Anti-bonding!?

[Darky]

I thought that my two gorgeous boars were bonding with me. I hand-feed them vegetables inside the cage (and out, when they're in the mood), they will happy shuffle their noses into my hand if it has dry food on it (Fry especially), and I often stick my hand in the cage and they come up to sniff and say hello and try to figure out what is going on. I usually let Fry sniff my hand, and then he lets me stroke under his chin, raising up his head - very cute!

However, when they're out of the cage especially, it seems like the reverse is happening. They both make noises non-stop and I can't figure out if it's a good thing or not. It's not wheeking, but it's a high-ish sort of babbling/chirping/chatting noise.

Laurie is nicknamed 'the brat' in my house because of his reputation for biting people. I generally vocally scold him for doing so and he returns to normal, but the habit just hasn't stopped - he still randomly nips. When my sister held him and he nipped, she didn't scold him, so he nipped again and caused her to bleed a lot - so I know that it isn't just gentle nips that he's after. He also headbutts my hand out of the way often when I stroke his head.

Fry, on the other hand, is my little cuddle bun - he's usually very docile and is cute as a button, but yesterday he bit me twice! He bit my Mum once a while ago, I figured it was a one-off, but apparently not.

I honestly can't figure out if we're bonding or not. :C

I'm hoping that it'll help when they're neutered, seperated and have new female partners - because Fry has been moody lately, and threatens Laurie on a regular basis, despite the fact that Laurie isn't harassing him that much these days. I'll be getting it sorted ASAP, I'm going home on thursday and can book a vet appointment then, and order the new cage.

 

[michellemuffin]

hopefully once you get them sorted they will calm down , the only nipper i have is farty artie and only since he had an accident with hay being caught round his leg, although he made a complete recovery his mood changed from that day on, I tickle and cuddle him but you can see he is wary and i wait for the teeth to open say NO quite loudly and he stops luckly its enough for him to know, obvioulsy your two litttle monkeys dont know when to stop, are you quite firm with them when you hold them meaning do you have them feeling confident in your arms? try holding them firmer some times they might be feeling a little insecure, keep on with the veggie treats they will eventually bond with you, tlak to them often I carry mine round in a t towel or fleece pig blanket chatting about everday things like lets see what the fish are doing by the pond anything but make a one to one time for them both, floow as a monkey when I first got him but I think I went over the top hes now mummys boy and hates any other pig near me lol good luck and keep on with the treats it will work

 

[cavykind]

If males aren't getting along with each other, I have found that it can make them edgy, irritable and more likely to nip their owners. Boys like this are indeed, in my opinion and experience, better neutered and kept apart.

Hopefully once this is done they will settle down

I'll add thatthough.... I once had a male Aby, Barnaby who actually got worse after neutering..in fact he wasn't really a biter before.
In this case I think he was very protective of his girls?
This was an exception in my experience, but as with all animals, there are no guarantees :

Good luck!

Barbara

 

[Darky]

hopefully once you get them sorted they will calm down , the only nipper i have is farty artie and only since he had an accident with hay being caught round his leg, although he made a complete recovery his mood changed from that day on, I tickle and cuddle him but you can see he is wary and i wait for the teeth to open say NO quite loudly and he stops luckly its enough for him to know, obvioulsy your two litttle monkeys dont know when to stop, are you quite firm with them when you hold them meaning do you have them feeling confident in your arms? try holding them firmer some times they might be feeling a little insecure, keep on with the veggie treats they will eventually bond with you, tlak to them often I carry mine round in a t towel or fleece pig blanket chatting about everday things like lets see what the fish are doing by the pond anything but make a one to one time for them both, floow as a monkey when I first got him but I think I went over the top hes now mummys boy and hates any other pig near me lol good luck and keep on with the treats it will work

I do hold them quite firmly, as I'm used to handling animals like cats, rats, gerbils, etc. so I'm always very confident - unlike some people I know, I'm confident regardless of how much they bite me. I'm very determined. To scold them I usually hold them away from my body with a strict 'NO' also.

I carry them around the house with me and sit with them, on my lap or next to me, and I even lay in bed with them so.. Mrr. I don't know.

 

[michellemuffin]

you sound as nutty as me lol,

 

[Darky]

All good pet owners have to be at least a little bit nutty.

 

[bunpig]

just read this on 'guinea pigs social life' - Males living with males (and no females) do NOT need to be neutered! It will NOT change their behavior. It will NOT make them less aggressive. Their personality remains intact after neutering. i have never had a guineapig neutered so cannot say from personal experience but after reading this i wonder if it is worth the high risk of surgery if it will make no difference to his behaviour?

 

[Darky]

Oh, no, that's not why I'm getting them neutered - I know that. C:

I need to seperate them to avoid fighting when I get a job, when I'm not there to watch them all day, so - I'm getting them neutered so that they can have female partners that they shall hopefully get along with, as opposed to both being alone.

 

[bunpig]

ahhh, well that sounds like a sensible solution then they will still mount the females even though they've been 'done' unlike cats and dogs who seem to lose interest in that sort of thing ;D

 

[lilgalnatalie]

smig was nutut whn gorg wrn't an h bit th poor littl man lik hll, poor gorgy has to liv on his own, unlss i gt him som mor fmals
aftr his 3 wks is up aftr nuturing (which was ystray h got nturr) so 2 wk an 6 ays anyway, smig in't gt th fmals prgaunt, but h still ha ago on thm, an show ominanc. all i think nturing os is stop prgauncis. you cant stop natur.

ra this, thats whr i got it from
[colorr]
Thr can b only on sxually matur mal in a guina pig hr, an sxual bhavior from young mals is not tolrat. As th young mals attain sxual maturity, ominanc battls can rsult btwn th la mal an any challngrs, or vn amongst th youngr mals. Th mals thratn ach othr by hissing, rattling thir tth an stiffning thir bois. Thy may try to circl ach othr, attmpting to gt accss to th othr mals' back. Thy will thn bit at ach othr, trying to o so on th chst or th back of th nck. This fighting will continu until th wakr mal submits, an is rivn from th hr. In th wil, th young mals will oftn pick out a fmal an start thir own family in a nw location.
In th cag, thr is no scap for th loosrs in a ominanc fight, an thy must b rmov or thy will i from starvation an xhaustion, as th alpha mal rivs thm from foo, watr an slping spots. To prvnt ominanc battls from injuring your guina pigs, it is important to sparat th mals from th hr whn thy attain sxually maturity, btwn four an svn wks of ag.

As pts, two or mor mals can liv togthr, provi thy ar givn sufficint room an ar nvr in contact with a fmal. It is th sxual bhavior of mals that inucs ominanc fighting, an th introuction of a fmal to a pair of mals can prmanntly svr thir frinly rlations. Som mals actually hav to b nutr to liv togthr bcaus thy ngag in sxual bhavior without th prsnc of a fmal. Nutring os not lowr aggrssivnss, but it os liminat sxual riv. Howvr, vn a nutr mal will instinctually ngag in sxual bhavior if put in th company of a fmal. In short, if you hav mals togthr, nutr or not, on't try to introuc a fmal to thm.