Very Horny Boy...

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Mamphers

Mamphers

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So the teenage hormones have definitely hit! Miguel is trying to hump Tulio every ten to fifteen minutes... Tulio is having none of it. We have believed Tulio to be the dominant pig (although the smaller of the two)

There's been a lot of teeth chattering, can't tell if it's headbutting or nipping and spinning but no blood yet. I've already out a hump toy in, the poor hedgehog from IKEA has a good amount of boar glue on him now.

Just as I'm typing this Tulio properly lunged at Miguel. I'm really worried about my boys. Am giving the cage a deep clean tonight, is it worth giving them a bath too? Basically just need Miguel to stop annoying Tulio. randy little guy.

Please help! I'm at home all day so will be monitoring them. I'm back at work tomorrow though and scared of leaving them alone.
 
Update; all quiet at the moment. Hoping it was just a randy morning for Miguel. I know I have to just leave them to it, just wondering if a bonding bath will help with the randiness of Miguel.
 
Just tagging in @Wiebke for you. Sorry I have no experience with boys
 
I've only ever had boars, so I know a bit about bonding them.

From my experience I wouldn't bathe them, unless you're happy to start the bonding process from scratch.

Plus bathing them is not going to mask their smells forever, so you might just be postponing things.

If you're not happy to leave them alone tomorrow then I would split them, and start to re-bond when you have enough time to watch them. I usually start it on Friday evening and I until Sunday evening to monitor it.

It doesn't sound too bad to me, so I would personally leave them be. The one lunge might be enough to put Miguel in his place. I've seen that happen a few times. Or if it not then you're around at the moment to watch for fights and intervene if necessary.

Are they both still eating? Is either hiding more, or looks like they're reluctant to move around?

I currently have 2 boars, and one is always rumbling around the other. A few people might be uncomfortable about it, but the other pig is okay with it. He mainly ignores him and still wanders around the cage and will eat happily. He just has a black shadow two steps behind him.
 
Mamphers said:
So the teenage hormones have definitely hit! Miguel is trying to hump Tulio every ten to fifteen minutes... Tulio is having none of it. We have believed Tulio to be the dominant pig (although the smaller of the two)

There's been a lot of teeth chattering, can't tell if it's headbutting or nipping and spinning but no blood yet. I've already out a hump toy in, the poor hedgehog from IKEA has a good amount of boar glue on him now.

Just as I'm typing this Tulio properly lunged at Miguel. I'm really worried about my boys. Am giving the cage a deep clean tonight, is it worth giving them a bath too? Basically just need Miguel to stop annoying Tulio. randy little guy.

Please help! I'm at home all day so will be monitoring them. I'm back at work tomorrow though and scared of leaving them alone.
Click to expand...

I am afraid you have to live with hormone spikes in the next few months. I have found it helpful to give them lots of space in an indoors run (or in my case, the time shared roaming area of my piggy room that is not covered by cages. I usually put down my currently 7 months old boy (who had quite a lively phase a few weeks ago) that is full of oats first to let him work off some of the steam and excess energy by running and popcorning (and winding up the other boars on the ground floor). Or I leave him roaming for longer if he is still a bit riled up. That has usually done the trick.

If necessary, split the boys overnight to let them cool down, but be aware that you cannot to do it all the time or you additionally destabilise the bond.

I would not deep clean too thoroughly, just wipe off the testosterone-laden urine. If you remove any trace of their scent marking, it can trigger a new hierarchy sort-out if the cage is smelling like new territory. Teenage boys can be very iffy about having their scent marks removed. At the moment, you are walking a bit of a tightrope, unfortunately. I would not stress the boys out with a bath unless you have had good reason to split them and need to re-introduce them in a calmer atmosphere a day or two later.

If you introduce a run newly, I would strongly recommend to wipe it over with some soiled bedding and to use some fleece that carries their scent to minimise any dominance behaviour. If you want to use any hideys in a run, use children's stools that have four open sides and have more than one, thus removing any flashpoints for problems. Put a pile of hay or sprinkle some grass in the middle, or use adding hay or grass as a bit of a distraction.

Please be aware that lunging translates as a very strongly worded "stay away from me". It is NOT a gesture of aggression. It all depends on how the other piggy takes it; if the other party takes a step back, then there is nothing to worry.

You may find these guides here helpful in reading the situation and being able to make as informed a judgement as possible:
Illustrated Bonding / Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics
Boars: Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
 
Jaycey said:
I've only ever had boars, so I know a bit about bonding them.

From my experience I wouldn't bathe them, unless you're happy to start the bonding process from scratch.

Plus bathing them is not going to mask their smells forever, so you might just be postponing things.

If you're not happy to leave them alone tomorrow then I would split them, and start to re-bond when you have enough time to watch them. I usually start it on Friday evening and I until Sunday evening to monitor it.

It doesn't sound too bad to me, so I would personally leave them be. The one lunge might be enough to put Miguel in his place. I've seen that happen a few times. Or if it not then you're around at the moment to watch for fights and intervene if necessary.

Are they both still eating? Is either hiding more, or looks like they're reluctant to move around?

I currently have 2 boars, and one is always rumbling around the other. A few people might be uncomfortable about it, but the other pig is okay with it. He mainly ignores him and still wanders around the cage and will eat happily. He just has a black shadow two steps behind him.
Click to expand...

Jaycey I have added you to my boar contacts :)) Expect tags and lots of them :)) x
 
Jaycey said:
I've only ever had boars, so I know a bit about bonding them.

From my experience I wouldn't bathe them, unless you're happy to start the bonding process from scratch.

Plus bathing them is not going to mask their smells forever, so you might just be postponing things.

