Hi, I have had my four baby boars for the last two weeks, they are now about 9 weeks old. I was initially intending to have three, but after doing some reading on here I realised that was never going to work so got a fourth (officially mine) so that we can have two pairs. They are all still very skittish. After watching them carefully for two weeks I thought we had discovered who was likely to get on with who, one more dominant in each pair. I made their new c&c cages yesterday both 5x3, I'm going to add hay lofts and such later on when they have settled down a bit. When I first divided them into pairs I was rather surprised and worried at the new behaviour which I hadn't seen before. Both pairs started chasing, mounting and grumbling at each other. It wasn't just the dominant ones which appeared to be attempting to mount. I'm assuming going from a quartet to two pairs completely changed the dynamics. So I sat with a tea towel and watched for a couple of tense hours. I split a couple of minor scuffles in one pair just by moving towards them a bit and didn't need the tea towel. Eventually it seemed to calm and for the last half an hour of my vigil they were all sat in hideys either together or separate. I gave them lots of grass to distract them, which they would eat side by side. So I left them together and went back in to check every now and again. All seemed calm. Pair A seem to have sorted out things, Multi grumbles at Sebastian whenever he gets near his hidey and Sebastian runs away. Pair B seem more tolerant of each other and will hide in the same hidey if they spot me, with just a little grumbling on the more dominant ones part. Last night I did notice some fur wasn't lying flat on the submissive ones nose (Mr Twitchy Nose) and tried to have a little look but as he is very skittish and there didn't seem to have been any more misbehavior I didn't worry too much. But this morning we saw some blood on Mr Twitchy noses nose just under his eye. I picked him up in a tube and put him on my lap to have a look. There is a bit of fur missing and a bloody mark in the middle, but I'm not sure it is a bite, it's in the same place as the sticking up fur I noticed last night. The piggies seem ok with each other, no more chasing or mounting. I am going to take them all to the vets tomorrow for a little check over. What do the more experienced think, should I split them up? They seem ok with each other but obviously don't want him to get hurt any more. An exceptionally long post I know, but wanting to get all the info in so you could judge properly for me. Thank you :-)
Do I Need To Intervene?
- Thread starter Teecee
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Hi! Please keep an eye on your boy - in the location it is likely to be either a misjudged swipe or the beginnings of fungal, especially if there are no further signs of any tension between them. Do not separate.
Any guinea pig groups of whatever gender/gender combination needs to establish a new hierarchy. That is the behaviour you have been witnessing. It is important that you do not have any hideys in the cage with just one exit, so no piggy can be cornered.
You may find these guides here helpful:
Ringworm: Hygiene And Pictures
Illustrated Bonding Behaviours And Dynamics
Boars: Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Any guinea pig groups of whatever gender/gender combination needs to establish a new hierarchy. That is the behaviour you have been witnessing. It is important that you do not have any hideys in the cage with just one exit, so no piggy can be cornered.
You may find these guides here helpful:
Ringworm: Hygiene And Pictures
Illustrated Bonding Behaviours And Dynamics
Boars: Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Thank you. I was hoping it was just a dominance thing, as they settled down ok after the initial excitement. I'll see what the vet says about his face and I've ordered some hibiscrub. There are two hideys each and extra tunnels, they all have an in and an out. I wanted to pair them up before they hit hormones. I'll post again if there are any more problems. Thank you again for your help :-)
For disinfecting, you can get some sterile saline solution from the pharmacy or make your own by mixing 1 teaspoon of salt into 1/2 pint of boiled cooled water.
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