1st time owner. Behavior questions..help please

[1stTimer]

Hello! I am a new owner of two. I am always looking for information on how to give them best life and make them comfortable.

I adopted them from a friend who was allergic and had to re-home them. I don't know if they like my family. I don't know their noises and if they are comfortable. I'm taking it slow and had their cage covered at first. They're not screeching but they have grown up together since Dec 2019 and they seem to be irritated by one another. They are always teeth chattering and rumbling and shaking their butts at each other. They let us hold them and have never bit us. I just would appreciate any tips or advice that you could give to help me provide them with the comfortability that they deserve.

 

[Piggies&buns]

First, could you tell us what sex the piggies are, how big their cage is and how long you’ve had them.

the behaviours you describe - teeth chattering, rumbling etc are all entirely normal dominance behaviours. It’s what piggies do, it’s not necessarily that they are annoyed with each other. There were warning signs within behaviours but without knowing more about what is going on we can’t comment further.

When you put piggies in a new environment, such as now they are in your home, they will need to reestablish their relationship. During this time you see an increase in dominance behaviours. For well bonded piggies, this will settle down without any problem. But in piggies whose relationship may have already been rocky then it can cause them to fall out and need separating. if they are boars and they really don’t like each other, then you will see an increase in aggression (do not confuse normal dominance with aggression) and potentially leading to a full on fight.

I'm assuming that they were born in December 2019 by your description, so this means that they are hormonal teenagers. this means dominance behaviours will be greater during this time.

You must ensure their cage is big enough as lack of space can cause problems between them, particularly as hormonal teenagers.
two sows need a cage a minimum of 120cm x 60cm but 150cm x 60cm is better.
two boars need much more space and their cage needs to be 180cm x 60cm

these guides below are for new owners. Do give them a read, there is a lot there, but they will explain everything to you better than we can in a reply here. There is a section on how to settle new piggies, specific behaviour section which will help explain the behaviours you are seeing as well as giving you specific information for boars and sows

we are of course happy to answer any further questions, but we do need a bit more information from you

New Owners' Most Helpful How-To Guides and Information

 

[Wiebke]

Hello! I am a new owner of two. I am always looking for information on how to give them best life and make them comfortable.

I adopted them from a friend who was allergic and had to re-home them. I don't know if they like my family. I don't know their noises and if they are comfortable. I'm taking it slow and had their cage covered at first. They're not screeching but they have grown up together since Dec 2019 and they seem to be irritated by one another. They are always teeth chattering and rumbling and shaking their butts at each other. They let us hold them and have never bit us. I just would appreciate any tips or advice that you could give to help me provide them with the comfortability that they deserve.

Hi and welcome

I assume that you have two boys from their behaviour? How big is their cage? How long have you had them?
Can you please upload a video on a public setting elsewere and then copy it into this thread so we can assess their behaviour. Please be aware that guinea pigs always need to re-establish their hierarchical group in any new territory, which means a couple of weeks of increased dominance behaviour in their new home or in a different place/cage. if there are underlying rifts from previous clashes, these will come to the fore. It doesn't help that your boys are still teenagers. So far, it sounds like they are right up at the line but careful to not cross it and get into a fight. It can be nerve-racking, especially if you are new to it.

Please take the time to read these practical and informative guides here. You should find them very helpful. We cannot type out all the tips in every post, seeing that we are all advising on the forum for free in our free time.
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars (especially chapters 2 and 3)
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Cage Size Guide