Need advice for boar pair

EddyNoble

EddyNoble

New Born Pup
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Ewing, New Jersey
Hi everyone,
I have a pair of boars who i went through the bonding process with back in july/August. One of them is now about 1 and a half years old and the other is about 7 months old.
They have become quite hard to manage, in terms of aggression towards both myself and each other.
Whenever I pick them up for lap time they either bite me (sometimes just a nibble, sometimes very hard) or scream and wriggle and attempt to jump from my lap which is scary. I try for a few mins to get them to relax but they never do and so I put them back. Whenever I put them back, they immediately go after the other boy. For example I just tried to have lap time with my younger one, and immediately when I put him down he went after my older. While they never break skin, they seem very aggressive and it is sad to see. They don't seem to love each other at all, though in the very beginning of being bonded they were calm with each other. Now it seems they just constantly fight or ignore. They do eat hay together peacefully which gives me hope, and they seem to play during floor time by running around and popcorning together.
Should I be worried? Is this all normal? Will they become nicer to me and each other, or are they just a bad pair?
My older one used to be very calm and nice with me before getting his pal, and it seems now he is constantly stressed and on guard, always rumble strutting and ready to fight. I'm scared I've created a stressful environment.
They have a large cage and they have open access to a very large chunk of my room with a total of 6 hideys and lots of toys. I spoil the heck out of them and don't know what I'm doing wrong.
 
The younger one is at a time where hormones surge and so that may be a factor. With regards to taking them it, it may be they don’t enjoy it and are confident enough to let you know. I wouldn’t take them out unless you’re doing a weight and health check.

If the older one is the dominant one then, whatever you’re doing you need to deal with him first. This includes taking them out. He needs to come out first and go in first. His behaviour may be due to you only taking out the younger one.

What they’re doing doesn’t sound like fighting. Fighting is another ball game all together - rolling balls of fur and bites. How does the younger one behave when chased by the older? I think splitting them at the moment would be jumping the gun. Have a read of the guide below and see where they sit in terms of their behaviour.

If you have one squeaking in submission when chased/mounted/humped then the balance in the bond should be okay. If neither will ‘back down’ then it’s possible there could be an issue. But from what you write that’s not what it sounds like.
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
 
:agr:
Struggling and not wanting to be held is normal. Guinea pigs aren’t cuddly creatures and they seem to just be telling you that they don’t like being handled. Mine don’t like it and therefore they are only held for health checks. They are much happier when I sit on the floor with them and they come to me when they want.

" Biting" And What You Can Do (Biting, Tweaking, Nibbling and Nipping)

Its so important you don’t confuse normal dominance with fighting. Fighting is a full on thing, unmistakable, wound causing and instantly means their relationship is over and they must never have physical contact again. Rumbling, mounting, chasing is not fighting. It’s a normal boar behaviour and they will always do it.
 
Thank you so much for your reply. You're right then, what they're doing isn't fighting. It just looks so dramatic, but they only chase each other and show their chins/open their mouths at each other. They look like they're going to pounce but don't actually go fully into it. The younger one does squeak all the while they are doing this and both of then eventually walk away and lay down, sometimes the older will actually lay down right in front of the younger and the younger will follow his lead. Thank you very much for linking that post! I appreciate your help so much.

Siikibam said:
The younger one is at a time where hormones surge and so that may be a factor. With regards to taking them it, it may be they don’t enjoy it and are confident enough to let you know. I wouldn’t take them out unless you’re doing a weight and health check.

If the older one is the dominant one then, whatever you’re doing you need to deal with him first. This includes taking them out. He needs to come out first and go in first. His behaviour may be due to you only taking out the younger one.

What they’re doing doesn’t sound like fighting. Fighting is another ball game all together - rolling balls of fur and bites. How does the younger one behave when chased by the older? I think splitting them at the moment would be jumping the gun. Have a read of the guide below and see where they sit in terms of their behaviour.

If you have one squeaking in submission when chased/mounted/humped then the balance in the bond should be okay. If neither will ‘back down’ then it’s possible there could be an issue. But from what you write that’s not what it sounds like.
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Click to expand...
Siikibam said:
The younger one is at a time where hormones surge and so that may be a factor. With regards to taking them it, it may be they don’t enjoy it and are confident enough to let you know. I wouldn’t take them out unless you’re doing a weight and health check.

If the older one is the dominant one then, whatever you’re doing you need to deal with him first. This includes taking them out. He needs to come out first and go in first. His behaviour may be due to you only taking out the younger one.

What they’re doing doesn’t sound like fighting. Fighting is another ball game all together - rolling balls of fur and bites. How does the younger one behave when chased by the older? I think splitting them at the moment would be jumping the gun. Have a read of the guide below and see where they sit in terms of their behaviour.

If you have one squeaking in submission when chased/mounted/humped then the balance in the bond should be okay. If neither will ‘back down’ then it’s possible there could be an issue. But from what you write that’s not what it sounds like.
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Click to expand...
 
Piggies&buns said:
:agr:
Struggling and not wanting to be held is normal. Guinea pigs aren’t cuddly creatures and they seem to just be telling you that they don’t like being handled. Mine don’t like it and therefore they are only held for health checks. They are much happier when I sit on the floor with them and they come to me when they want.

" Biting" And What You Can Do (Biting, Tweaking, Nibbling and Nipping)

Its so important you don’t confuse normal dominance with fighting. Fighting is a full on thing, unmistakable, wound causing and instantly means their relationship is over and they must never have physical contact again. Rumbling, mounting, chasing is not fighting. It’s a normal boar behaviour and they will always do it.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your reply! Yes, they do seem to have fun when i sit on the floor with them. I guess I just saw guinea pigs being held in videos so I tried to get them to be like that, but i respect that they definitely dont like that! I thought maybe with time, but it's been quite some time lol
Thank you for sharing that link and thank u very much for the response, I'm glad for the reassurance that it's normal behavior!
 
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