Bonding Guinea Pigs

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Sian25

Sian25

Adult Guinea Pig
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I have always made the mistake of separating my two board too soon but desperately wanting them to get along so I'm trying to bond them today and I've told myself not to intervene unless things get very serious. I put them together about 2 and a half hours ago and things don't seem to be too bad- nothing serious. I've sat next to them the whole time but just wondering what I should do overnight? I was planning on staying awake all night to supervise but I'm not sure how long I'd be able to last. I'm just worried that if I went to sleep they would start fighting and get hurt
 
Sian25 said:
I have always made the mistake of separating my two board too soon but desperately wanting them to get along so I'm trying to bond them today and I've told myself not to intervene unless things get very serious. I put them together about 2 and a half hours ago and things don't seem to be too bad- nothing serious. I've sat next to them the whole time but just wondering what I should do overnight? I was planning on staying awake all night to supervise but I'm not sure how long I'd be able to last. I'm just worried that if I went to sleep they would start fighting and get hurt
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If it is going alright, you have to sit it out and let them work through it. Anytime you separate boars, they have to restart right at the beginning and all your good work today was for nothing, except that they will get increasingly frustrated. You still have a good half day to go, so if they are still getting on by tonight, they are not likely to fall out. There is a point in every bonding where you have to make that leap of faith. ;)
 
I got them almost 2 years ago within a month of eachother and I was just terrified that they would hurt eachother as I read some horrific stories when trying to find how to bond them. I regret it now because they have got used to living side by side, although they do have floor time together each day. I think that because they have been used to living next to eachother for 2 years this is going to decrease the chance that it will work out? But I'm just giving it one last try and going to make sure I don't seperate them if there's no need. They have been sharing hay and are now having a nap in seperate beds

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Also @Wiebke is it normal for both boars to rumblestrut or does this suggest that they will end up fighting over dominance? However only the one boar has been mounting the other
 
Sounding good, but l would whach them as long as you can over the next few days
 
Yes I will definitely be watching them. Haven't taken my eyes off them for longer than 5 minutes.

While being mounted, my less dominant piggy is quietly crying. Does this mean he's being hurt?
 
They've been together for just over 5 hours now. No worrying behaviour displayed yet. I've watched them constantly since putting them together. Does anyone know when I can start to relax a bit more?
 
Sian25 said:
Also @Wiebke is it normal for both boars to rumblestrut or does this suggest that they will end up fighting over dominance? However only the one boar has been mounting the other
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No, this is all par for the course and considered MILD dominance behaviour. they have accepted each other and now they have started working out the shape of their relationship, who comes top and how much top does he come. Dominance behaviours are the same for all guinea pigs; just the dynamics differ somewhat depending on whether you are bonding two boars, two sows, a male and a female or groups. There are tips for boar bondings in all three threads.

Please have a look at these threads here:
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Introducing And Re-introducing Guinea Pigs
Illustrated Bonding Behaviours And Dynamics
 
Things seem to have gone a bit downhill in the last 15 minutes. Not separated them yet but there has been some teeth chattering. I'm loosing a bit of faith now :(
 
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