When you bring piggies home they go into two weeks of restablishing their bond, this happens regardless of if they’ve always been together. This increases dominance behaviour but in well bonded pairs it settles down and doesn’t come to anything.
In some cases it can unfortunately cause dysfunction and incompatibilities to come to light.
If you are witnessing actual fights, or they’re rolling around fighting or injuring each other then that can usually mean that sadly they cannot remain together.
How old are they?
You will expect to see dominance increase as they reach the teens and hormones start to rise. Again in well bonded pairs it doesn’t come to anything but in piggies who are the same age the behaviours are amplified as they go through hormone spikes at the same time.
How big is your cage? Two boars need 180x60cm. Lack of space will cause issues between two boys
We do not recommend that food bowls are used.
Veg and pellet portions should be scattered around the cage and in loose hay piles.
This minimises food hogging by the dominant and also is an excellent source of mental stimulation and enrichment.
Do you have multiple of all resources in the cage? Including hay piles
Do all hides have two exits?
Hides with one exit should not be used as it increases the risks of fights occurring inside.
To be clear though that if they are actually fighting and they don’t like each other then they most likely are going to need to be put into two separate but side by side cages
Bonds In Trouble
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
