Why Is Duncan Biting The Bars?!

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TheCavySlave

TheCavySlave

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Duncan keeps biting and tugging the bars, and trying to get to the gap between the bars and the coroplast. It's really distressing to see. We've blocked his view from Godfrey, because seeing his brother seems to anger him, and that seemed to help it a bit. I'm worried they'll be lonely, but if they see each other Duncan seems to get really angry. If Duncan's loose in the room and Godfrey's in his cage, there's rumbling, yawning, raised fur and teeth chattering. It's really stressing me out.
 
TheCavySlave said:
Duncan keeps biting and tugging the bars, and trying to get to the gap between the bars and the coroplast. It's really distressing to see. We've blocked his view from Godfrey, because seeing his brother seems to anger him, and that seemed to help it a bit. I'm worried they'll be lonely, but if they see each other Duncan seems to get really angry. If Duncan's loose in the room and Godfrey's in his cage, there's rumbling, yawning, raised fur and teeth chattering. It's really stressing me out.
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If the aggro is that extreme, I would keep them out of sight of each other. Sorry that it has gone that badly pear-shaped. Would you consider keeping the brothers on top of each other so you could find them a suitable companion each at a rescue to ensure that you do not end with more boar bond fails?
 
That's the problem- I'm worried they'll be lonely but we could definitely not cope with more pigs. Getting them a friend each would mean four pigs and I'm just keeping on top of coping with two- my anxiety's pretty bad, and four pigs would be far too much. It feels like a situation with no escape- we could rehome, but I'd miss them terribly and rescues probably have too many pigs as it is. I wish we could keep them separate, without them seeing each other, and just have things that way. But they might get lonely! It's a dead end, probably. No way out. Should we...I mean, is rehoming the best option for them?
 
Only you can answer that but you seem to have a few options. What age are the boys?
Keep both but separately, with no contact though so as you say, not great for them socially.
Rehome both, a rescue will find them good homes, people like me with boars are often looking for single boars after a bereavement or fall out or they might be paired up with new friends in rescue. But then you have no piggies - do you want that?
Go boar dating for a new friend for each - but you seem to be discounting that idea. Only u know what your home situation is like so u are right not to go beyond what u can deal with.
Or, and I think you should think about this one, surrender one boy to a rescue and boar date the other boy - so you still have 2 boys at the end of that. But you do have to choose who to keep and boar date which I am not going to pretend would be easy.
Nothing is set in stone, just some thoughts for you. I have found with my boys you just have to think that it is a new phase, not necessarily bad, just different. :)
 
Mine do it too - I am 99% sure they are doing it to 'troll' each other to be honest. One will bite the bars if the other is asleep then run away or rumblestrut when they get up to investigate. Boys will be boys :lol!:

I don't have any advice, however they don't do it nearly as much as when they were first separated. It's becoming pretty uncommon. Maybe it will be the same for Duncan. Sending love and hugs to you and the boys.
 
It is a difficult situation, but you really have done everything possible to see if the boys can work it out.
I have a similar situation with my piggies.
Ruby currently lives with Lucy, who is the only guinea pig she has every truly tolerated.
Lucy loves everyone, and I feel confident that she wold happily re-bond with Oreo and Eddi (if necessary).
Initially when I split them I envisioned that they would have contact through the bars of the C&C.
This has not been the case.
If Ruby even catches sight of either Eddi (the most laid back piggie in the history of laid back piggies) or Oreo, she flies into a shrieking, rumble strutting rage.
The 2 groups are now separated by a cardboard divider (tied to correx grids)
I think that eventually Ruby will ed up on her own, and she will be ok with it.

If you are worried abut having the 2 boys live apart, then maybe contact a local rescue and ask about boar dating?
Maybe if you could find a partner for one you could put the other up for adoption if 2 piggies are your limit?

I am sure that whatever you do will always be in the best interests of your boys - you are clear a very devoted owner.
 
