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princenvladimir

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So...I have my boars for a year and a half now. They had a huge fight a year ago (blood drawn) and since then, can't live together anymore ( we have tried so many times and so many things). We have tried to put them in separate cages but they were very depressed, so we have a big C&C cage with a separation in the middle so they can smell/ see each other. We are in a flat so they live indoors, hence the following issues:

Prince (the boar who was injured) is constantly biting the cage. Is this normal? this is quite noisy and agressive and sometimes wakes us up
The smell....i have tried so many beddings. The one I have at the moment is newspaper and cage liners that I bought. I think because the weather is hot, the smell is more noticeable despite me cleaning daily...
I feel they might not have enough room- the cage is really big, but obviously they can only live in half of it.

So.. possible solutions:

-buy a big balcony hutch so they can both have their own floor. BUT: can they live on the balcony in the winter now they have been used to live inside? The balcony is protected from wind etc.

-swap one of my piggies for a better match :( (this will break my heart but i want to do the right thing for them)

I am really not sure. Please help!
 
I would say biting the cage is ok because it can help with their teeth but if it’s in an aggressive way possibly not so good. Also smell is normal in the summer it’s just the heat. I would suggest getting a hutch possibly, but to begin with just put them out their for an hour or so, then gradually increase until they are used to it. It is up to you whether you want to bring them in for the winter, if not you just wanna make sure they have plenty of bedding to keep them warm. I’m not saying you have to do any of that it is just a few suggestions, you do what you feel comfortable with. I agree if I had to give away one of my piggies I would be SO upset! It’s up to you, I just thought I would tell you a few of my suggestions, in case it helped. X
 
I would maybe swap the newspapers for puppy pads. How often do you change the newspapers?

I don’t know about biting the bars. Mine only do it when they hear us in th fridge or it’s time for breakfast/dinner.

I would keep them beside each other in the cage. It may be he wants to go back in with his old cage mate even though it’s not possible.
 
Thank you both! I change the newspaper a lot but they don't seem to be wet ever, the fleece is doing a great job at absorbing it but then it smells....
I am considering a balcony hutch- anyone knows if it's possible to get a hutch with two levels without a ladder as obviously they would need to be separated?
 
How often do you change the fleece? I change mine every 4-5 days. I change their ‘kitchen’ area every other day though as the mat thing I use starts to smell after that. It’s where they do most of their wee I think.

You could probably block access to the lower level in some way.
 
Most hutches with a ramp can be closed off quite easily, so if you check before hand to make sure, you'll be fine. One of my piggies always bites the bars of the other piggies cage at floor time - he just wants to get in there and make friends (or fight, I'm not sure which). You could try litter trays lined with newspapers in the high pee areas, and change it every day (that's what I do, and I don't have much of a problem with smell. Also try feeding more grass and less veg - especially things like broccoli and cabbage as they tend to make their wee a bit more pungent. I find mine smell less in summer when their diet is almost exclusively hay and grass with a little pepper and nuggets.
 
princenvladimir said:
Thank you both! I change the newspaper a lot but they don't seem to be wet ever, the fleece is doing a great job at absorbing it but then it smells....
I am considering a balcony hutch- anyone knows if it's possible to get a hutch with two levels without a ladder as obviously they would need to be separated?
Click to expand...
You could get hutch that has a ramp that you can lift up and tuck out of the way, that is what my hutch has xx
 
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