Hi i have 5 baby boy guinea pigs (soon 2 be 6), 2 are about 14 weeks 2 are 6-8 weeks & 1 is about 5-6 weeks. Bonding them all is a rollercoaster. One min they are chutting happily next rumble strut, sniffing butt & there has been 2 big squwabbles. I'm reluctant 2 separate, though 1 did get a scratch accidently during a scuffle. It's mainly the older 2 rumblling, wiggling butts frm side 2 side & faceing off that then turns to a scuffle. There are times when it all goes quiet or there all making content piggy noises. The time it takes them to settle seems 2 be less each day they go in the big run together. Do i stick with it? Is this normal? I'm not a new gp owner but I'm just looking 4 advice.
Bonding
- Thread starter CWUK
- Start date
You will struggle here - boars need to be kept in pairs. Attempting to keep any more than two together is highly likely to result in fights particularly as you have a considerable amount of almost teens in the mix.
you will be much better to separate them into pairs and find a new friend for the single piggy.
to attempt more than a boar pair you need as many square metres of cage space as you haVe piggies - so you need a 5 square metre cage to even attempt this and even then it is highly likely to fail.
if fights and issues are already occurring, then things won’t get better - it will get worse as they get hormonal. if you separate now you can likely make functioning pairs. if you leave it as is, you may still functioning pairs but you also risk major issues and all piggies ending up not liking each other and all of them ending up single
I’ll add in some guides below
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
you will be much better to separate them into pairs and find a new friend for the single piggy.
to attempt more than a boar pair you need as many square metres of cage space as you haVe piggies - so you need a 5 square metre cage to even attempt this and even then it is highly likely to fail.
if fights and issues are already occurring, then things won’t get better - it will get worse as they get hormonal. if you separate now you can likely make functioning pairs. if you leave it as is, you may still functioning pairs but you also risk major issues and all piggies ending up not liking each other and all of them ending up single
I’ll add in some guides below
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Thank you & i knew id get a reply like this. Thing is, ive seen it done & with the ages i have too.
I am getting 6th & my 5th boy has bonded really well with 1 of the pigs already so i think it wudnt be wise 2 separate those 2. A very complicated mix but there are deffo glimpses of them getting on well. The main thing is between the oldest 2 sadly.... also if i put the oldest 2 2gether just them 2 they are fine..... well hv been fine all the way through.... I'm unsure if its an issue with the age, or just 2 give more time...
seeing it done doesnt mean youve got the right balance of characters in your piggies to be able to get it work now. It’s entirely down to whether the piggies can create a functioning hierarchy and want to be together - and as I say, once those youngsters become hormonal (and they are all going to be going through their teens at the same time which is tense enough in a compatible pair), get their own ideas on dominance and aren’t looking for guidance from each other like they are when they are under four months, then its more likely to fail sadly.
If the oldest two are fine together then I really would recommend just leaving those two together as they are And finding the right mix of pairs amongst your other piggies. Pick the two which get on best together and pair them off until everybody has a compatible partner.
it’s almost never an issue with age, it’s always an issue with compatibility - its so very difficult to get the balance of characters right when you deal with more than a boar pair. Adding a sixth could destabilise them further. Particularly if you haven’t given them enough space - as I say, five square metres is necessary currently and if you’re getting a sixth piggy, then you are going to need six square metres - as tensions will inevitably boil over due to not having enough territory.
the choice is of course entirely yours, but giving time won’t change their characters and make them all like each other. Seeing glimpses isn’t enough to result in a happy bond - tolerating each other because they’ve got no choice but to live together isn’t the same as living truly harmoniously and well bonded.
If the oldest two are fine together then I really would recommend just leaving those two together as they are And finding the right mix of pairs amongst your other piggies. Pick the two which get on best together and pair them off until everybody has a compatible partner.
it’s almost never an issue with age, it’s always an issue with compatibility - its so very difficult to get the balance of characters right when you deal with more than a boar pair. Adding a sixth could destabilise them further. Particularly if you haven’t given them enough space - as I say, five square metres is necessary currently and if you’re getting a sixth piggy, then you are going to need six square metres - as tensions will inevitably boil over due to not having enough territory.
the choice is of course entirely yours, but giving time won’t change their characters and make them all like each other. Seeing glimpses isn’t enough to result in a happy bond - tolerating each other because they’ve got no choice but to live together isn’t the same as living truly harmoniously and well bonded.
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with @Piggies&buns .You need lots of space (ideally about 1 square metre per boar) and exactly the right mix of personalities.
If you are one of the lucky ones, it will work. The problem is that the overwhelming majority of same age sub-teenage boar groups end in failure.
When you want to imitate what you see in videos on social media, please always keep in mind that what you are seeing is a human selection of what is appealing and interesting to humans and not a reflection of reality and of typical cavy behaviours.
Ask yourself: Who wants to showcase and watch fighting and squabbling boars with some bullying thrown in for sheer variety?
If we are raining on so many hopeful parades then it is because we are seeing too much of the other side on here when things go badly wrong and we have to help pick up the pieces, both with the boars themselves and with the emotional upset of the owner. It's admittedly not exactly fun.
It is ultimately your choice what you want to do. If you want to create your boar group in spite of the prognosis not being very good, then please also plan for a fail and have a plan B at the ready so you can house your boys in pairings that get on for the long term. Good pet ownership is not just about living a human dream, it is first and foremost a commitment to your pets' happiness and health long before your own desires. If character compatibility is not there, you can cannot make them to get on. The rifts are going to become even more obvious when they hit the big teenage hormones all at the same time.