If the boys see each other it's raised fur, bar biting, chattering, rumbling, yawning. We've had to block their view entirely else Duncan will yank the bars relentlessly. Yet they may get lonely. I can't see a solution that doesn't involve rehoming.
I don't want to rehome them, but if we got new friends for them that'd be four pigs. I cannot handle any more pigs. No way. What can I do? Isn't it animal abuse to keep them alone? Is rehoming the only option? I just want what's best for the pigs. If they're okay, I'm okay. I really need advice, this is a horrible situation.
 
Sorry if it's already been suggested, but what about putting some perspex or similar up so they can't bite the bars as easily, but can still see and smell each other? They might calm down after a week or two of being able to see, but not touch the other pig.
 
Yeah, I might. Duncan nearly climbed over the bars, using a hidey as a boost. If I hadn't caught him he'd have been over,
If I can find a good rescue nearby I might rehome...the stress is really not good for me. It's so difficult to decide what to do.
 
You poor thing, it is so stressful when pigs fall out or get hurt :hug:. If we didn't have the extra space, I don't know what we would have done. Lucky we did, we've shot from 2 pigs to 9 in the last six months, oops!

If you do go the rescue route, might be worth asking if they could get placed with an owner who would let you know how they were getting on and let you see them sometimes?
 
It sounds bad but I want to sort of cut all ties. I can't handle the stress and the fear, it's taking over my life. They deserve an owner who can deal with them calmly and properly.
 
Absolutely fair, I totally understand how you feel. You aren't failing them in any way, please don't beat yourself up over this. Circumstances are out of our control sometimes and you are doing the best thing and exploring all possible options.
 
Pigs do best with cagemates, but that is not always the case. My avatar boar was a lone pig for around a year and he was okay.

How are your boys on their own? I currently have two and I know for definite, 100% that one would not handle being a lone pig.

My current two fought for a while and I had to split them up. I used to swap them into each others cage every now and that would keep them occupied for a while. Also, Podrick chews the bars constantly so I covered them with an old plastic picture frame I had lying around. After that he couldn't chew the bars but they could interact through the "window". Pod used to enjoy marching up and down the divide and rumbling. Have you tried something like that?
 
I know you are feeling all sorts of things and we can't know what is going on your brain ( u will be pleased to hear :) ) but try not to rush into anything. One of the weird upsides of anxiety (?) is that you can think through lots of scenarios and although making decisions might feel tough, you will probably have really thought it through by the time u get there. As long as the boys are safe, well fed and watered they will be fine as you think about what is right at this time.
Do u know of a rescue near by and you could just have an informal chat about options? Hope things become clearer for you.
 
To be frank, I'm considering rehoming...
I know it's rash, but the stress is too much. It's gonna be one thing after another and my anxiety is bad enough as it is.
I'll have to think it over, it's a horrible situation to be in.
 
@TheCavySlave - hang on in there,. You have had advice from various people with options, I think you need to do some local fact finding now to help your decision making. On the rescue locator /\ there seem to be a few in Surrey / Sussex area - might be worth a phone call or email when you are ready? Just to find out more - doesn't mean you have to act on it - the boys might settle down next to one another.
 
I got Mistletoe and Jingle from Palace Piggies Rescue in Crawley. They are brilliant and could be worth talking to.

Anxiety is very all consuming and loves to catastrophise.

Hope you find a good solution for your lovely boys.
 
TheCavySlave said:
To be frank, I'm considering rehoming...
I know it's rash, but the stress is too much. It's gonna be one thing after another and my anxiety is bad enough as it is.
I'll have to think it over, it's a horrible situation to be in.
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Sometimes rehoming really is the best option for everyone.
As others have already suggested it might be worth talking to a local rescue and seeing if they would take the boys, and also try to bond them with another piggie, so they would have companionship.

If you are really struggling with them, then this may well be the best option.
The other thing you could consider is asking someone to take them on for a couple of weeks to give you a break.
Do you have anyone nearby who could help out and give you time and space to think about the situation without committing to anything in the short term?
Sometimes a short break can offer much needed perspective on a really stressful situation.
 
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