Boys Behaviour

[Abzquine]

So I've had my two guinea pig boys almost 12 months now and they were over a year old when I got them rehomed from someone. Up to that point they lived in their ferplast 100, now they've got a 3x4 c&c to run around in and have been very happy. They still don't like being handled but I suspect that was a lack of handling when they were small.


However the past couple of feeding times Sooty seems to be bossy over Scrufty, not to the point of fighting but chasing him away etc. Tried this morning to separate the food because Sooty is a bit of a hungry hippo but he still chased Scrufty around. Then they settle down again. In fact last night once they'd finished their pellets they were the happiest they'd ever sounded! Even my partner noticed. They have three separate houses/ beds they can use but often just snuggle under a pile of hay.

Should I be worried? I thought any teenage angst would have been well past by now. Don't want them stressed #worriedpiggymumma

 

[Wiebke]

Don't worry! Once boars reach their hormonally much more settled adulthood, fall-outs are rare and often connected to a major change in the environment/new territory than anything. Adult boars will also usually go back together if there has been a spat/a hormonal spike if you let them cool down in spearation for a night and then conduct intros on neutral ground after a testosterone stink removing buddy bath; also thoroughly clean the cage for the same reason.

I would recommend to feed your boys separately at least one body length apart and to rather feed smaller portions that they can eat in one go than leaving a big bowl of food. The same goes for any pellets. Adult piggies only need about 10-20g of pellets per piggy per day. That is roughly one to two handfuls for you two together.