Hello I’m a new member who created this account to get some advice on my 2 male guinea pigs behaviour. My two guinea pigs are 2 to 2 and a half years old (with them been rescues not 100% sure) my younger guinea pig Jonathon has been mounting and dominating my older guinea pig Biggie. I would normally worry about this but I noticed yesterday that there was a small tear in Biggies ear this has healed and does not cause him any pain so it must have been a few weeks or months ago. I have been advised to keep an eye on it and if it become violent and aggressive to separate them but I was wondering if I could get a more widespread opinion. Neither of them have been castrated but I have never had a problem with them mounting each other before. I hope someone can give me some advice. Thank you for reading and if you leave some advice then thanks also. I am open for questions if anyone needs to learn more.
Hi!
Adult boars can occasionally suffer from a short but strong testosterone spike. If this becomes too much for the other, then a short 2 days separation with a divider can usually do the trick to allow tempers to calm down without breaking the bond, followed by a re-introduction on neutral ground.
If the ear gash was an accidental misjudge swipe or bite, the boars will know this and go back together. If there was a full=on fight, then it depends on how bad the grudge is. You should know pretty quickly. Have your oven gloves at the ready.
Bonds In Trouble
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
If the mounted boar is normally the leader then mounting can be a sign of a change in leadership. In adults and older piggies there can be an underlying health issue that causes this, so it is always good to close out a potential medical angle.