[Help Please] First Hormonal Spike

Cherry Berry

Cherry Berry

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hello, lovely Guinea Pig Parents,

Hope you and your little ones are doing great.

Berry had his first hormonal spike tonight. It started out with chasing Cherry then Berry jumped on Cherry a few times. I am not 100% sure but I think I saw fur in Berry's mouth. I immediately interrupted and checked both of them, they were looking fine. Cherry's fur was looking completely fine. So then, I put Cherry Berry back in their cage. There was a lot of chasing but Berry tried to jump on Cherry again. Cherry is the submissive one, he normally squeals, runs away and stays calm. But today when Berry didn't give up after a long time, Cherry jumped back on Berry. So I decided to split the C&C cage for tonight. After the split immediately Berry got really restless and started to chew the splitting grids. I thought he is missing Cherry so when I removed the split, the chasing and everything started again. Berry tried jumping on Cherry a few times and Cherry started off with squealing but after a while started jumping on Berry too.

Therefore, I have split them for now as things don't look like they would work. I think their bond is broken now and I need to separate them now. :(
Any suggestions in this situation.

Best wishes x
 
guineaPig_Mum said:
Hello, lovely Guinea Pig Parents,

Hope you and your little ones are doing great.

Berry had his first hormonal spike tonight. It started out with chasing Cherry then Berry jumped on Cherry a few times. I am not 100% sure but I think I saw fur in Berry's mouth. I immediately interrupted and checked both of them, they were looking fine. Cherry's fur was looking completely fine. So then, I put Cherry Berry back in their cage. There was a lot of chasing but Berry tried to jump on Cherry again. Cherry is the submissive one, he normally squeals, runs away and stays calm. But today when Berry didn't give up after a long time, Cherry jumped back on Berry. So I decided to split the C&C cage for tonight. After the split immediately Berry got really restless and started to chew the splitting grids. I thought he is missing Cherry so when I removed the split, the chasing and everything started again. Berry tried jumping on Cherry a few times and Cherry started off with squealing but after a while started jumping on Berry too.

Therefore, I have split them for now as things don't look like they would work. I think their bond is broken now and I need to separate them now. :(
Any suggestions in this situation.

Best wishes x
Click to expand...
Hi, I don't know much about bonding as I have three sows who all get along fine. Maybe @Wiebke could be able to help?
 
guineaPig_Mum said:
Hello, lovely Guinea Pig Parents,

Hope you and your little ones are doing great.

Berry had his first hormonal spike tonight. It started out with chasing Cherry then Berry jumped on Cherry a few times. I am not 100% sure but I think I saw fur in Berry's mouth. I immediately interrupted and checked both of them, they were looking fine. Cherry's fur was looking completely fine. So then, I put Cherry Berry back in their cage. There was a lot of chasing but Berry tried to jump on Cherry again. Cherry is the submissive one, he normally squeals, runs away and stays calm. But today when Berry didn't give up after a long time, Cherry jumped back on Berry. So I decided to split the C&C cage for tonight. After the split immediately Berry got really restless and started to chew the splitting grids. I thought he is missing Cherry so when I removed the split, the chasing and everything started again. Berry tried jumping on Cherry a few times and Cherry started off with squealing but after a while started jumping on Berry too.

Therefore, I have split them for now as things don't look like they would work. I think their bond is broken now and I need to separate them now. :(
Any suggestions in this situation.

Best wishes x
Click to expand...
Hi, I don't know much about bonding as I have three sows who all get along fine. Maybe @Wiebke could be able to help?
 
guineaPig_Mum said:
Hello, lovely Guinea Pig Parents,

Hope you and your little ones are doing great.

Berry had his first hormonal spike tonight. It started out with chasing Cherry then Berry jumped on Cherry a few times. I am not 100% sure but I think I saw fur in Berry's mouth. I immediately interrupted and checked both of them, they were looking fine. Cherry's fur was looking completely fine. So then, I put Cherry Berry back in their cage. There was a lot of chasing but Berry tried to jump on Cherry again. Cherry is the submissive one, he normally squeals, runs away and stays calm. But today when Berry didn't give up after a long time, Cherry jumped back on Berry. So I decided to split the C&C cage for tonight. After the split immediately Berry got really restless and started to chew the splitting grids. I thought he is missing Cherry so when I removed the split, the chasing and everything started again. Berry tried jumping on Cherry a few times and Cherry started off with squealing but after a while started jumping on Berry too.

