My new Guinea pigs

[MyaB]

Hi, I need some help please!
I have 2 male Guinea pigs, both around 4 months. I got one 3 weeks before the other one and I'm in the process of introducing them.
I set up somewhere neutral for them to meet and filled it will food and play things. Currently they've been together now for 7 hours. I've been desperately trying to find information online to tell me what they're doing and what it all means but I can't really find anything that helps.
Buddy (my first Guinea pig) has spent the whole time rumble strutting and chasing noodle around. Noodle isn't rumble strutting but making like a low squeaking noise every time buddy comes near him. Buddy keeps smelling noodles bum and noodle keeps jumping out on the way. They keep chasing each other round the place making low squeaking noises. They don't seem to be biting each other but to be honest I wouldn't know if they were. I've been watching them for 7 hours and I'm no wiser now than I was when I started. I don't know whether the noises are normal and OK or whether I should separate them in case one of them gets hurt. Should I leave them together while I go to bed or separate them?
Can someone please help me because I really don't know what to do.

 

[Piggies&buns]

That sounds all fine and the behaviour you would expect of newly introduced piggies. The squeaking is submission. He accepts that the other piggy is going to be the boss - this is a good thing.
Now you’ve introduced them, you shouldn’t separate them (unless there is an outright failure in bonding such as a fight). You need to clean down the cage so that it doesn’t smell of the original piggy, and then you can put them both into the same cage to live together from now onwards. If you panic and separate, then you will interrupt the process and if you then go to introduce them again, they will need to start all over again. It is stressful for them to be introduced and then separated over and over again.
If a blood drawing fight does occur, then the bonding will have failed and they will need to be separated. It is highly unlikely that they will ever be able to live together again after such an incident.
The full bonding and establishing of the hierarchy takes around two weeks so you will continue to see dominance behaviours for some time.
Also be aware that at their age, they are just entering their teenage months so hormones will start to fly and dominance behaviours are common, with high hormones spikes within that time.
It is essential that two boars have a large cage of at least 150cm x 60cm. Cage Size Guide
Lack of space can lead to fall outs. Ensure you have two of every item so that no piggy can claim a bed, or a food bowl as his own and stop the other from eating etc. Don’t have any enclosed hideys - ensure all hideys have two exits so that no piggy can get cornered.

Do also read the new owners information in the new owner section as well as the specific links on bonding I have attached below

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

 

[Merab's Slave]

Welcome to the forum.
Hope your boys settle happily together.
@Piggies&buns has given you excellent advice and I can confirm the excellence of the bonding guides.

 

[MyaB]

That sounds all fine and the behaviour you would expect of newly introduced piggies. The squeaking is submission. He accepts that the other piggy is going to be the boss - this is a good thing.
Now you’ve introduced them, you shouldn’t separate them (unless there is an outright failure in bonding such as a fight). You need to clean down the cage so that it doesn’t smell of the original piggy, and then you can put them both into the same cage to live together from now onwards. If you panic and separate, then you will interrupt the process and if you then go to introduce them again, they will need to start all over again. It is stressful for them to be introduced and then separated over and over again.
If a blood drawing fight does occur, then the bonding will have failed and they will need to be separated. It is highly unlikely that they will ever be able to live together again after such an incident.
The full bonding and establishing of the hierarchy takes around two weeks so you will continue to see dominance behaviours for some time.
Also be aware that at their age, they are just entering their teenage months so hormones will start to fly and dominance behaviours are common, with high hormones spikes within that time.
It is essential that two boars have a large cage of at least 150cm x 60cm. Cage Size Guide
Lack of space can lead to fall outs. Ensure you have two of every item so that no piggy can claim a bed, or a food bowl as his own and stop the other from eating etc. Don’t have any enclosed hideys - ensure all hideys have two exits so that no piggy can get cornered.

Do also read the new owners information in the new owner section as well as the specific links on bonding I have attached below

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

Thank you so much for that information. I didn't realise it would go on for so long. I was so worried about going to bed.
So do I always need to have hideys with more than one way in? I have 2 wooden boxes for them (I thought one bedroom each) with only one way in. Should I make another entrance in both of them or or do you mean just while they get used to each other?
I have a cage and all 4 sides are over 170cm each. I think that's loads of room for them.
Roll on them being happy with each other cause I am stressed right out LOL. Thanks again

 

[anyar.dris]

If you can make 2 doors in both their boxes then that's good. You can leave it even after the bonding process. All my piggies' houses have 2 doors. It's just better for them in my opinion especially during play time when they are running around and chasing. The downside of that though is I have a hard time catching them.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thank you so much for that information. I didn't realise it would go on for so long. I was so worried about going to bed.
So do I always need to have hideys with more than one way in? I have 2 wooden boxes for them (I thought one bedroom each) with only one way in. Should I make another entrance in both of them or or do you mean just while they get used to each other?
I have a cage and all 4 sides are over 170cm each. I think that's loads of room for them.
Roll on them being happy with each other cause I am stressed right out LOL. Thanks again

Ideally two entrance hideys for all times. Your boys will be teenagers and have high hormone levels until they are around 15 months old. After that they begin to settle but until that time, there will be dominance and potential bickering so you don’t want them to get cornered at all during this time.

You may find well in the future that you can have an enclosed hidey but it won’t be any time soon. My boys have one enclosed hidey now but they are coming up to two years old so are past their teenage months and are well bonded and don’t bicker like teenagers do any more.