Help With Bonding Two Boars

[AhoyRuie]

Hi so I recently got two guinea pigs, I first got Calcifer who is about 7 months old and i got Makar who is about a month old a few weeks ago, I recently introduced them and everything went well. There wasnt anything besides mounting and rumblestrutting really so I moved them into the same cage once they started to settle down. Its been about 2 days now though and Calcifer is still rumblestrutting to Makar whenever he comes near and Cal is also acting more antisocial towards my girlfriend and I then he used too, He was on his own for a month or so because I didn't know that they should be kept in at least pairs. I was just wondering is this behavior normal? and how long does it usually take to show dominance? From what i've watched it seems like makar understands that Cal is the dominant but cal doesnt like it when makar follows him around or if he goes in his house or anything. Also they both have their own water bottle, igloo and food bowl but share a hay rack

 

[1GuineaPig1]

Don't worry-this is perfectly normal. Unfortunately, this dominance behavior may die down after a few weeks or months, but it will keep occurring until both of your boys are satisfied with the hierarchy. Calcifer is right at his hormonal stage, which lasts from about 6 months to 18 months of age, so you can expect this kind of behavior from him for another year at least!

I would advise having two hideys with at least two openings, so that each pig has his own and neither can get trapped. You can either purchase new hideys with more than one opening if you want, or you could put the igloos under hot water for a few minutes to soften the plastic and then cut out an opening and sand down any sharp edges. If you could, it would be even better if they each had their own hay rack so that if one guinea pig is at one hay rack then the other guinea pig can go to the other if they don't feel like sharing, which many don't. Otherwise, you're perfectly fine.

Since you have boars, you could read this fantastic sticky that may help you if you haven't read it already:
Boars: A guide to successful companionship.

That link has a lot of great information and also advises you on what to do when your piggy-soon to be piggies-enters his hormonal stage, or adolescence.

Good luck!