Boar Pair!

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Cheds_Gouda1120

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Hi everyone!

I am new to the Guinea pig life, but have always wanted to be a guinea pig mama. Recently an old friend reached out asking if I would take her piggies since she jumped in without doing research and could not care for them properly. I said yes, and started straight on the research. She had two young boars together, she purchased them both from the same cage at the pet store (I know not the best). She had only had them for a couple days before realizing that it was too much so she doesn’t have much prior information pertaining to their behavioural actions together. Aswell, I do not know their exact ages but both seem to be from the same litter, maybe between 2.5-4 months

I’ve had them a week today, and everything seems fine. They are set in a C&C cage 2x4 but am in the process of making it bigger, and inside the inclosure there are multiples of everything. They do their fair share of rumblestrutting, and an occasional hump, but I have concluded that to the fact that they are in a new habitat, and need to set their hierarchy. Nothing dangerous, or serious has come from their interactions and after each dominant act they both get some food, and go on with their day. With all this being said, reading about peoples experiences with boars has got me worried. Should I be concerned about them suddenly turning on each other and just going ballistic? Is their relationship going to be hopeless when they get to puberty ages? Any help to make sure that these boys can remain cage mates would be greatly appreciated. In all, regardless of this outcome I will look out for their best interests, and always put my boys first!

Thanks all:)
 
Welcome to the forum

Please try not to worry.
Boars have an undeserved reputation for being difficult but they are in fact no more difficult than two sows: any bond comes down to compatibility and if two piggies are compatible they will be fine but they will fail if they aren’t - irrespective of their sex.

With boars there are a few things to note.

Space - they need a lot of it. A 2x5 is the recommended size.
You are absolutely right that they will spend two weeks reestablishing in a new environment. That also means when you expand the cage - that will set off a new round as they reestablish again. You can mitigate it when you change cage size by ensuring you use soiled bedding into the expanded cage. If you remove all scent in one go then it will set them with additional dominance. This applies to the routine cage cleans - don’t remove all bedding in one go.

Don’t use food bowls - scatter food amongst hay or around the cage. It provides excellent enrichment and mental stimulation but also means the dominant cannot food hog.

Wiebke

Thread 'Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics'

1 Introduction
2 Pre-bonding
- Quarantine and sexing
- The need for a plan B
- The rule-breaker: Youngsters under 4 months (sub-teenage)
3 Setting up an introduction
- Getting to know each other
- ‘Buddy baths’ – why not
- Scent swapping - why not
- Setting up a neutral bonding area
- How to start the bonding
4 Acceptance phase: Do we like...
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Wiebke

Thread 'Boars: Where Does The Bad Press Actually Come From?'

- 'Bachelors' and 'Husboars'
- How does natural behaviour transfer to a pet setting?
- Pet boars - the big losers
- A look at the neutering situation
- A warm word for boars
- Practical tips for improving boar bond stability
- Further links to points raised in this article


This article, which takes a closer look at the role of boars in guinea pig society and why the current pet system is failing them on pretty much all levels, is part of an article series for Guinea Pig Magazine...
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Hi, Thank you!
Hopefully by tomorrow I will have the new space for the cage up and running, but what are some positive actions that I can look out for with them both? I have owned a bunch of small pets, but these piggies by far have some of the most complicated behaviours with one another compared to other small mammals I’ve had haha.
 
Hello and welcome to the forum and the world of boars. 😍

I have two called Pebble and Patrick. I love boars and have had 11 over the years. Never had sows.

Always make sure you have at least two of everything. Spread the two water bottles and two hay piles away from each other so they don’t have to argue over anything. Make sure their hides have two exits so they cannot trap each other inside. Scatter feed their veggies and treats over a wide area so they can each get to them without having to share.

Also always handle the dominant piggy first. For example weight checks, nail clipping, hand feeding treats.

When I clean them out I always rub their dirty bedding over the fresh bedding so it always smells like them both. Good luck. Boars are lovely.
 
Hello, welcome to the forum and the wonderful world of guinea pigs. Thank you for taking these boys on, you won't regret it, another boar fan here.
You are very astute to have noticed already how complex they are, this bodes well for you being an amazing piggy slave. All advice given so far is good and alway consistent on here.
The 2 "small" things that will make a big difference have already been mentioned. Respect their hierarchy by dealing with the dominant first and always leave them something "delightfully" boar smelling.
 
For new piggies, how long would you say the boars take to figure out their hierarchy. Cheddar is my most active one, well out right nuts and gouda is the more reserved one. In the beginning cheddar (one of my piggies) was the one humping, rumplestrutting, etc but a few times my other one, gouda, started rumplestrutting. Should I be concerned that they won't figure it out? or just wait for one of them to submit?
 
As long as there is no fighting I’d say they are fine. They should settle down within 2 weeks of a change. Ie moving in with you or a change to their living arrangements.
 
Sorting out the hierarchy usually takes around two weeks, but your piggies are quite young and they will probably go through a few more phases of testing the hierarchy over puberty, which is completely normal. There is some chance that the bond may fail up to when they're around a year old, but I wouldn't worry too much for now. Boar pairs are one of the more stable constellations and often work out really well.
 
An adult boar pair are often very silly, soppy and affectionate as the testosterone output decreases with age. Even if their bond eventually fails, many of us have very content neighboars. My boys interact a lot through the dividers and often are doing the same thing at the same time.IMG-20240811-WA0000.webp
 
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