Male guinea pigs fighting/mounting

[Adambyfour]

Hello all,

I'm new here, I've just gotten myself some male guinea pigs.

This is the first time I've had Guinea pigs since I was a child but for the past 5/6 years I've kept several rats.

I've noticed that one of the guinea pigs keeps trying to mount the other, I'm guessing this is a dominance thing?

There seems to be a lot of commotion when this happens but then they'll calm down.

They've been here for 2 days now, could this just be because they aren't used to their new surroundings?

Any help will be appreciated,

Thanks,

Adam!

 

[PottyForPiggies]

Hi Adam, and welcome to the forum! You have found a great little community with lots of knowledge We'd also love to see pictures of your boys when they are settled in
The mounting is most likely them sorting out who is in charge, and who has control over what space. The one doing the mounting is trying to assert himself as 'top pig' and it's up to the other one to decide whether or not he'll let him. Chances are he will submit and let mounty be in charge.

Also, depending on where you got your guineas from (we'd love to know your location so we can help you) there is a chance that you may in fact have 1 male and 1 female. You can post pictures of your guineas' intimate parts so we can check - the last thing we want is for you to be overwhelmed with an unexpected pregnancy

 

[Adambyfour]

I'll try to get a photo of their private areas when they're more used to being handled and aren't so fidgety.

These are the best photos I have of them at the moment, they tend to run away if I get too close to try get one!

When I've had rats they've always fought at first before settling down, hopefully it's just one of those things.

 

[piggyfan]

They are so cute!

 

[PottyForPiggies]

Aww, they're lovely! Please do not leave it too long to get pictures as it doesn't take long for a piggle to get pregnant :-) x

 

[Wiebke]

They are lovely!
It is part of normal boar dominance, but please check their sex nevertheless; missexing is sadly anything but rare and usually ends in an unwanted pregnancy, as sows come into season every two weeks.
You may find this website here helpful for sexing; it contains lots of pictures: http://www.cavyspirit.com/sexing.htm
Alternatively, you are welcome post pictures in our pregnancy section; the clearer the better (always angle the relevant bits towards a good source of light).

Lure your little boys into a padded cardboard box with a little veg treat at the far end for an easy pick up. Alternatively, you can use a tunnel or an upturned hut.