sandra turpin
Adult Guinea Pig
I am wondering if this behaviour is normal. I haven't seen Basil do this before. Snowball is approx 41/2 months and Basil 5 months. They get on well but just a bit worried that it might change.
Sandra
Is this normal?
- Thread starter sandra turpin
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I am wondering if this behaviour is normal. I haven't seen Basil do this before. Snowball is approx 41/2 months and Basil 5 months. They get on well but just a bit worried that it might change.
Sandra
Gems
Adult Guinea Pig
The mounting is him trying to assert his dominance ( I don't have sound on my work computer so I'm not sure if this was accompanied by rumbling or not ). It can be normal, but they are getting towards their "teenage" age so this behaviour may become more frequent. It can sometimes lead to permanant fallouts but it may just be that his hormones have kicked in and he wants to make sure it's known he's top pig and if snowball accepts this then hopefully they'll get on fine.
Alot of people have boar pairings that get on fine, others fall out, I don't think there's much you can do unfortunately except keep an eye on them and if it gets to the stage where blood is drawn then they may have to be seperated.
Alot of people have boar pairings that get on fine, others fall out, I don't think there's much you can do unfortunately except keep an eye on them and if it gets to the stage where blood is drawn then they may have to be seperated.
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What you have recorded there is well within the range of 'normal boarishness' - usual dominance stuff. But, as Gems says, they have reached that age where the hormones really kick in and there can be a LOT of dominance-related behaviour that you will not have seen when they were babies.
As Gems says, all you can do is keep a close eye on them. Hopefully, things will not get any worse and will eventually settle. My experience with boars is that even the happiest friendships will have recurrences of this dominance behaviour from time to time until they get to age 4 or 5, (years not months!) when they seem to have quite a falling-off in hormone levels and become much more placid.
Unfortunately with some pairs, things just get worse and worse until they fight and have to be separated. I think this is the minority of cases though, and you can do your best to prevent it by: giving them plenty of space, two of everything, etc
Read Boureki's thread about Boar Behaviour above - it is very helpful.
As Gems says, all you can do is keep a close eye on them. Hopefully, things will not get any worse and will eventually settle. My experience with boars is that even the happiest friendships will have recurrences of this dominance behaviour from time to time until they get to age 4 or 5, (years not months!) when they seem to have quite a falling-off in hormone levels and become much more placid.
Unfortunately with some pairs, things just get worse and worse until they fight and have to be separated. I think this is the minority of cases though, and you can do your best to prevent it by: giving them plenty of space, two of everything, etc
Read Boureki's thread about Boar Behaviour above - it is very helpful.
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going off food/water
this is another thing to bear in mind, please. the reason my star has the issue he does now, i believe, is because moo.moo has been guarding the sipping tubes. when pigs pigs need to drink fresh water, and are denied access to it, anorexia can develop [i've been reading about this on GL site].
in addition to the water guarding, he was chasing and mounting the two other boars every time they even moved in the direction of sipping tubes!
they are all separated at the moment, for stars's well-being, until star resumes proper intake of fluid/foods. rest from the stress caused by moo is imperative. maybe they will live this way on a temp basis, or else it could be longer-lasting.
even though the boars were not drawing blood, and were well within the normal behaviour range, if someone is unable to eat or drink - it can become serious.
star is eating and drinking some, and making poos, but has little interest in pellets.
this is another thing to bear in mind, please. the reason my star has the issue he does now, i believe, is because moo.moo has been guarding the sipping tubes. when pigs pigs need to drink fresh water, and are denied access to it, anorexia can develop [i've been reading about this on GL site].
in addition to the water guarding, he was chasing and mounting the two other boars every time they even moved in the direction of sipping tubes!
they are all separated at the moment, for stars's well-being, until star resumes proper intake of fluid/foods. rest from the stress caused by moo is imperative. maybe they will live this way on a temp basis, or else it could be longer-lasting.
even though the boars were not drawing blood, and were well within the normal behaviour range, if someone is unable to eat or drink - it can become serious.
star is eating and drinking some, and making poos, but has little interest in pellets.
sandra turpin
Adult Guinea Pig
Thanks for the replies. I feel better now. They do get on really well but I will keep an eye on things. Snowball seems to accept it.
Sandra
Sandra
guineaboys
Junior Guinea Pig
Not sure if your budgie was protesting or cheering them on!:red
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