Rumble-strutting or —?

[b.grace.xox]

Hi!

I am a New Guinea pig owner so forgive me if I seem a bit clueless!

I got two boars back in December, two siblings who just turned 3 months old. They do quite a bit of rumble-strutting, which I understand is a boundary setting/dominance display. They've never reared/lunged/nipped/hissed or done any sort of aggressive move towards the other. However, it seems as if both act... almost happy and/or excited? when doing so. They will run around their cage and have zoomies, along with lots and lots of popcorning, even whilst in the middle of wiggling their tail ends at each other and rumbling. I was wondering if the zoomies and popcorning during these dominance displays are normal rumble-strutting activities or if any of those rumbles could be perceived as happy sounds?

 

[Lorcan]

I had a pair of boars that did this continually, the shenanigans would end when one would try to hump the other and predictably fall off before there was an excited chase. Usually in the wee hours of the morning, usually the fault of one of the pair in particular For the moment it sounds like normal young boar behaviour, there's a definite difference between excited and angry.

 

[Siikibam]

It all sounds normal. They’ll be starting their teens at four months. Make sure they cage is large enough (12sq feet), that they have two of everything and all hides have two exits.

Being related doesn’t mean anything. It’s all about compatibility. But don’t be put off because most boar pairs do make it through their teens still liking each other.

Have a read of the guides I’m linking below.

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs