rather than being an ‘aggressor’. I think in cases of sow and boar pairings (I’m not at all experienced in this), the sow has to accept the boar rather than the other way round. I think the best way to tell compatibility would be to study their behaviour and see. From the wounds of it you have two boars who both want to be dominant - a lose lose situation. Have a read of the threads linked above. Then you can decide what to do.

 

[Srg70]

Thank you all for the info. I didn’t know a lot of what I read. It’s is very helpful and I appreciate y’all helping me out.