Therefore, I have split them for now as things don't look like they would work. I think their bond is broken now and I need to separate them now. :(
Any suggestions in this situation.

Best wishes x
Click to expand...

Hi!

Please follow the very detailed, practical and comprehensive advice in our teenage guide. It takes you through all possible aspects and tells you at each stage what you can do and what you need to look out for so you can judge whether a bond is still viable or not: Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

All the best!
 
Wiebke said:
Hi!

Please follow the very detailed, practical and comprehensive advice in our teenage guide. It takes you through all possible aspects and tells you at each stage what you can do and what you need to look out for so you can judge whether a bond is still viable or not: Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

All the best!
Click to expand...
Hi Wiebke,

Thanks for the reply. I have read the guide and I was prepared for the spike. But things don't look normal at all. They are trying to jump on each other constantly. I removed the split and they started jumping on each other again. Berry is constantly trying to break the split grids so I had to put a towel there to stop him as I don't want him to hurt his teeth. He has a hidey house there which he climbs to see Cherry and talk to him. The towel acts as a tunnel for them to go through and meet each other. I know towel is NOT the ideal solution and it is temporary just to distract Berry from constantly chewing grids as he is busy borrowing it for now. Everytime he climbs the hidey house to talk to Cherry, Cherry is getting way too scared and hiding in his house as if he has lost trust in Berry.

They had an amazing bond. They used to squeal if one of them is taken out just for a health check. They always had food from the same bowl although there were too. Berry never disturbed Cherry while sleeping. Cherry likes bell peppers a lot so Berry used to give him his bell peppers from his mouth. Berry always protected Cherry that's why Cherry used to trust him a lot. But now, it looks like Cherry has lost trust in Berry, he is more calm and relaxed separated.

I am really stressed in this situation and I can't stop my tears. I never ever imagined things getting this bad. I want to remove that towel but I don't want Berry to hurt his teeth and Cherry gets scared when Berry does that. Cherry is relaxed with the towel and as of now Berry is using it as a toy to borrow. Any suggestions, please?
 
guineaPig_Mum said:
Hi Wiebke,

Thanks for the reply. I have read the guide and I was prepared for the spike. But things don't look normal at all. They are trying to jump on each other constantly. I removed the split and they started jumping on each other again. Berry is constantly trying to break the split grids so I had to put a towel there to stop him as I don't want him to hurt his teeth. He has a hidey house there which he climbs to see Cherry and talk to him. The towel acts as a tunnel for them to go through and meet each other. I know towel is NOT the ideal solution and it is temporary just to distract Berry from constantly chewing grids as he is busy borrowing it for now. Everytime he climbs the hidey house to talk to Cherry, Cherry is getting way too scared and hiding in his house as if he has lost trust in Berry.

They had an amazing bond. They used to squeal if one of them is taken out just for a health check. They always had food from the same bowl although there were too. Berry never disturbed Cherry while sleeping. Cherry likes bell peppers a lot so Berry used to give him his bell peppers from his mouth. Berry always protected Cherry that's why Cherry used to trust him a lot. But now, it looks like Cherry has lost trust in Berry, he is more calm and relaxed separated.

I am really stressed in this situation and I can't stop my tears. I never ever imagined things getting this bad. I want to remove that towel but I don't want Berry to hurt his teeth and Cherry gets scared when Berry does that. Cherry is relaxed with the towel and as of now Berry is using it as a toy to borrow. Any suggestions, please?
Click to expand...

You need to wait about at least 2 days for a spike to die down and then conduct any re-intro (as stated in the guide) on neutral ground. If things blow up very quickly again during their re-intro on neutral ground, then their bond is no long viable.

A blow up between two boars is always upsetting for both of them. You need to give them time to settle down and then take them out of their normal space to really see what is going on. Sometimes unfortunately things can go sour. Lunging is a very strongly worded 'Keep out of my space' from a boar that feels very much under pressure.
 
Wiebke said:
You need to wait about at least 2 days for a spike to die down and then conduct any re-intro (as stated in the guide) on neutral ground. If things blow up very quickly again during their re-intro on neutral ground, then their bond is no long viable.

A blow up between two boars is always upsetting for both of them. You need to give them time to settle down and then take them out of their normal space to really see what is going on. Sometimes unfortunately things can go sour. Lunging is a very strongly worded 'Keep out of my space' from a boar that feels very much under pressure.
Click to expand...
Okay, thanks. I will wait for two days and try reintroducing them again on neutral ground until then I am keeping a close eye on them just to make sure that they are eating, drinking water and sleeping normally. Thanks a lot Wiebke. I don't know the result of the reintroduction but all I hope and want is their happiness and safety. I will keep you guys updated in the process. Also, any suggestion on how to stop Berry from chewing the grids?
 
