Help With Boars

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Julia McAnish

Julia McAnish

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hello
I'm not sure what to do with our 2 boars. Both are around 12ish weeks old, & not brothers.

A few days ago we had a lot of teeth chattering & chasing around though no biting, & the smaller one ended it by jumping up onto a little platform & all seemed to settle down after this. (We have a 3 tier cage, though only have 2 floors on the go at the moment, as we're trying to get them used to it - we've only had them 4 weeks now). The next day the little one braved it & went up the ramp to the 2nd floor - not sure if he was chased or not. I wasn't sure if he stayed up there because he couldn't get down again, or he wanted to be there! They both also seemed to be calling to each other, especially the bigger one, so after a day/night I ended up putting the little one back down. The whole teeth chattering/chasing started again, but they settled down & were even purring to each other. .

My problem is that since this, the bigger one & more dominant one has been upstairs & was very vocal (he's usually quite quiet), so ended up putting him back down, with another round of teeth chattering etc. & we have now ended up with the wee one back up there! Sorry this is so long winded, what I'm basically asking is should I keep putting them back together? Should I maybe shut off the 2nd floor so they have to stay in the same cage or just leave them apart, even though they do have a choice to go up or down (though do think they're a little worried to go down the ramp). I realise every time they're apart they have to go through this dominance thing. I've read though the bonding thread & made sure they've got 2 of everything & plenty of food. Just not sure how long to keep going, I really want them to be together & they do seem to like each other, when not being hormonal boys.
Thanks.
Julia
 
I think it might be the ramp that's causing the problems. And you are right that every time they are separated they have to sort out the dominance again. Poor little guys. Never a dull moment with boars. Lol. (My 2 are bickering at the moment). Hope you get it resolved soon. And your boys can live happily.
 
Thanks guys for replying. I've been reading the guides, which are great, just wasn't sure about whether to keep them together, or let one escape completely & not come back! I'll put them both back together in the top part/3rd level of the cage, which is neutral & new territory for both, so hopefully that'll help & lots of open ended escape routes.

In the middle of their show last night I stuck a little teddy in, which I don't think helped! They both started chattering at that, & think this is maybe why the wee one (Oscar) left, think he thought that Dexter was more than capable of dealing with that one on his own!

Fingers crossed, they can work things out - at least the ringworm is clearing up now. Hope there's not a third thing.
Julia x
p.s. The ramps are quite steep, so need to put something under to lift up. I've also put some non slip tape on them & plan to put sides on - will have a look at the corex. Thanks again.
 
Just a wee update on the boys. Sadly they had a big fight, so are now separated, both have gone into hiding and haven't eaten anything, think they've given themselves a bit of a fright & me :( I don't want to stress them any further by trying to catch them and check for any wounds, so will try tomorrow, though think Dexter has got a wee cut on his back. Unfortunately, they are both pretty skittish anyway so it's always a bit of a trauma trying to catch them, though the tube works pretty well.

Poor wee lads - feeling sad for them. I will try to split the cage up so they can be side by side. I'm guessing after such a reaction, trying again is not an option :(
 
So sorry to hear that. :soz: I hope they are ok. I think you are right. It looks like they will not be a compatible pair. (Although I am not an expert on piggy behaviours.) but I think when it gets that serious there isn't much hope of them working it out.
 
Thanks Julie, feeling a bit upset today, but I've contacted a local guinea pig rescue place near to us - if we need to keep them separately, then we will, but I'd much rather try all other options to make sure they have happy lives & with a companion they get on with, and if that means re-homing one or both we will.
On the upside, we are new to guinea pigs & have decided we love them!
 
Please check your boys re. bites all over or have them seen by your vet. They need disinfecting to prevent an abscess from forming. You can get either sterile saline solution or hibiscrub from your pharmacy.
 
Will do, thanks. Little Oscar seems quite perky today & has eaten, but Dexter, who is the dominant one hasn't been out much & hasn't eaten his usual amount, I wasn't able to catch him this morning, as he was chattering at me, so didn't want to stress him any further. Unfortunately, I'm at work now, but my partner has instructions to keep an eye on him & I'll catch him up in his little bed tonight & check him over.

I've been in touch with a rescue place & the lady there has said she could take them for a couple of days & try bonding them & monitoring their behaviour, to see if there's any chance they could still get on, she said there may be a chance as they are still young, though I'm not getting any hopes up. I'm also going to try a bonding bath, though I'm not sure how that'll go since they are both so skittish around humans. The rescue place has also said that as Oscar isn't the dominant one, he may be able to get a new, baby, friend. We'll just wait and see how it all goes.
 
I wish you the best of luck! Sadly, it is always very difficult and heart-breaking when your new piggies turn out to not getting on. Are you using Hutches Rescue?
 
No, Cavy Capers in Glenrothes, who have been very helpful, though may contact Hutches as well, to see if they have any single boars looking for a friend. We'll all be really sad if one or both have to go, but we have to make sure they're happy. At least we're learning a lot!
 
I hope that you can at least hang onto one boar! Is there a chance that you could adapt the cages so that each boar can live with a new friend on top of each other? It depends on the floor size of your cage, of course.
 
I can certainly shut each level off, though not sure if each single level would be big enough for 2 piggies each long term (the cage is an Essegi Small Pet cage on zoo plus, 100w x 53d x 150h cms), though I guess they could take it in turns having an extra floor every other day & we do have a pen for them, which we haven't used yet, as have been trying to keep possible ringworm spread to a minimum, but is meant for daily runabout time. I'm just not sure I could manage 4 piggies! Will have to think about that one! Hopefully we will be able to keep one, though if we found 2 compatible companions & neither could come to us, then I'd let both go.

I'm a little worried that getting a baby for Oscar might result in the same outcome, once it gets older - what do you think?
 
Julia McAnish said:
I can certainly shut each level off, though not sure if each single level would be big enough for 2 piggies each long term (the cage is an Essegi Small Pet cage on zoo plus, 100w x 53d x 150h cms), though I guess they could take it in turns having an extra floor every other day & we do have a pen for them, which we haven't used yet, as have been trying to keep possible ringworm spread to a minimum, but is meant for daily runabout time. I'm just not sure I could manage 4 piggies! Will have to think about that one! Hopefully we will be able to keep one, though if we found 2 compatible companions & neither could come to us, then I'd let both go.

I'm a little worried that getting a baby for Oscar might result in the same outcome, once it gets older - what do you think?
Click to expand...

The cage size is not ideal, but if you could arrange it so that one boar has got the two upper stories and the other the ground cage and the run, then you may get away with it.

An alternative option (but one that involves a waiting time of several months) would be to have both boys neutered so they can live with a sow each. Cross gender bonds are the most stable of pairings. However, it means that you have to wait until the boys are old enough for the slip (by around 4-6 months old) and then the face a 6 weeks post operation wait until they are 100% to go with a sow. I am sure that our Scottish members can give you recommendations for a good neutering vet. My various groups with one neutered boar each time share the communal roaming space and they live next to each other. You can decide to have only one boar neutered to live with a sow, but in the case, the two groups should ideally not come face to face again.

Right now, you want to think through all possible options so you can make an informaed decision that you won't rue afterwards. Take your time!
 
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