Guinea pig bickers

Raymond92

Raymond92

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi, I have 2 boars - one 4 year old (Solomon) who has a fairly relaxed temperament and an 8 month old (Norbert) who is incredibly excitable. We got Norbert when Solomon’s roommate died. He became incredibly lonely and depressed and it was really important we got him paired up with a piggie. Both boars got on really well from the start and cry if I ever separate them (for a cuddle, clipping nails etc). However recently they’ve started to bicker more. We’ve upgraded their living quarters so it’s much bigger and has an upstairs as well. But just wondering if there is anything I can do to reduce the bickering? For the first time tonight I heard Norbert squarking like bird which I know is a sign of deep distress 😞 I don’t know if it’s just the heat or we are about to turn a nasty corner. Any help would be much appreciated.
 
An 8 month old will be experiencing a hormone spike which can increase this kind of behaviour.

Can you tell us exactly the behaviours you are seeing?

How long ago did you change the cage size? Changing cage is a territory change which will cause them to reestablish their bond again, taking around two weeks.

How big is their cage on the bottom level? (Upper levels do not count towards the cage size). Sometimes a ramp can cause problems if one piggy claims it as their own (single level cages are better for piggies).
Do all hides have two doors?
Is there two of everything?
 
The younger one is right around puberty, so the unrest is likely caused by a hormonal change. Some conflict is completely expected, be prepared for it to get worse before it gets better, there may be some chasing and even a bit of fighting. Many boar pairings just need to sort out the change in dynamic and continue to live peacefully afterwards, but unfortunately, there is no way of 100% knowing or making sure they will work as an adult pair.

Still, you can provide the best possible conditions to get them through this critical phase. It's important that you do everything you can to prevent unnecessary points of conflict. Make sure all hideys have two entrances and that there are plenty of them, that there are at least two water bottles/bowls, and that the food is not all just in one place they can fight over. These are all things you should be following anyway, but they are particularly important now. In my experience, it is good to have the additional feeding and watering spots within a line of sight, as they may not be smart enough to remember there is a second one around the corner in the heat of the moment. Also, avoid narrow passageways in the setup (including narrow ramps), because they can start defending them and there may be fights if they meet head-on and can't escape without going backwards. To monitor the situation, it is a good idea to weigh them weekly, so you'll notice any sudden weight drops, which can be a sign of serious bullying.

It's important to remember that a bit of conflict and testing boundaries is a completely normal and even important part of puberty in guinea pigs as they adjust to adult life, just like it is for humans. All you can do during this phase is provide a good environment and monitor the situation in case it escalates.
 
Thanks so much everyone for your help and advice. I did wonder whether it was a puberty thing. We went through it previously when we had 2 boys around the same age but they were both quite docile temperaments so the bickers weren’t that bad.
@Piggies&buns nothing really horrendous but the little one gets up in the older ones face trying to dominate every area he’s in. To the point where Solomon will snap and bite his bum. There haven’t been any injuries yet but the squabbles can range from a few mins to half an hour before they both get tired and go to sleep. I just feel a bit sorry for Solomon as he’s an older boy and very calm.
The cage we have is a c&c 3x2 with the ramp. I see your point about the ramp and them wanting to dominate it. Norbert has definitely taken that as ‘his patch’. But the ramp is great because Solomon loves going up there and having a snooze for some time out.
There are two hidey holes and I will take @Urmel point of adding more bowls, water bottles etc and avoiding narrow passageways.
Thank you this is all really helpful.
Just so you know, we do let them run around a lot. They are in a huge run in the day with lots of space and we never hear a bicker. And the days they can’t go out we give them plenty of floor time.
I’m hoping it all evens out but your advice is really helpful for now. We’ll just have to see how they get on in adult life.
It’s a shame because when they are split up they call for each other and are quite distressed when they are around each other.
I’ll keep a close watch, weigh them every week and see how we go.
Thank you for your advice x
 
A 4x2 is ok but is considered minimum size for a boar pair. They ideally need a 5x2 in the bottom level.

We don’t recommend the use of food bowls. Instead scatter feed veg and pellets amongst hay. That is excellent enrichment and mental stimulation in the form of foraging (eating from A bowl is a bit of a mindless activity). Scatter feeding also stops the risk of any food hogging by the dominant.
 
Ok - I’ll have a look into extending it further to give them more space.
Thank you for the advice on food - I’ll give that a go and see how they get on.
 
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