Manic, territorial guinea pig.

[annaandpigs]

Hi,

I'm hoping someone can give me advice on my insane male guinea pig, Bandit (aptly named). I have four guinea pigs in total, (all male) the two that I got first still live together - Bandit came with a cage mate (Rufus) who is very gentle and sweet and Bandit bullied him continuously - we tried all the tricks, different food bowls, water bowls, making the cage bigger, mutiple hidies, etc and nothing worked until Bandit bit Rufus badly and tore both of his ears and we obviously separated them. But they are in a C+C cage and right next to each other so they can still touch noses - Rufus is frankly too forgiving and spends most of his day laying near where Bandit is, hoping for some conversation.

Anyway, even when Bandit had a cage companion, he would spend hours biting the bars of the C+C cage in this weird frenzied way - then he would stop for a week, then start again at 4 in the morning and it's been worse since he's been alone.

The four pigs (all male btw) sleep in my bedroom - so they can all see each other and my partner and I are with them a lot. They all have hidies and toys and lots of hay, veggies, etc. The others are all totally content and very tame but I am at the end of my tether with Bandit. The biting of the cage is so loud - our neighbours must hear it, and he's pulled out his own teeth doing it before (but only once and it grew back thank goodness). He also has no real interest in humans or anything that isn't sniffing the other piggies scents or biting the freaking cage.

He regularly wakes me up at 4am and I have to put him in a temporary cage because I need to sleep - he goes back the next day. I have of course thought about having him neutered, but I've read a lot saying this makes no real difference on dominance issues and I don't want to put him through that for no reason. I've also tried putting vinegar on the bars of the cage and putting the opaque C+C plastic grids in (likes the taste of vinegar apparently and just bites the plastic so had to take them out).

So I guess my only other options are a wooden cage or to take him away from the others entirely (which feels really cruel). Any advice would be so welcome - I'm pregnant at the moment and can't bear the thought of dealing with Bandit and a newborn! Bandit is 2.5 years old btw, so not really an immaturity thing and we've had him since he was a baby.

 

[Siikibam]

I’m sorry to hear that Bandit is giving you the runaround. It sounds like he’s biting the grids because he wants to get at Rufus. But that won’t work. And you are right that neutering won’t change his behaviour.

I would put up something solid between him and Rufus so he can’t see him. Perhaps a piece of cardboard, wood, blanket or similar? Or would it be possible to move the cages around so he’s next to one of the other boars? Or does he do it with them as well?

Sometimes some piggies don’t do well living on their own. Would you consider taking him dating to find himself a compatible friend, or would give piggies be too much for you? That’s already a lot of work if all four live the bachelor life.

 

[Swissgreys]

Biting the bars continuously can be a sign of many things, but in this case you have 2 approaches.
You could simply stop it (please don't use vinegar - if he is doing it out of habit or desperation this won't stop him and the acidity could cause mouth sores only adding to your problems). The only real way is to cover the bars with a sheet of thick (corrugated) cardboard, firmly cable tied at the top with the ties out of his reach. Fitted properly and attached firmly the smooth surface of the cardboard will make biting the bars impossible. We then wedged it onto the corex at the bottom of the cage and covered the edge with the fleece liner. It needs to be he'd firmly in place with no rough edges which he could get his teeth into.
Then fill his cage with other forms of enrichment.
Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs

Alternatively you could move his cage away from the other boys, and see if that helps?
When you put him in another room at night does he quite down and stop the bar biting?
Does he seem happier away from the other piggies?

He may simply be desperate for companionship, and one failed relationship doesn't mean he wouldn't ever get on with another guinea pig.
But it would be good if he could choose a friend and go boar dating at an experienced rescue.
However with 4 pigs already and a baby on the way, this might not be the ideal solution for you right now.
It could be something to discus with a good rescue though and see if they have any suggestions.

 

[annaandpigs]

@Siikibam @Swissgreys Thanks so much for your advice guys. If I'm honest, Bandit has been really territorial with every pig he's encountered, not just Rufus. When we first got the younger pair (him and Rufus) we tried to pair them up with the older two - absolute chaos. I still have scars from foolishly trying to break up a fight. I would be happy to try him out with another rescue pig, but don't hold out the most hope. When I called our nearest rescue previously they also insisted that to try pairing a boar up, he needs to be neutered - have you ever come across this? I wouldn't want to do that as previously mentioned, and it seems cruel - maybe they wanted to pair him with a sow?

Point taken on the vinegar, I only did this once and wiped it off when I realised it didn't work but won't try it again. When he's moved to another room, he is very much quieter but also depressed and he cries if I leave him alone, so I have to stay right by his side. I think it's really important to him that he's part of the herd in some way, he just can't stop himself from being crazy if he has too much access.

Anyway, thank you for your help, I really appreciate it - I'm going to look into putting something solid between him and Rufus, for now I've put some opaque C+C panels and they seem to be helping a lot I had thought they were cruel before as he can't touch noses with Rufi anymore but I guess it's more cruel to be taken away from the others when he doesn't understand what's going on. Maybe I can make him a little window in a piece of wood at some point.

 

[Piggies&buns]

@Siikibam @Swissgreys Thanks so much for your advice guys. If I'm honest, Bandit has been really territorial with every pig he's encountered, not just Rufus. When we first got the younger pair (him and Rufus) we tried to pair them up with the older two - absolute chaos. I still have scars from foolishly trying to break up a fight. I would be happy to try him out with another rescue pig, but don't hold out the most hope. When I called our nearest rescue previously they also insisted that to try pairing a boar up, he needs to be neutered - have you ever come across this? I wouldn't want to do that as previously mentioned, and it seems cruel - maybe they wanted to pair him with a sow?

Point taken on the vinegar, I only did this once and wiped it off when I realised it didn't work but won't try it again. When he's moved to another room, he is very much quieter but also depressed and he cries if I leave him alone, so I have to stay right by his side. I think it's really important to him that he's part of the herd in some way, he just can't stop himself from being crazy if he has too much access.

Anyway, thank you for your help, I really appreciate it - I'm going to look into putting something solid between him and Rufus, for now I've put some opaque C+C panels and they seem to be helping a lot I had thought they were cruel before as he can't touch noses with Rufi anymore but I guess it's more cruel to be taken away from the others when he doesn't understand what's going on. Maybe I can make him a little window in a piece of wood at some point.

Trying to group four boars will always be a disaster - you can only keep boars in pairs
Any bond comes down to character compatibility so it may be he simply hasn't found the right friend yet.

Neutering him to bond him with another boar is unnecessary - it wont change his behaviour and being neutered will not make him any more likely to get on with another boar.
If they insist on him being neutered then the only reason would be to bond him with a sow. Of course, trying to bond him with a sow may be more successful, but given you have another boar pair, then if you were to put a sow in the same room, then it would cause your functioning boar pair to fall out.

 

[annaandpigs]

@Piggies&buns Yeah, we tried bonding the 4 of them years ago - we were green and we definitely learned our lesson. I love little boars but not sure I'd have 4 at the same time again, it's a lot of work and ego.

And I'm glad you're saying that - I thought that too, especially as they said that they wouldn't necessarily be trying to match him with a sow. They weren't specifically a cavy rescue so maybe they had their wires crossed. I'll try a different rescue next time. We're looking to move house, so I will look to move them all out of the bedroom and into their own space where they can be more involved in everyday life and I'll have a look at potential rescues at the same time. The trick will be finding someone who doesn't also upset my little Rufus, as I think he'll be jealous watching Bandit have a new friend and being alone himself.