New Piggies - Are They Fighting?

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Hayley

Hayley

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Hi there,

I brought my two new male piggies home just over a week ago & I'm worried that they're not getting along. They were together in the same cage when I bought them, so I assumed they were from the same litter & they seemed to get along fine at that point. However, I've noticed that one seems to be quite aggressive towards the other, he keeps low-purring very loudly & strutting around the cage - I've even noticed today that he appears to have started nipping the other piggie now too. Are these displays of real aggression, or are they just being stroppy teenagers? The store told me they were about 8 weeks old, so I'm hoping they'll settle down. I'm worried I might have to separate them, as I can't bear the thought if them getting hurt! Thank you for your help :no: Xx
 
These are all mild to medium dominance behaviours and par for the course of settling into a new relationship in new territory; rumblestrutting and mounting is mild boar behaviour that you may see daily. Nipping (letting the underpiggy just feel the teeth, but not biting) is a way of expressing power from a dominant piggy.

Shop piggies are not bonded with care for character compatibility; they are just thrown together. It is the buyer's risk whether they'll get on or not. Piggies in British chain shops and garden centres are usually imported from rodent farms on the Continent.
Please have a look through the information threads at the top of this section. This thread here gives you a list of dominance behaviours in mounting order of aggression. You have to tolerate anything in the mild to medium range.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/dominance-behaviours-in-guinea-pigs.28949/

The real test for your boys won't come until a few months later when they hit the teenage hormones and develop their adult identity. You can find out more in our boar guide. Thankfully, more than half the pairs make it together, but it depends on whether their personalities clash or not.

PS: With members from all over the world, you would help us a lot giving you the appropriate advice, links and recommendations straight away if you added your country, state (US/Aus) or your county/general area (UK) to your details. This even more so in an emergency! Click on your name on the top bar and go to personal details/location. In the same section, you can also upload your avatar, the picture that appears with every post and in your profile.
 
Wiebke said:
These are all mild to medium dominance behaviours and par for the course of settling into a new relationship in new territory; rumblestrutting and mounting is mild boar behaviour that you may see daily. Nipping (letting the underpiggy just feel the teeth, but not biting) is a way of expressing power from a dominant piggy.

Shop piggies are not bonded with care for character compatibility; they are just thrown together. It is the buyer's risk whether they'll get on or not. Piggies in British chain shops and garden centres are usually imported from rodent farms on the Continent.
Please have a look through the information threads at the top of this section. This thread here gives you a list of dominance behaviours in mounting order of aggression. You have to tolerate anything in the mild to medium range.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/dominance-behaviours-in-guinea-pigs.28949/

The real test for your boys won't come until a few months later when they hit the teenage hormones and develop their adult identity. You can find out more in our boar guide. Thankfully, more than half the pairs make it together, but it depends on whether their personalities clash or not.

PS: With members from all over the world, you would help us a lot giving you the appropriate advice, links and recommendations straight away if you added your country, state (US/Aus) or your county/general area (UK) to your details. This even more so in an emergency! Click on your name on the top bar and go to personal details/location. In the same section, you can also upload your avatar, the picture that appears with every post and in your profile.
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Hi there

Thanks so much for the detailed reply, you've been really helpful. I understand your point about the fact that they came from a store, but I was impressed with their knowledge & the guidance they gave me before I bought them, so I thought it would be okay. I will keep an eye on them & if I think they are going to fight, I'll have to consider separating them. I hope it's just me being an over anxious mum, but better to be safe than sorry! Thanks again for your help, Hayley
P.S. I'll update my profile too as requested.
 
I know that the level of knowledge varies a lot within pet shops; hopefully yours is one of the better ones.

Personally, I would not worry too much about fighting right now. There is no indicationfor that at the moment. For the rest, it is wait and see. Our boar guide contains tips on how to minimise the risk factors during the iffy months when the boys suffer from hormonal flare-ups.

