Advice on Introducing two Boars please

[I.R.Haz.Piggie]

So a couple months ago we got our first guinea pig, his name is Figaro, figgy for short who is about 5 months. After getting a much larger cage we decided to get him a companion sense I see everywhere that it is strongly encouraged, since figgy is a male, we decided to get another boar. His name is Shadow. He is about 2-3 months. We have a cage that has a divider in the middle, So since he pet store assured us of their quarantine period, we decided to see how they would take each other, Figgy seemed extremely happy, hes barely made any noise since we got him and the minute we put Shadow in, he started wheekin up a storm, they seemed to be licking each other through the cage so we decided to see how they would act together, they were both doing typical boar dominance, showing teeth, rumblestruts, mounting, after 20 minutes things got a bit tense, neither one was giving, so we decided to put the divider back. Just a few lunges and such not any extreme aggressiveness it seems. They both immediately keep going back to the divider to climb up and lick each other and nibble gently. Figgy seems almost upset, it seems like they want to bond.

My questions are if anyone thinks i should open it back up and only intervene if they actually fight? Or wait a day or two? Or am i going too fast? Shadow seems to be quite comfortable for his first few days, he doesnt seem to be very stressed. Hes actually more comfortable than Figgy was. They arent being aggressive by any means, they are showing dominant behavior, but noone is budging and we were hoping Shadow would just give in since he was the younger one and the new jack, i just dont want to ruin their relationship by either introducing too early, or if they want to bond..not letting them, they seem very interested in each other from what i see.

 

[Claire W]

Are you putting them in neutral territory to bond eg somewhere neither of them have been before? If not, make sure that you do so on there next meeting but it all sounds promising to me. Let them get in with it and only separate if things become very tense, they begin to fight.

You may find the following link helpful Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

 

[I.R.Haz.Piggie]

Are you putting them in neutral territory to bond eg somewhere neither of them have been before? If not, make sure that you do so on there next meeting but it all sounds promising to me. Let them get in with it and only separate if things become very tense, they begin to fight.

You may find the following link helpful Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

Thank you! We have a little pack n play that we will be using shortly, but we werent expecting them to act so attracted to each other so quickly, which is why we decided to jump the gun, i feel that in my reluctance, i separated them prematurely, we do have an extra cage if need be but i just dont wanna ruin it before the magic happens lol. I appreciate your feedback! Yea we will be using that pack and play to see if they can find some common ground together lol.

Do you know anything about the mounting? Like if Figgy doesnt stop should i keep them separate? Figgy keeps trying to mount Shadow and he seems annoyed by it, not angry or aggressive really though, he lunges a little bit and tries to mount Figgy himself but nowhere near as much, Figgy is a creep jk i love my Figster lol. But yea, if he just doesnt stop trying to mount and Shadow wont bend, should i keep them apart even if they arent violent?

 

[Piggies&buns]

As above, any bonding needs to take place on entirely neutral territory. Please do not just remove a divider and allow a piggy to wander in the territory of another as this is a way to cause a problem.
Please do use the guide Claire has linked in on how to carry out a bonding.

With boars, you cannot stop/start a bonding. It needs to be done all in one go and seen through to conclusion whether that is success or failure. Do be aware that as character compatibility comes first and as you are trying to bond a teenage boar with an almost teenage boar, things may not be straightforward. Its not a given that a younger piggy will be submissive and if they both want to be dominant and neither prepared to back down into a submissive position, then this is when problems can occur.
Hopefully it will all be successful, but with any bonding when a piggy has been brought home on spec, you do need to that that plan b in place in case they aren't compatible.

At Shadow's age, he is too young to be quarantined or kept away from another piggy so you do need to try the bonding straight away.

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thank you! We have a little pack n play that we will be using shortly, but we werent expecting them to act so attracted to each other so quickly, which is why we decided to jump the gun, i feel that in my reluctance, i separated them prematurely, we do have an extra cage if need be but i just dont wanna ruin it before the magic happens lol. I appreciate your feedback! Yea we will be using that pack and play to see if they can find some common ground together lol.

Do you know anything about the mounting? Like if Figgy doesnt stop should i keep them separate? Figgy keeps trying to mount Shadow and he seems annoyed by it, not angry or aggressive really though, he lunges a little bit and tries to mount Figgy himself but nowhere near as much, Figgy is a creep jk i love my Figster lol. But yea, if he just doesnt stop trying to mount and Shadow wont bend, should i keep them apart even if they arent violent?

