Signs of a Pig Bullying His Cagemate?

jerico

jerico

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi Guys,
I've been posting a lot frequently regarding my two boars, Pablo and Pepper. I recently posted a picture of them resting inside Pablo's barn and I thought everything would be okay after the whole introduction, but I feel like I'm running into some problems again. After I took that picture, I went to bed and there wasn't any bad signs of bullying between the two. Pepper has been chasing Pablo around the cage for the past two days, he's biting his ear, will try to take away any treats I give them (I always carry 2 of every treat for both), and moves Pablo out of the spot where he sleeps. He won't even allow Pablo to poop or pee without trying to mark his territory.

I don't know what to do. The cage is big enough for both pigs and their food bowls and water bottles are at different sides of the cage. Pablo hasn't always been the most social pig when it comes to human interaction, but now he's becoming a little more closed off, if I try to pet him, he won't let me. Pablo is in fact very moody, but he's not aggressive, however I can't say the same thing about Pepper. He tries to challenge Pablo every chance he gets and while Pablo doesn't follow his lead, he does get annoyed too.

Any other suggestions so I can help these two? Is Pepper really bullying Pablo?

P.S. I should also mention that Pepper tends to act a little jealous. If I hand feed Pablo, he also wants to be hand fed. If I coo at Pablo, so does he. If I scratch his head, Pepper will come near but won't let me touch him.

I just took out Pablo from out of the cage to give him some "me" time and he's started to run and jump. Something he hasn't been doing when he's in the cage with Pepper.
 
jerico said:
After I took that picture, I went to bed and there wasn't any bad signs of bullying between the two. Pepper has been chasing Pablo around the cage for the past two days,
Click to expand...
I meant to write: After I took the picture, I went to bed and there wasn't any signs of bullying between the two. After morning the next day, Pepper began to chase Pablo around the cage and has been doing it since.


Update: Unfortunately, I had to separate Pepper from Pablo. He won't leave him alone and honestly I'm really disappointed on how this played out. I'm thinking of returning Pepper as I do not have the space to keep a pig on a different cage (my mom got baby chicks, now she's using Pepper's old cage). I really love Pepper, but he can't get along with Pablo and I'm scared his ear biting will eventually turn into a messy fight.

Pepper hasn't just been acting aggressive with Pablo, but with me as well. I don't know how to make the junior more comfortable around me. However, it looks like Pepper is one of the pigs who likes their space. He's playing by himself, he's running and he's resting and eating. Pablo looks a lot more relaxed now, thankfully.
 
@jerico How long have you had them? They could be still trying to determine who is boss.

If you do decide to split them then what will you do? Do you have space for another two pigs?
 
@Jaycey :
I've had Pablo for a year now and Pepper for a week. I'm thinking of giving them both another week to adjust to each other, but tonight I had to separate the two because Pepper kept chasing Pablo around and wouldn't leave him alone.

I think it's just Pepper trying to determine who's boss. Pablo only shows signs of aggression when he's had enough of Pepper's nonsense, but so far Pablo's been very laidback and hasn't bothered Pablo since the introduction. Pepper on the other hand has gone as far as to lunge and constantly bites him. I've seen Pablo trying to do the same thing, but when I bring it to his attention, he stops and just avoids Pepper.

Unfortunately I don't have the space to get another two pigs, which is why I'm disappointed about the results of how these two ended up.
 
@jerico It sounds like you may have to return Pepper to the rescue then, and try Pablo with a new friend. I'm sorry that it didn't work out.

It would be worth asking to see if you can try boar dating with Pablo. Or would you have him neutered and get him a lady friend?
 
@Jaycey :
It looks like I do. They have both relaxed significantly since I separated them last night, so I don't think allowing them to get used to each other for another week will work.
 
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