He should stop chewing the grids eventually. What I found helped was to cover a section of the divider with a piece of corex or even cardboard, so only about half a grid was there for them to see through.
 
Hello awesome Guinea Pig Parents,

Hope you and your little ones are doing great and enjoying the weekend. xx

Cherry and Berry were reintroduced today. It was a quick reintroduction. They were very happy about seeing each other. Cherry peed a few times of Berry but Berry was fine it as he was missing Cherry a lot. Cherry peed once on me as well this reminds me of the day when Berry threw his poop at me. Clearly they love me a lot. 😂
They are back in their cage under observation.

However, is it better to split them again at night because what if they fight back and rejoin them in Morning because I want them to be happy but also be safe.

Best Wishes
 
You’ll have to leave them together now and hopefully they’ll be okay. Splitting and re-introducing can be stressful for them so you have to leave them to it now. Good luck.
 
Siikibam said:
You’ll have to leave them together now and hopefully they’ll be okay. Splitting and re-introducing can be stressful for them so you have to leave them to it now. Good luck.
Click to expand...
Hi,

Thanks for your reply. I had to split them again because things started blowing up in the afternoon. I can see that Berry misses Cherry a lot but looks like Cherry has lost trust in Berry. Every time Berry tries to hump on Cherry, Cherry jumps back on Berry which starts for a fight and things get aggressive. :(
 
I’m sorry it’s not worked out. Teenage months are a hard time for them. When you say blowing up was Berry not being submissive? Retaliating? How is he, does he seem bothered that he’s not with Cherry? I think have a read of the thread below again as decide. I’d say don’t put them together again if Berry seems happier. But do have them living next to each other so they can still chat through the bars.
 
Siikibam said:
I’m sorry it’s not worked out. Teenage months are a hard time for them. When you say blowing up was Berry not being submissive? Retaliating? How is he, does he seem bothered that he’s not with Cherry? I think have a read of the thread below again as decide. I’d say don’t put them together again if Berry seems happier. But do have them living next to each other so they can still chat through the bars.
Click to expand...
Hi,

Berry is the dominant one and Cherry is the submissive one. Normally, Cherry squeals and lets Berry do what he wants. But after the spike, Cherry got really scared and he is retaliating not because he wants to be the dominant one but because he has lost trust in Berry. Berry although he is the dominant one, he is a very caring and loving guinea pig, he misses Cherry but whenever they are reintroduced he tries to hump on Cherry but Cherry retaliates it and rumble strutted a lot.

They are in a C&C split cage so they can talk, see and smell each other. Berry tries talking to Cherry and then Cherry starts rumble strutting which annoys Berry. With these situations, I can't leave them alone together as they are jumping on each other and showing teeth to each other a lot. It's painful to see them this way but can't risk their safety.
 
How is Cherry? Does he seem happy now they’re split? It’s not losing trust in Berry, he doesn’t like it. Unfortunately the humping is bound to happen each time they’re reintroduced because Berry is reinforcing his dominance. But if Cherry is not allowing himself to be humped it’s a difficult one.
 
Siikibam said:
How is Cherry? Does he seem happy now they’re split? It’s not losing trust in Berry, he doesn’t like it. Unfortunately the humping is bound to happen each time they’re reintroduced because Berry is reinforcing his dominance. But if Cherry is not allowing himself to be humped it’s a difficult one.
Click to expand...
Hi,

Sadly, Cherry seems more relaxed with the split. Whenever Berry comes to meet Cherry through the split, Cherry either rumble struttes or tries to pee on Berry which annoys Berry after a point. Berry is missing Cherry but Cherry seems to be fine being separated. Normally, Cherry used to let Berry hump him but during and after the spike, Cherry has decided he doesn't want that anymore. It's a sad and difficult situation for them. :(
 
Then the best thing for them is a permanent split. You go by how the underpig is when you split. Since he appears happy then that’s what you go by. Sorry it didn’t work, I guess Cherry didn’t like it anymore.
 
Siikibam said:
Then the best thing for them is a permanent split. You go by how the underpig is when you split. Since he appears happy then that’s what you go by. Sorry it didn’t work, I guess Cherry didn’t like it anymore.
Click to expand...
Yeah, unfortunately, this is the best thing for them. Thanks for the help and support, everyone.
 
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