Dominance or fighting?

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Bellagirl20

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hello! I am a new piggy owner! I currently have three male skinny pigs! Pig who is almost 4 months is in his own separate cage and Scotch and Char(Charcoal) are in their own catch and are 2-3 months old) Pig is in a large Living World Cage and Scotch and Char are in an XL Living World Cage. I will soon be making a larger cage but do not currently have the space or all the materials yet.

Pig is healthy and a little ham! He popcorns all the time! The other two concern me though. Scotch and Char were bought together and have lived together (that I know of) for awhile. When I bought them they were in the same cage. Recently Char has been bullying scotch a ton! He chases him around and even lunges at him. Scotch has two bite marks and a few scratches on his back. I have not seen any blood drawn. I have not seen Char try to mount scotch either. He just charges him and makes him squeal very loud. I have read this is normal dominance behavior but hearing his screams scares me. I also do not like to see a few bites and scratches. Scotch does not fight back either.

I currently have
2 hideys (wood with two exits)
one tunnel made of alfalfa.
1 water bowl (I have an extra if needed)
1 Food bowl (I have an extra if needed)

I originally had one giant wood hidey but Char started to kick Scotch out of it. So, I removed and got two smaller ones.

I have had these pigs for at least 1 week and they didn’t show any signs of dominance or aggression until 3 days ago. Char was actually the more timid ones. Scotch was adventures.
What should I do?
Thank you!
 
I had the same problem with my two male guinea pigs. They were brothers but one would always chase the other one. If they are just chasing it is normal but if they are hurting each other you need to do something about it. You also need to keep an eye on how they interact with each other because usually as they enter there teen stage it can get worse.
 
How
Puddle said:
I had the same problem with my two male guinea pigs. They were brothers but one would always chase the other one. If they are just chasing it is normal but if they are hurting each other you need to do something about it. You also need to keep an eye on how they interact with each other because usually as they enter there teen stage it can get worse.
Click to expand...


What did you do for the chasing ? Did they show any aggression? Did they eventually just stop?
Thank you(:
 
The chasing and mounting are normal. What would concern me is if one of the piggies were actively trying to make the other's life miserable. You reported bites and scratches, and that I think is a sign for some time off. I'm still a newbie, though, and other people will have better advice. I'll recommend reading the guides around here, though. Like this one: Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next? They're great.

My two boars are starting their teenage months and going through the dominance thing, and sometimes they can be annoying, but most of the time they get along well, eat together, play around, sleep close to each other. I think that's what should be expected. Biting and scratching would worry me. Does Char allow Scotch to eat and drink? Since you have extra stuff, I think it would be a good idea to use these things, to avoid the 'bully' (for lack of a better word, sorry) getting in the way of the other piggy's needs.

Also, space! Can you expand their cage?
 
tatals said:
The chasing and mounting are normal. What would concern me is if one of the piggies were actively trying to make the other's life miserable. You reported bites and scratches, and that I think is a sign for some time off. I'm still a newbie, though, and other people will have better advice. I'll recommend reading the guides around here, though. Like this one: Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next? They're great.

My two boars are starting their teenage months and going through the dominance thing, and sometimes they can be annoying, but most of the time they get along well, eat together, play around, sleep close to each other. I think that's what should be expected. Biting and scratching would worry me. Does Char allow Scotch to eat and drink? Since you have extra stuff, I think it would be a good idea to use these things, to avoid the 'bully' (for lack of a better word, sorry) getting in the way of the other piggy's needs.

Also, space! Can you expand their cage?
Click to expand...
Hello!
I have the grids but do not have the Coroplast or zip ties yet! Char does let Scotch eat and drink. Sometimes they eat and drink next to each other and sometimes I do catch them sleeping together as well.
Thanks!
 
Good luck, I know how stressful it can be! My piggies scare the life out of me most days with their antics but there’s been no biting or scratching yet to my knowledge. An awful lot of teeth chattering though! Sometimes they only have to look at each other and it sets them off! I have two of everything but they always want the same thing! Then 5 mins later they are happily eating side by side and popcorning. They have been together for about 2 months now and I’m a nervous wreck. This forum is wonderful for help and advice!
 
I have not seen any popcorning from them yet which makes me a bit nervous as well. Tonight was but rough woke like every hour to screaming.
 
That’s very stressful for you. I’m sure there are others who can give you better advice.
 
There are others who gave the experience to advise you better.
I have sows but I understand that boars can be more challenging.
You’ve been given the link for a helpful thread to read.
Welcome to the forum
 
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