Thanks for updating the profile. It is a great help for me in adapting my advice to suit your possibilities and options, as well as your available brands or medication etc.
 
Hi there, I've just read the boar guide & it was extremely useful, it's helped to put my mind at rest! I agree that some pet shops can be dodgy, but my friend bought her pet from there & they gave her lots of good advice, so I put my trust in them. I hope you're right & they're just getting used to each other, so I'll keep an eye on them for now & try to relax! Thanks again for your advice, it's much appreciated. Hayley :nod:
 
My 2 boys have been doing that for the last 10 months. We stopped calling it rumblestrutting because it sounded too much like serious dominance behaviour and now refer to it as bumbling. I don't think they can work out who is boss and it ends with zooming and popcorning as if they are just having a giggle. I will miss the bumbling if they grow out of it at the end of their teen years.

Also one of them appears to wait until the other isn't looking and then will bite his bum! I'm not sure if that is dominance or plain naughtiness!

Wiebke has obviously given you loads of great advice. I wouldn't separate them unless they have drawn blood, otherwise just let them sort out the hierarchy themselves.
 
Hi there AbiS, thanks for your advice too, I'm feeling much better now! I just love my boys so much & don't want any harm to come to them! I think I need to be a bit more patient & give them some more time to settle in. I am a bit worried I've stressed them out a bit by handling them too soon, but I've tried to be as gentle as I can be, as I don't want them to be scared of me forever! I know they're pray animals, so will take time to tame, so I'm trying to keep that in mind when worrying about their skittishness! Thanks again for your help, it's good to know I can come to you guys for advice! Cheers, Hayley xx
 
Hello, we have a similar situation, we are new owners and we welcomed 2 boys 8-9 weeks old into our house last Saturday. One of them has taken the dominant lead and generally throws his weight around, trys to mate with the other one, bit of a bully really!. There's been a little squealing, probably from some nips. It's doesn't last very long, they can both eat together. They are called bubble & squeak and are a lot of fun.
 
Hi Carley, thanks for your reply, it's a relief to know that there's someone else in the same boat! My piggies get on fine when they eat together and they are generally pretty quiet when left alone, so it seems that they just like showing off when I'm in the room! Funnily enough, when I took the quieter one away from the seemingly dominant one for quick a cuddle last night, he started squeaking as if he missed his buddy, which suggests that there is love between them after all! :P Thanks again for your post and I hope that your little piggies settle in soon! Best wishes, Hayley :wub:
 
Hello Hayley, they have now settled in and everything seems fine. Hope your's are fine too.
 
Hi Carley, sorry for the late reply, I'm really pleased to hear that your piggies have settled in now! Mine are doing okay, they still have their little tiffs from time to time, but they definitely love each other, as they can't bear to be apart! Keep in touch & thanks again for the advice, best wishes, Hayley x
 
Hiya, I have two boars as well who are from the same litter and have always been together. I'm new to having pigs too so I know how you feel, I fret about them loads with regards to fighting! Generally they get on well but they're both in hormonal teenage stage (we adopted them and they estimated they're about 10 months old perhaps) so they have little blips! One is more dominant than the other but they do both start tiffs sometimes, mostly if they get in each others way when theyre trying to eat hay or run around or one of them irritates the other when he's trying to sleep! Quite understandable really! The dominant one rumbles at the other one quite a lot and the other one just squeaks as if a bit distressed and very occasionally they teeth chatter a tiny bit/the dominant one seems to go to nip the other one. However they usually sleep side by side, absolutely hate being separated (even in the few seconds when we're just taking them one by one out of the cage for floor time), take care of each other when one is making scared squeaks, eat nicely from the bowl together and take turns with the water bottle always without any tiffs. I think at this stage this is all normal and in a few months time they should have settled down once they reach adulthood. I just try to keep a close eye on them if I hear them rumbling when I'm about and if they start to nip I sometimes clap my hands or speak to them loudly to distract them but generally they just rumble a bit at each other and then forget about it and go back to whatever they are doing. Also you could try a bonding bath together if things are persistently difficult. :)
 
