Teejay
Adult Guinea Pig
Hi there (apologies in advance for the essay!)
Well, as the title says, I had my first ever boar fall-out over the weekend, and it's got me flummoxed!
I've had these two lovely big chunky Agoutis, Jimbo and Fergus, to stay with me before (last Summer, when they were 6/7 months old). So, by my reckoning, they're about a year old now.
I clearly remember that things were a bit fraught and 'on a knife-edge' when they stayed last Summer (they gave me a few extra grey hairs while they were staying :... believe me!). Anyway, when the owner came to collect them, I mentioned their behaviour (I was suggesting that he keep a close on them) and he confirmed that they're like that "all the time".
Oh, as a side issue, the owner doesn't even know their names....keeps referring to them as "the ginger one" and "the brown one"......:{
So, they checked-in on Friday. There were three other settled boar pairs in the boarding room with them (but no females - we haven't had a pair of sows stay with us for quite some time). They couldn't see or touch any of the other boar pairs, but of course they could smell them and hear them.
It goes without saying that the cage was fully stripped down and disinfected before they moved into it (including the bars), all of the bowls, bottles and the plastic hidey-house were sterilised (with Milton) and the vetbed was freshly washed. So the cage itself shouldn't have had any lingering scent in it.
Anyway, they started with mildly aggressive behaviour within about an hour of their arrival, which escalated over the course of the day. I tried everything to diffuse it before it got out of hand (I tried distraction, I draped the sides of the cage with a fleece dabbed with Olbas oil, I dabbed Vics on their noses and rumps, etc)
But it got so bad that I had no choice but to separate them overnight on Friday night (I was making up a new cage for one of them at 1am....yawn yawn!)
On Saturday morning, I tried everything I could think of to re-bond them (they were shrieking for each other, bless them!). I bathed them both, dried them off, and put them in a neutral space while I sorted out a new cage for them. I was watching them while I was sorting out the new cage, and I have to admit I was pretty chuffed with myself; they were happy as Larry, wandering round nose to tail, 'put-putting' gently while they investigated and snuggling up to each other....."success" I thought!
Yeah right! As soon as I put them into the new cage, they were off again, worse than before. So I separated them again, and tried them in another new cage with new bedding and furniture, this time in a completely different room to the other boars. Nope, they were having none of it....it degenerated into a proper full-on fur flying episode. I can't find any bites or injuries on either of them, but it got pretty nasty.
So, now they're apart (and back in the boarding room). Their cages are side-by-side, so they can see and touch each other, and I keep swapping over their snuggly beds, so they can keep that familiar link with each other.
Other than house every single pair of boars in a different room (impractical), or refuse point-blank to board boar pairs (also impractical!), what else can we do?
We've had loads of boar pairs board with us, and this is the first fall-out we've had. Having had a pair of our own boars fall out in the past, we're well aware of the delicate nature of a boar bonding, so we take all precautions we possibly can to prevent scent transferring from one cage to another....we use alcohol hand rub between cages, and we use different cleaning implements for each cage.
Sigh....I'm a bit befuddled :{ I do suspect, though, that these boys have been fighting / on the verge of falling-out for quite some time. Their owner brought them to me in their own cage, which was a 100cm Zoozone, and they're big lads, so that's completely unsuitable accommodation for them (although I understand they go out into a run on occasions).
You know, my vet once recommended bonding should take place in a very small space (she suggested a pet carrier) so there was no space for them to stand off and take a flying leap at each other (if you know what I mean?). I've never tried it myself (it sounded like a bad idea to me at the time rolleyes) but maybe she had a point, maybe them being in such an enclosed space has had a calming effect on them?
Anyway, enough rambling from me! Any input or advice is very welcome!
Tracey x
PS - we're planning to try another re-bonding before they go home.....another buddy bath and a few hours in a neutral space, maybe a garden run if the weather is ok.....we're really not looking forward to the whole "your boys have fallen out" conversation when the owner collects them
Well, as the title says, I had my first ever boar fall-out over the weekend, and it's got me flummoxed!
