BOAR HORMONE CRAZY HUMPING HIS MATE

[Angela99]

Hi everyone. Well my little Truffle at 2am last night went crazy with hormones and couldn't stop humping Buttercup. His bonded mate of 3 years! It went on for 5 hours I'm exhausted today because I tried everything to calm him down. I picked him up and fed him his favorite carrot. I separated the cage but he went nuts and started biting the bars so then I put him in a big box with food/hay etc and he went crazy trying to jump out. Then i picked him up again and fed him endive and pet him. NOTHING worked I live in a Bachelor suite so we are in one together and they were SO loud PLUS my little Buttercup... I mean it's not good for him is it? Last time he did this I had to take Buttercip to Vet for surgery of abscess from nail and humping.

Today they are wiped out exhausted and so is mom Is there anything I can do in this situation? His anxiety so high I just let it run its course worriedly for Buttercup and I couldn't sleep... why does it always occur at night? Is Buttercup safe? Does he like this treatment?

Thank you

 

[Siikibam]

How was Buttercup reacting during all this? Was he squeaking in submission and letting himself be humped? Or was he turning and facing off? When you separated, how did he behave?

How big is their enclosure? And do you have two of everything?

How old is Truffle? If between 4-14 months then he’s in his teenage months. It is a time fraught with hormones, and they get some spikes that can send them a bit crazy.

Muesli mix is not recommended for piggies due to issues with selective feeding and choking hazard from the nuts and seeds that may be in there. Please stop feeding them that and buy a decent hay based pellet - it’s limited to a tablespoon for each piggy per day. May I also ask what they’re bedded on? I can’t figure it out. And do they also have a big pile of hay available at all times?

Have a read of the threads I’ve linked below. Depending on how Buttercup behaves you can then decide whether the relationship is okay or not.
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Bonds In Trouble

 

[Angela99]

How was Buttercup reacting during all this? Was he squeaking in submission and letting himself be humped? Or was he turning and facing off? When you separated, how did he behave?

How big is their enclosure? And do you have two of everything?

How old is Truffle? If between 4-14 months then he’s in his teenage months. It is a time fraught with hormones, and they get some spikes that can send them a bit crazy.

Muesli mix is not recommended for piggies due to issues with selective feeding and choking hazard from the nuts and seeds that may be in there. Please stop feeding them that and buy a decent hay based pellet - it’s limited to a tablespoon for each piggy per day. May I also ask what they’re bedded on? I can’t figure it out. And do they also have a big pile of hay available at all times?

Have a read of the threads I’ve linked below. Depending on how Buttercup behaves you can then decide whether the relationship is okay or not.
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Bonds In Trouble

Hi. I never fed him muesli mix. I fed him endive and carrot. They have Timothy Jay and pellets and two water bottles and a 16 square foot cage lined with fleece. They have a lot of space and they are 3 years old.

Partly Buttercup accepts because he cant get away and he faces off but always submits... he's not aggressive.

 

[Piggies&buns]

How long has it been going on for? Has it only happened once or has it been going on for a while?
Is buttercup allowed to eat and sleep?
Is buttercup losing weight through being upset by the behaviour?

What you need to do is determine whether their bond is in trouble or whether there may be something else at play.
If buttercup is at all upset by the situation, you say he faces off and is only accepting it because he can’t get away, then that isn’t a harmonious relationship.

If the mounting becomes relentless then that can be a sign of an issue. It is not truffle’s reaction that it significant when you separated them. Truffle wouldn’t like a separation but it is what buttercup did when you took truffle out which is the key factor. Did buttercup look happier to be away from truffle? If he did, then that highlights that he isn’t happy to be with truffle. If buttercup was happier to be apart, then you will likely have to separate them and ignore truffles behaviour, he will settle down eventually.

Read the links which siikbam linked in above as they will help you with further information

The coloured dry food in the green bowl is muesli mix and that is what @Siikibam is referring to. That type of food is not good for piggies and i would recommend you switch them over to a plain hay based pellet. There are lots of reasons why muesli is bad for guinea pigs - selective feeding, inappropriate ingredients (usually grain based which guinea pigs ideally shouldn’t eat) and they often contain seeds which could choke a guinea pig.

 

[Angela99]

How long has it been going on for? Has it only happened once or has it been going on for a while?
Is buttercup allowed to eat and sleep?
Is buttercup losing weight through being upset by the behaviour?

What you need to do is determine whether their bond is in trouble or whether there may be something else at play.
If buttercup is at all upset by the situation, you say he faces off and is only accepting it because he can’t get away, then that isn’t a harmonious relationship.