Mounting is normal and its something they will do throughout life. As I said, as you are trying to bond a teenage boar, then the hormones are raging making it more intense.
They do need to go through the process though and it takes a full two weeks after the bonding day for them to fully sort out their hierarchy so you are going to see a lot of dominance behaviours over the coming weeks (and months given they are both going to be teenagers at the same time)
Dont interrupt them unless they fight or it becomes obvious that things aren't going to work out. The guides I linked in explain what behaviours you are positive and ones which aren't. Do be aware that laying against a divider or how they behave during the time they were separated is not an indication of how things will go - for example, laying against a dividing grid can actually be a hostile movement and a way of marking their own territory.

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you! We have a little pack n play that we will be using shortly, but we werent expecting them to act so attracted to each other so quickly, which is why we decided to jump the gun, i feel that in my reluctance, i separated them prematurely, we do have an extra cage if need be but i just dont wanna ruin it before the magic happens lol. I appreciate your feedback! Yea we will be using that pack and play to see if they can find some common ground together lol.

Do you know anything about the mounting? Like if Figgy doesnt stop should i keep them separate? Figgy keeps trying to mount Shadow and he seems annoyed by it, not angry or aggressive really though, he lunges a little bit and tries to mount Figgy himself but nowhere near as much, Figgy is a creep jk i love my Figster lol. But yea, if he just doesnt stop trying to mount and Shadow wont bend, should i keep them apart even if they arent violent?

Hi and welcome

Please take the time to carefully read our bonding guide, which will take you through all aspects and bonding stages and also features a chapter on special aspects of bonding boars.

Mounting is very normal. You have to sit it out unless the mounted boar has had enough and they get into fights (i.e. the bonding has failed) or the mounting is so incessant that the mounted boar can't eat, drink or sleep in peace (bullying). Again in this case, the bonding has failed.

Please be aware that you cannot bond boars in short sessions because they have to always start back at square one each time; you have to commit and sit it out for as long as it takes. The bonding are needs to be neutral ground and cannot be part of either boar's territory. Guinea pigs are territorial; they don't like being invaded and the 'invader' can easily overreact because he feels on the back foot.

More practical tips and details in the bonding link here: Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

You may also find our boar guide very helpful and interesting: A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

 

[I.R.Haz.Piggie]

As above, any bonding needs to take place on entirely neutral territory. Please do not just remove a divider and allow a piggy to wander in the territory of another as this is a way to cause a problem.
Please do use the guide Claire has linked in on how to carry out a bonding.

With boars, you cannot stop/start a bonding. It needs to be done all in one go and seen through to conclusion whether that is success or failure. Do be aware that as character compatibility comes first and as you are trying to bond a teenage boar with an almost teenage boar, things may not be straightforward. Its not a given that a younger piggy will be submissive and if they both want to be dominant and neither prepared to back down into a submissive position, then this is when problems can occur.
Hopefully it will all be successful, but with any bonding when a piggy has been brought home on spec, you do need to that that plan b in place in case they aren't compatible.

At Shadow's age, he is too young to be quarantined or kept away from another piggy so you do need to try the bonding straight away.

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

Thank you for your feedback! Either way if we cant get them to get along we have separate cages if need be, but i really dont see that happening as they seem to be very willing to be around each other, Shadow is surprisingly comfy for his first day, hes in his cozy pillow bed on his side with his eyes shut, so he must feel safe lol, i feel Figgy helped him realize tha he was safe, we will handle it accordingly if need be as I'm aware that the ages make it tricky right now. Thank you for your help!

 

[I.R.Haz.Piggie]

Mounting is normal and its something they will do throughout life. As I said, as you are trying to bond a teenage boar, then the hormones are raging making it more intense.
They do need to go through the process though and it takes a full two weeks after the bonding day for them to fully sort out their hierarchy so you are going to see a lot of dominance behaviours over the coming weeks (and months given they are both going to be teenagers at the same time)
Dont interrupt them unless they fight or it becomes obvious that things aren't going to work out. The guides I linked in explain what behaviours you are positive and ones which aren't. Do be aware that laying against a divider or how they behave during the time they were separated is not an indication of how things will go - for example, laying against a dividing grid can actually be a hostile movement and a way of marking their own territory.

Tysm! They are both in their beds sleeping right now. I'm trying not to make t so stressful on Shadow, he seems quite content, on his side with his eyes closed, he must feel secure in some way lol, i know its all a lot to take in for them, thank you!

 

[Claire W]

Mounting is normal dominance behaviour so you should just leave them to get on with it

 

[weepweeps]

Good luck with the bonding. I’ve got everything crossed for a happy outcome