Skinny pig super active

[harrylizzle]

Hello,

My skinny currently lives alone because he was fighting off mites. He did come with a twin brother ut I had to separate them because of the mites. I did manage to put their cages closer together so they can still see each other and possibly touch noses. Now he is constantly biting one the cage rattling it and crying as if he wants to play or he misses his brother but anytime I take him out to play he runs around with upset dominating sounds even if hes alone or hes crying running around. I try to bond his brother with him again but hes become very aggressive constantly trying to dominate while his mother is trying to get away. I try to see how its gonna go but they become aggressive so I separate. I'm not sure what to do because hes constantly whining and rattling the cage at his brother likes he wants to play but when hes out and around him hes aggressive. what do I do!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Having mites is not a reason to separate piggies. When one piggy has mites, you simply treat them both but leave them together, and exercise hygiene of the cage. Medical separation can break a bond between two piggies so piggies should not be separated unless their bond completely fails .

When you tried to introduce them, did you carry out a proper neutral territory reintroduction?
When they go back together, one piggy is going to try to assert his dominance as this is how they would reestablish their relationship. You say aggressive and one was trying to get away. Do be aware that normal dominance behaviours can look extreme to us but are totally normal to them. If they did not have a full on fight, then you need to leave them to get on with it and sort their relationship out.

If they did not actually have a fight and cause injuries during a reintroduction, Then please do try to reintroduce them again on neutral territory and see if they can sort things out.
If they can, then please do move them back into the same cage together again.

If not, and the separation has broken their relationship, then they will need to live in separate csges side by side permanently. They must not have physical contact with each other if they cannot live in the same cage any longer. You could temporarily cover the bars to see if he calms down and then slowly (over a period of days), remove the cover so they can see each other through the bars again.

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Bonds In Trouble
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

 

[dhill_cb7]

Dominance behavior is normal (humping, chasing, runble strutting). Only separation should occur if there are full fledged fights with blood. You will know a fight when it occurs. The pigs will be one ball of fur and they won’t separate.

You cannot keep putting them together and taking them apart. This restarts the entire bonding process. This does more harm than good. Bonding needs to occur on neutral territory and lasts hours. The new cage must be completely wiped down before they go back and they are bonded.

Why did you separate for mites? You should have left them together and treated both? More experts will chime in but I don’t believe that is something to solit up the pair.

Is this boar neutered? If not the sow comes into season and your boar is trying to get into her cage and he is trying to get back with her to make babies. You cannot put them together if he is not neutered as a sow can get pregnant in a short period of time.

Other members will be along to offer more advice. Good luck and please provide some answers to the questions I asked. This will help offer more advice.

 

[harrylizzle]

Dominance behavior is normal (humping, chasing, runble strutting). Only separation should occur if there are full fledged fights with blood. You will know a fight when it occurs. The pigs will be one ball of fur and they won’t separate.

You cannot keep putting them together and taking them apart. This restarts the entire bonding process. This does more harm than good. Bonding needs to occur on neutral territory and lasts hours. The new cage must be completely wiped down before they go back and they are bonded.

Why did you separate for mites? You should have left them together and treated both? More experts will chime in but I don’t believe that is something to solit up the pair.

Is this boar neutered? If not the sow comes into season and your boar is trying to get into her cage and he is trying to get back with her to make babies. You cannot put them together if he is not neutered as a sow can get pregnant in a short period of time.

Other members will be along to offer more advice. Good luck and please provide some answers to the questions I asked. This will help offer more advice.

Both everyone asking why I separated them my vet told me to so I dont know.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Both everyone asking why I separated them my vet told me to so I dont know.

Unfortunately not all vets appreciate the essential social aspects and then advise to separate them which unfortunately can cause a lot more harm than good. It’s best to not separate them for a medical reason.

Try to reintroduce them on neutral territory, you will see dominance behaviours but ensure you don’t mistake them for aggression (mounting, chasing, rumbling is not aggression - they will do all these behaviours while they try to reform their relationship), and see if they will go back together. The bonding only fails if they have a full on fight.
The guides I linked in explain how to do it properly.

If they do fight then the separation has broken their bond, then sadly they will need to live apart and you will need to make sure they don’t have any physical time together any more - so you will need to do separate floor times etc