Boy's Not Getting Along

[Felicity]

Hi, I rehomed 2 4 month old brothers 2 weeks ago as they'd be left to a young child to look after and of course neglected as a result. For the first week everything between the two of them seemed fine but they were very wild and would very loudly and aggressively teeth chatted towards me. 6 days ago I was woken up by the sound of them fighting I separated them and put it down to stress. For the past couple of days the teeth chatting stopped and they seemed much more relaxed in my presence, so decided to start the reintroduce process. As soon as they touched the floor there was one short rumble and they flew at each other ending in me having to physically having to pull them apart as the towel did nothing. Currently they're separated and spending 50% of their time each with my 2 year old boar and both of them get along fine with him.

So now the question is what is the best action to take. The vet has suggested getting them neutered might help but a lot of people here say it won't. So don't know what to believe, has anyone tried it and had success/failure? Or am I just better of calling it quits and trying to find a new companion for one of them? If getting another pig is the answer would I be better off with baby or with an older boar? I don't know any rescues near me that do boar dating and I don't want to end up with another lone pig if they don't get along.

 

[ayemee]

I agree with not neutering. Did they draw blood when they had a fight?

It sounds like over a period of time they've just not been getting along great. Is there any way you could split the cage so they have their own space but can still see each other?

 

[Kerrie74]

Hmm, I don't agree with the vet, you'll just be wasting your money. It doesn't calm boars down.

I would get one of them a friend, I've had the same problem with two himi's I adopted, they had a massive spat and we separated them, one had a friend and the other lives next to the girls atm as he doesn't seem to like other boars, we're hoping he snaps out of that so we can get him a cage mate. Of course only get another guinea if you can provide them with a big enough cage, if it's C&C it's usually a 2x5 for boars.

This is one of my set ups, the two tiered houses four boars, two up top, two at the bottom, the one to the side now also has two boars. If you don't have the space then what @ayemee suggested would be a good idea providing they don't wind each other up through the bars. We have 10 guinea's, 7 boars and 3 sows.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi, I rehomed 2 4 month old brothers 2 weeks ago as they'd be left to a young child to look after and of course neglected as a result. For the first week everything between the two of them seemed fine but they were very wild and would very loudly and aggressively teeth chatted towards me. 6 days ago I was woken up by the sound of them fighting I separated them and put it down to stress. For the past couple of days the teeth chatting stopped and they seemed much more relaxed in my presence, so decided to start the reintroduce process. As soon as they touched the floor there was one short rumble and they flew at each other ending in me having to physically having to pull them apart as the towel did nothing. Currently they're separated and spending 50% of their time each with my 2 year old boar and both of them get along fine with him.

So now the question is what is the best action to take. The vet has suggested getting them neutered might help but a lot of people here say it won't. So don't know what to believe, has anyone tried it and had success/failure? Or am I just better of calling it quits and trying to find a new companion for one of them? If getting another pig is the answer would I be better off with baby or with an older boar? I don't know any rescues near me that do boar dating and I don't want to end up with another lone pig if they don't get along.

Hi! By the sound of it, your boys have hit the teenage hormones rather hard; sadly there are another 10 months still to come.
How big is the cage they are in?

Sadly, many general vets have not yet caught up with the realisation that guinea pigs are not rabbit, and that neutering them won't do the trick in letting them stay together.

We have got a UK rescue locator as well as a piggy savvy vet locator on the top bar, but can provide links for other countries if wished.

If you haven't got a good rescue within reasonable reach, but find that you have got access to a good vet, then neutering becomes an option for pairing up each boy with a sow-wife for the long term.
The crucial bit is finding either a general vet with plenty of experience in guinea pig neutering (usually for a rescue) or an exotics vet with lots of practice in small furries operations to minimise the risk especially of bad reactions to anaesthesia and post-op complications. You would also have to plan for a full 6 weeks post-op wait until a boar is 100% safe to go with a sow as is the practice in all good standard piggy savvy rescues. I have the unplanned daughter of a supposedly safe over 5 weeks post-op boar (not one of mine) living with me and have heard of other cases since.
The huge advantage of considering going down this route is that once acceptance has happened, cross gender pairings are most stable of all. Sub-adult sows are usually very accepting of neutered "husboars".
But it all hinges on how good a vet you can find.

You can help us a lot if you please added your country, state/province or UK county to your details, so we can tailor any advice and - if possible - local recommendations to what is possible and available where you are and help you work out the best and safest way forward for your specific situation. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scrll down to location. Thank you!

 

[Felicity]

There was blood unfortunately. Aymee I think you're probably right, it's probably been building up before I got them.

Thanks for the advice everyone, Will not go for the neutering. I have a 2x5 c&c with a 2x2 loft but separated one of them in a 1 meter store bought cage for the time being. I've placed it next to the other so they can see each other. I know it's not ideal but I have no money until the end of September so a new c&c cage and a new friend will be a priority at the end of the month.

Wiebke thank you I've had a look and found 2 rescues I could get to that will pair boars. I've also looked at the vet finder to change to a better vet. I will update my profile with my location.

 

[Wiebke]

There was blood unfortunately. Aymee I think you're probably right, it's probably been building up before I got them.

Thanks for the advice everyone, Will not go for the neutering. I have a 2x5 c&c with a 2x2 loft but separated one of them in a 1 meter store bought cage for the time being. I've placed it next to the other so they can see each other. I know it's not ideal but I have no money until the end of September so a new c&c cage and a new friend will be a priority at the end of the month.

Wiebke thank you I've had a look and found 2 rescues I could get to that will pair boars. I've also looked at the vet finder to change to a better vet. I will update my profile with my location.

Thanks! All the best! Please take your time to explore all possible options. The boys will keep as long as they can interact through the bars and are not feeling isolated.