One boar becomes agitated in bonded boy pair

[Misses33]

I have a bonded pair of boys that have been bonded for about 8 months now. They are both estimated to be 2-3 years old. They have been fine with each other up until now. They have a 14 sq ft c&c cage, 2 food bowls, 2 water bottles, 2 hay options, and multiple houses with 2 entrances. Out of the blue tonight my short haired boar named charlie started fighting with my long haired boar alfie. I waited to make sure they were actually fighting and not fighting for dominance but when I saw teeth I seperated them with dividers. They are both pretty agitated but they are eating and drinking water. I am going to try giving them baths and cleaning the cage , but I was wondering if anyone has had this happen and if you have any tips?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Sadly an underlying rift can come to the surface and cause a bond to fail.
We do not recommend bathing them, there is little benefit in doing so. Instead, please read the bonds in trouble guide and follow the steps in there. They will need to be separated and give time to calm down. If they are happier being apart and in separate cages then that is your answer and their bond has failed and they won’t be able to live together.

After a couple of days apart, you could try a reintroduction on neutral territory. It will become obviously rather quickly upon neutral territory reintroduction whether their bond stands a chance - they will either fight during the rebonding in which case they will need to be permanently separated and live as neighbours in side by side cages, or their separation will have calmed them down enough for them to work things out.

Bonds In Trouble