Boar bonding struggles

[MichelleM]

Hi all! Merlin is our newest addition. He's been in the big pen with Nes for about 3 weeks now. Nes is clearly the dominant one, and he seems very secure in it. He doesn't hump, only occasionally turns Merlin out of a hidey, and doesn't really show any aggressive behaviors towards Merlin.

Merlin, I feel, is very insecure and skittish. He's about a year old, and he's never been with another guinea pig before. The rescue told us he was a pet shop buy someone changed their mind on. He's super cuddly and people-friendly. In fact, he's the only guinea pig we've had who loves pets and lap time. But I feel like that's made him skittish around other guinea pigs. He's trepidatious around sniffing Nes. He'll come up behind while Nes is eating, take a quick sniff of his bum, then pull back. He hasn't lunged at Nes, but whenever Nes comes up to sniff his nose, Merlin will chatter and sometimes nip. Nes only ever nips when Merlin instigates it. Nes was a cuddler with our last elderly guinea pig, Ganon, and it seems like he wants something similar with Merlin, but he's being cautious about it.

Is this something Merlin will eventually grow past? They don't fight, there's never been any earnest bites or blood, just Nes chasing when Merlin gets nippy to reassert dominance. They both popcorn like crazy and are each getting plenty of resources (more than two of everything in the pen). I'm concerned Merlin seems to be afraid.

 

[Digital-Sneeze]

I suppose this is a wait and see situation. If you haven't seen any blood or clumps of hair in Merlin's mouth, and Nes isn't withdrawn and is eating and keeping his weight ok, then it's probably worth sticking with the situation for now. If Nes is popcorning he can't be too unhappy! I'm not sure they'll ever be best friends though, but who knows what time will bring.

 

[fluffysal]

Hopefully Merlin will settle with a combination of getting older and receiving chill vibes from Nes. We had worries about Mischievous Master Boris being too much for zen and Dignified Sir George and they have certainly had some moments! Watching them now and their bond is strong, they are like yin Yang both in looks and personality. Fingers and paws crossed for you.

 

[MichelleM]

Sorry I haven't replied! Nes actually got sick right after the New Year, so we had to separate them to quarantine. Nes is feeling better now, but they'll be separate for another day or two to be safe. They're currently neighbors and as I type this they're gnawing at the bars interacting with each other. No aggression or rumbles, just bar biting.

Hopefully a reintroduction in the bonding pen will work out well

 

[Roselina]

Ah poor Nes - hoping when Nes is recovered they can be bonded
The behaviour you mentioned before seems like natural dominance behaviour and hopefully they’ll be best mates

 

[Piggies&buns]

Sorry I haven't replied! Nes actually got sick right after the New Year, so we had to separate them to quarantine. Nes is feeling better now, but they'll be separate for another day or two to be safe. They're currently neighbors and as I type this they're gnawing at the bars interacting with each other. No aggression or rumbles, just bar biting.

Hopefully a reintroduction in the bonding pen will work out well

Fingers crossed they go back together.
Interactions between the bars aren’t a sign of what will or won’t happen. Some behaviours are simply them marking their own separate safe as their territory. Hopefully if they were well bonded prior to separation there won’t be any issues though.

Do be aware that we never recommend separating a bonded pair if one is unwell. It causes stress to be separated, can harm their ability to go back together and does not prevent the other piggy from catching any contagious illness (they would already have been exposed to any contagions prior to separating).

 

[MichelleM]

Thank you for the input. Our vet recommended separation while Nes was unwell to prevent Merlin taking advantage as they were still working out their hierarchy and dominance