New baby with older guinea pig

[new2piggies2019]

I am very new to the guinea pig life, but I already care for them and want the best for them.
I had bought two guinea pigs from the pet store (I know, I didn't realize there were adoption places for guinea pigs) and they bonded quite well. They were boars. They were about 8 months and one passed away. I got a new boar who is just 3 months old and they appear to be getting along, but I just want to make sure my new one is not getting bullied. My older one has stopped following him around EVERYWHERE most of the time, but sometimes I see him chase him from the food. I have now put a couple more food dishes in their cage. I have also sat and watched to make sure he has been able to eat and he has. The little one seems to be hiding a lot, but we have only had him for a couple of days. How can I differentiate him getting used to his new home instead of him being bullied?

 

[Freela]

Hopefully someone who knows more about boar bonding can help you out more (personally, mine have all been sows.) I can say that personality matters far more than age in terms of whether pigs will get along or not and who will end up being the dominant pig. There is a sticky at the top of the page that talks about bonding guinea pigs and behavior red flags to look at, so you may want to give that a read if you haven't already. Hopefully some boar members will come along soon. Best wishes and hope they make friends quickly!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Given the youngster has only been with you for a short while, then it is going to take him some time to settle in.
At the moment, it sounds as if their relationship is going well. As long as there isn’t a full on fight, then leave them to it to sort out their relationship. Be aware that the bonding process takes a couple of weeks to fully establish.

It is important with boars, particularly where a teenager is involved (the teenager months are from 4 to 14 months of age) that they have a large cage - we recommend a minimum of 150cm x 60cm to give them enough space to get away from each other. Lack of space is one of the reasons boars can fall out (after being incompatible in character). Ensure you have multiple hideys but no enclosed hideys (two exit hideys so no piggy can get cornered), two or three feeding areas and hay piles. Always handle the dominant piggy first.

The only way to ensure he is being allowed to each enough is to weigh your youngster regularly. Hay needs to be the biggest Part of their diet and you cannot accurately gauge their intake by eye. You should weigh your piggies weekly and you should see a steady increase in the weight. Particularly with the youngster, if he is eating enough and therefore being allowed to eat (your older one isn’t stopping him), then you will see his weight increase.

Once your youngster hits his teens, then he will start displaying dominance behaviours. It is important that he accepts that the older piggy is dominant and backs down and if that happens, then their relationship will be fine. If the youngster decides he wants to be dominant and the older piggy doesn’t like that, then this is where problems occur. Don’t worry about them falling out (more boar pairs make it than not), but it is always something to be aware of and have a plan In the back of your mind of what to do. My boars are two years old and their relationship is fine but i still always have a plan in case things suddenly change between them!

I have linked in some guides below which give useful information about boars in general but also information on what is normal behaviour.

Bonds In Trouble
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

 

[new2piggies2019]

Thank you so much! It looked like they get better together every day, but then I read about all this Aly bullying behavior and with him hiding so much I got paranoid!

 

[Piggies&buns]

It can be easy to misinterpret things and worry yourself! Do read the guides as they make it clear what behaviour is totally normal and not a problem (Even if the behaviour seems dramatic to us) and what is of concern. We are, of course, always here to help.