If you're not happy to leave them alone tomorrow then I would split them, and start to re-bond when you have enough time to watch them. I usually start it on Friday evening and I until Sunday evening to monitor it.

It doesn't sound too bad to me, so I would personally leave them be. The one lunge might be enough to put Miguel in his place. I've seen that happen a few times. Or if it not then you're around at the moment to watch for fights and intervene if necessary.

Are they both still eating? Is either hiding more, or looks like they're reluctant to move around?

I currently have 2 boars, and one is always rumbling around the other. A few people might be uncomfortable about it, but the other pig is okay with it. He mainly ignores him and still wanders around the cage and will eat happily. He just has a black shadow two steps behind him.
Click to expand...

They are both eating, Miguel is happy to explore the cage and will come up to the side for treats and scrits, but Tulio less so. I'm unsure if this is because he is a shy piggy. Their main hidey's have a hay tray each in and when fresh veggies go down Tulio will venture out.

Miguel seems to always have more energy, he's much more likely to be running laps and popcorning, I'm yet to see Tulio popcorn in a happy way :(

We've had a run delivered today for floor time which is slightly larger than their 2*5 c and c cage. They've been quiet since this morning so I think Miguel either got put in his place or tired himself out.

How will I know if Tulio is stressed by it all? Apart from not eating.

@Wiebke thank you for your advice again, you've both put my mind at ease. I was reminded recently that when I was young, my step sisters guinea pigs turned on one of their herd and killed the poor thing. Think I must have residual anxiety from this!

Ironically, Tulio seems to really enjoy laptime, will happily settle, eat and enjoys some nose rubs. Miguel's too much of a fidget!
 
Too late.... you have been rumbled missus
 
Mamphers said:
They are both eating, Miguel is happy to explore the cage and will come up to the side for treats and scrits, but Tulio less so. I'm unsure if this is because he is a shy piggy. Their main hidey's have a hay tray each in and when fresh veggies go down Tulio will venture out.

Miguel seems to always have more energy, he's much more likely to be running laps and popcorning, I'm yet to see Tulio popcorn in a happy way :(

We've had a run delivered today for floor time which is slightly larger than their 2*5 c and c cage. They've been quiet since this morning so I think Miguel either got put in his place or tired himself out.

How will I know if Tulio is stressed by it all? Apart from not eating.

@Wiebke thank you for your advice again, you've both put my mind at ease. I was reminded recently that when I was young, my step sisters guinea pigs turned on one of their herd and killed the poor thing. Think I must have residual anxiety from this!

Ironically, Tulio seems to really enjoy laptime, will happily settle, eat and enjoys some nose rubs. Miguel's too much of a fidget!
Click to expand...



A sign of stress would be him not moving around as much, maybe hanging around inside a hidey, or under hay, when that's not something he normally does. Or him making whinging noises whenever the other piggy is around. Moving away from the food when Miguel is around would be a sign of him not being happy.

It would be a good time to start weighing them both. Try to do it daily, at the same time for a while. Then you can see if he's losing weight because he's not getting his fair share of food.

It can be a tough time when they're bonding with each other, so try not to worry. From what you describe then it sounds like it's all going okay x
 
Mamphers said:
They are both eating, Miguel is happy to explore the cage and will come up to the side for treats and scrits, but Tulio less so. I'm unsure if this is because he is a shy piggy. Their main hidey's have a hay tray each in and when fresh veggies go down Tulio will venture out.

Miguel seems to always have more energy, he's much more likely to be running laps and popcorning, I'm yet to see Tulio popcorn in a happy way :(

We've had a run delivered today for floor time which is slightly larger than their 2*5 c and c cage. They've been quiet since this morning so I think Miguel either got put in his place or tired himself out.

How will I know if Tulio is stressed by it all? Apart from not eating.

@Wiebke thank you for your advice again, you've both put my mind at ease. I was reminded recently that when I was young, my step sisters guinea pigs turned on one of their herd and killed the poor thing. Think I must have residual anxiety from this!

Ironically, Tulio seems to really enjoy laptime, will happily settle, eat and enjoys some nose rubs. Miguel's too much of a fidget!
Click to expand...

Every piggy has got its own personality. Tulio is not unhappy just because he is not popcorning; by far not all piggies are popcorners or runners! They are just themselves. Miguel is simply the energetic one and Tulio is the laid-back and cuddly one. This is actually not a bad combination for making it to adulthood together. ;)

The good thing about boars is that they make it plain when they have reached their limit of endurance; or those that cannot stand up for themselves show clear signs of being bullied. Tulio is in neither group.
I would recommend to make sure that for the next few months you only use hideys with more than one exit as far as the boys are concerned. If you have the space to use stools, they are cheap and ideal.

At the moment, there is nothing you need to do; just leave them be as much as you can.
 
I'm not sure if my experience will be of any use up against the far more experienced members here, but every teen male pair I've ever had has been through similar experiences to yours. Currently my two are in the middle of it too, so I feel your pain! I find my two get at eachother a LOT more when their cage and run are coming up for a clean because they effectively compete to out stink eachother. That said, once it's clean, they almost immediately calm down again. I try to minimise their kick offs by cleaning out cage and run on different days, so they can always smell a BIT of themselves, but not so much that they're competing if you see what I mean?

I never bathe them unless they're literally drenched in pee (because projectile pee fights are a thing, with my two...), and even then I mostly just wipe them off over full bath. They do better if they're left to get on with it as much as is safe, generally, and I don't intervene in fights unless blood is drawn and/or one of them is visibly suffering in the situation (i.e. not eating, lethargic, clearly unhappy etc). It takes about a year, usually, in my experience at least, and then you're free and clear if they made it that far! Right now, I'm at about 6 months with my two and so far so good, so I have faith! I've got my fingers crossed your boys make it too! :)
 
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