I've had these two lovely big chunky Agoutis, Jimbo and Fergus, to stay with me before (last Summer, when they were 6/7 months old). So, by my reckoning, they're about a year old now.
I clearly remember that things were a bit fraught and 'on a knife-edge' when they stayed last Summer (they gave me a few extra grey hairs while they were staying :... believe me!). Anyway, when the owner came to collect them, I mentioned their behaviour (I was suggesting that he keep a close on them) and he confirmed that they're like that "all the time".
Oh, as a side issue, the owner doesn't even know their names....keeps referring to them as "the ginger one" and "the brown one"......:{
So, they checked-in on Friday. There were three other settled boar pairs in the boarding room with them (but no females - we haven't had a pair of sows stay with us for quite some time). They couldn't see or touch any of the other boar pairs, but of course they could smell them and hear them.
It goes without saying that the cage was fully stripped down and disinfected before they moved into it (including the bars), all of the bowls, bottles and the plastic hidey-house were sterilised (with Milton) and the vetbed was freshly washed. So the cage itself shouldn't have had any lingering scent in it.
Anyway, they started with mildly aggressive behaviour within about an hour of their arrival, which escalated over the course of the day. I tried everything to diffuse it before it got out of hand (I tried distraction, I draped the sides of the cage with a fleece dabbed with Olbas oil, I dabbed Vics on their noses and rumps, etc)
But it got so bad that I had no choice but to separate them overnight on Friday night (I was making up a new cage for one of them at 1am....yawn yawn!)
On Saturday morning, I tried everything I could think of to re-bond them (they were shrieking for each other, bless them!). I bathed them both, dried them off, and put them in a neutral space while I sorted out a new cage for them. I was watching them while I was sorting out the new cage, and I have to admit I was pretty chuffed with myself; they were happy as Larry, wandering round nose to tail, 'put-putting' gently while they investigated and snuggling up to each other....."success" I thought!
Yeah right! As soon as I put them into the new cage, they were off again, worse than before. So I separated them again, and tried them in another new cage with new bedding and furniture, this time in a completely different room to the other boars. Nope, they were having none of it....it degenerated into a proper full-on fur flying episode. I can't find any bites or injuries on either of them, but it got pretty nasty.
So, now they're apart (and back in the boarding room). Their cages are side-by-side, so they can see and touch each other, and I keep swapping over their snuggly beds, so they can keep that familiar link with each other.
Other than house every single pair of boars in a different room (impractical), or refuse point-blank to board boar pairs (also impractical!), what else can we do?
We've had loads of boar pairs board with us, and this is the first fall-out we've had. Having had a pair of our own boars fall out in the past, we're well aware of the delicate nature of a boar bonding, so we take all precautions we possibly can to prevent scent transferring from one cage to another....we use alcohol hand rub between cages, and we use different cleaning implements for each cage.
Sigh....I'm a bit befuddled :{ I do suspect, though, that these boys have been fighting / on the verge of falling-out for quite some time. Their owner brought them to me in their own cage, which was a 100cm Zoozone, and they're big lads, so that's completely unsuitable accommodation for them (although I understand they go out into a run on occasions).
You know, my vet once recommended bonding should take place in a very small space (she suggested a pet carrier) so there was no space for them to stand off and take a flying leap at each other (if you know what I mean?). I've never tried it myself (it sounded like a bad idea to me at the time rolleyes) but maybe she had a point, maybe them being in such an enclosed space has had a calming effect on them?
Anyway, enough rambling from me! Any input or advice is very welcome!
Tracey x
PS - we're planning to try another re-bonding before they go home.....another buddy bath and a few hours in a neutral space, maybe a garden run if the weather is ok.....we're really not looking forward to the whole "your boys have fallen out" conversation when the owner collects them
They really are gorgeous boys (as Merrypip will confirm, I'm sure) and it's a shame that they'll be living apart, but unfortunately that's the way this particular cookie has crumbled, so to speak! I'm sure that, as long as they get plenty of human interaction, they'll be fine and happy (especially Jimbo, he's a complete darling and a total attention seeker x))