If the mounting becomes relentless then that can be a sign of an issue. It is not truffle’s reaction that it significant when you separated them. Truffle wouldn’t like a separation but it is what buttercup did when you took truffle out which is the key factor. Did buttercup look happier to be away from truffle? If he did, then that highlights that he isn’t happy to be with truffle. If buttercup was happier to be apart, then you will likely have to separate them and ignore truffles behaviour, he will settle down eventually.

Read the links which siikbam linked in above as they will help you with further information

The coloured dry food in the green bowl is muesli mix and that is what @Siikibam is referring to. That type of food is not good for piggies and i would recommend you switch them over to a plain hay based pellet. There are lots of reasons why muesli is bad for guinea pigs - selective feeding, inappropriate ingredients (usually grain based which guinea pigs ideally shouldn’t eat) and they often contain seeds which could choke a guinea pig.

Hi. Thank you for your response ... the food! That was the day I got them and I threw that food out the next day. It's what the rescue guy gave them... sorry. Yes I know its horrible... just like that pic of them.

This happens every year this time, but it went on for 4 hours non stop! And Buttercup was relieved when I took him out. They are bonded and always close and peaceful, but he gets scared when Truffle gets like this.

I find it traumatic myself and feel helpless. I've heard to let it play out, but if you say if Buttercup isn't happy then it's best to remove Truffle I'll do that next time. Hopefully he will calm down, but he'd have to be in a box otherwise he'll hurt himself chewing the bars.

As far as their cage and space and food I mean I do everything right. They are still wiped out tired from the event

 

[Wiebke]

Hi. Thank you for your response ... the food! That was the day I got them and I threw that food out the next day. It's what the rescue guy gave them... sorry. Yes I know its horrible... just like that pic of them.

This happens every year this time, but it went on for 4 hours non stop! And Buttercup was relieved when I took him out. They are bonded and always close and peaceful, but he gets scared when Truffle gets like this.

I find it traumatic myself and feel helpless. I've heard to let it play out, but if you say if Buttercup isn't happy then it's best to remove Truffle I'll do that next time. Hopefully he will calm down, but he'd have to be in a box otherwise he'll hurt himself chewing the bars.

As far as their cage and space and food I mean I do everything right. They are still wiped out tired from the event

Breeding season for wild guinea pigs starts in spring. while our pet guinea pigs have been bred out and domesticated as farm animals for thousands of years and are able to have babies all year round, the old instincts are still there and occasionally surface.
If necessary, put a separator in for a couple of days to allow the hormone spike to die down and then reintroduce on neutral ground outside the cage/hutch. In a well bonded pair, the two boys will go back together as if nothing had happened.

Sadly anybody in the English speaking world can call themselves a rescue or a breeder (or any shade in between the two) without licensing and welfare control.
This is the reason why we have started a rescue locator on the top bar with all the (vetted) good welfare standard and practice rescues we can guarantee that you and any guinea pigs in are in good and safe hands with a mandatory quarantine and any vet care; a mandatory pregnancy watch; safe sexing; testing any pairs for character compatibility; a 6 weeks post-op wait for neutered boar; a bonding service for bereaved piggies (in some places residential to allow all the important stages of the bonding process to happen at the rescue under expert supervision) and a return policy for any adoptees you can for whatever reason no longer keep. Plus good welfare compatible housing, food and care while in rescue.

 

[Angela99]

Breeding season for wild guinea pigs starts in spring. while our pet guinea pigs have been bred out and domesticated as farm animals for thousands of years and are able to have babies all year round, the old instincts are still there and occasionally surface.
If necessary, put a separator in for a couple of days to allow the hormone spike to die down and then reintroduce on neutral ground outside the cage/hutch. In a well bonded pair, the two boys will go back together as if nothing had happened.

Sadly anybody in the English speaking world can call themselves a rescue or a breeder (or any shade in between the two) without licensing and welfare control.
This is the reason why we have started a rescue locator on the top bar with all the (vetted) good welfare standard and practice rescues we can guarantee that you and any guinea pigs in are in good and safe hands with a mandatory quarantine and any vet care; a mandatory pregnancy watch; safe sexing; testing any pairs for character compatibility; a 6 weeks post-op wait for neutered boar; a bonding service for bereaved piggies (in some places residential to allow all the important stages of the bonding process to happen at the rescue under expert supervision) and a return policy for any adoptees you can for whatever reason no longer keep. Plus good welfare compatible housing, food and care while in rescue.

OK thank you so much for your support! I read the links given to me. I didn't realize a bonded pair could fall out. I'll keep a close eye in them. Thanks again!