Moving To A Different Home

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Lorcan

Lorcan

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Okay, this isn't a huge deal, buuuut

I have a new home arriving for Comet and Blitzen. Nothing wrong with their current one, except for human access - I have bad tremors, their current access drops back on top, and guess who keeps dropping it? They obviously don't like the sudden noise and I can't say I blame them, plus the new digs will be bigger. Not by much, but it'll be noticeable for them. Wins all round, right?

Except, having had them definitely aged by a vet today (I wanted to be certain, plus a quick MOT does them no harm), we're in the 4 month stage. Hormonal overload! Comet's been rumblestrutting a fair amount, Blitzen's been doing it a little but almost like he's taking his cue from Comet, not because he actually cares (if that makes any sense). Comet's also been doing speed runs round the edges of the current housing, usually leaping over Blitzen (who tends to sit in corners) every time. B just ignores him when he does it.

So, new home and hormonal boars. Should I prepare for the worst and the fact this might mean they never snuggle up for naps again? Should I hope the fact that B seems to have not quite hit the hormonal stage means they're going to be okay? Or is there anything I can do specifically, because they will need to move home, I can't keep dropping the access vents like that, it's really not fair on them.
 
Lorcan said:
Okay, this isn't a huge deal, buuuut

I have a new home arriving for Comet and Blitzen. Nothing wrong with their current one, except for human access - I have bad tremors, their current access drops back on top, and guess who keeps dropping it? They obviously don't like the sudden noise and I can't say I blame them, plus the new digs will be bigger. Not by much, but it'll be noticeable for them. Wins all round, right?

Except, having had them definitely aged by a vet today (I wanted to be certain, plus a quick MOT does them no harm), we're in the 4 month stage. Hormonal overload! Comet's been rumblestrutting a fair amount, Blitzen's been doing it a little but almost like he's taking his cue from Comet, not because he actually cares (if that makes any sense). Comet's also been doing speed runs round the edges of the current housing, usually leaping over Blitzen (who tends to sit in corners) every time. B just ignores him when he does it.

So, new home and hormonal boars. Should I prepare for the worst and the fact this might mean they never snuggle up for naps again? Should I hope the fact that B seems to have not quite hit the hormonal stage means they're going to be okay? Or is there anything I can do specifically, because they will need to move home, I can't keep dropping the access vents like that, it's really not fair on them.
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Any new territory means a new hierarchy sort-out for guinea pigs. this can be very tricky when boys are in or coming close to their hormonal teenage months, but it is also one of the few things that can upset an adult boar pair if there are underlying tensions.

There are a few things that you can do to mitigate any problems:
- please wipe the new cage down with a rag that you have previously wiped over the old cage, so it smells familiar and has the right "group" smell.
- for the same reason, use the old soiled bedding and any uncleaned furnishings to line the new cage with at first in order to keep the hierarchy sort-out as minimal as possible. Then just keep to the usual routine you had with the old cage. Try to keep the layout as similar as possible at first.

All the best!
 
Thank you. Would it matter who goes in first?
 
Best of luck! I hope it goes go smoothly that you wonder why you even asked :) being prepared for the worst is probably the best attitude but you are right - you can do this!
 
Hope all goes/is going well. I moved my boars while they were very hormonal, they went from a 120 x 60 cage to 160 x 80. I kept the same bedding, toys etc for the move. Despite my trepidation they popcorned all over the cage and loved it, we never looked back, they loved their extra room. Fingers crossed for you.
 
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