Hiya, thanks for your reply to my post! It's nice to hear from other piggie parents who are going through similar experiences, I'm grateful for your advice! My boys seem to be settling down now & they're getting much more confident by taking food from my hand, although they still hate being picked up! One of my boys, Bilbo, is much more vocal, but he seems to be the dominant one, as he's the one who rumbles a lot. Bilbo cries really loudly if I get my other piggy, Frodo, out for a cuddle, so I have to get them both out at the same time, or my husband complains that he can't hear himself think with all the wheeking going on! Bless them, they obviously do love each other really, I think it's just teenage hormones too! Hope your boys give you as much happiness as mine do, I couldn't imagine life without my little fluff balls now! Thanks again & take care, luv Hayley x
 
Hey, yesterday I bought some leads/harnesses for my guinea pigs, does anyone know how to make sure they are on properly? We had a bad day yesterday as we were about to take Bubble and Squeak up the road when Bubble reversed and came out of the harness :no:. I want to make sure my guinea pigs are safe so please help?!?!?!
 
Carley said:
Hey, yesterday I bought some leads/harnesses for my guinea pigs, does anyone know how to make sure they are on properly? We had a bad day yesterday as we were about to take Bubble and Squeak up the road when Bubble reversed and came out of the harness :no:. I want to make sure my guinea pigs are safe so please help?!?!?!
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Hi @Carley

Please can you stop using the harnesses for your piggies, they are not designed for piggies to use, as piggies are prey animals their instinct is to run and if they jerk themselves whist in the harness, they can easily cause serious injury to their backs / spine.. The best way to allow your piggies outdoor time is in a run with places to hide to enable them to feel more secure..
We know it shows a picture on the packaging of a Guinea Pig, but this is just a way for the sellers to make money with no concern for the piggies welfare.. xx
 
Honey - please, please, please do not use those things. If you have a look around the forum you will find them mentioned a few times about how inappropriate they are for piggies. You weren't to know because they are advertised for piggies along with other animals but they are actually really dangerous for them.

Firstly with piggies being prey animals and having an inherent need to be able to hide they will be absolutely terrified out in the open in a strange place. Secondly, if they to decide to run for it when on the harness they could seriously damage their spine. Thirdly, as you have discovered, they can get out of the harness and escape. It has been known for people to lose their piggies forever because they have got out of the harness.

I believe harnesses are ok for the likes of ferrets but please please please do not use them on your piggies.
 
Ok, I will talk to my dad about it, we will not use them anymore but that is £10 out the window !:no::hb:
 
Carley said:
Ok, I will talk to my dad about it, we will not use them anymore but that is £10 out the window !:no::hb:
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It is so frustrating but that is how these unscrupulous manufacturers make their money - conning the unsuspecting folk out there! And I don't blame you for wanting to use them - would be lovely to take the piggies out for a walk but they are just not the right animals to do that with. What about putting the harnesses on ebay to be sold only for ferrets (unless anyone else disagrees with that - I don't know enough about ferrets) and state they are not suitable for piggies that way you might make some of your money back.
 
AbiS said:
It is so frustrating but that is how these unscrupulous manufacturers make their money - conning the unsuspecting folk out there! And I don't blame you for wanting to use them - would be lovely to take the piggies out for a walk but they are just not the right animals to do that with. What about putting the harnesses on ebay to be sold only for ferrets (unless anyone else disagrees with that - I don't know enough about ferrets) and state they are not suitable for piggies that way you might make some of your money back.
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If they say they are also made for ferrets, then yes, it's okay to use them for ferrets. Unlike guineas, ferrets can use harnesses. ( Just make sure it would fit a ferret )
 
Guinea pigs will never walk along on a lead! You will do serious harm to their backs or frighten them so much they will never come around to trusting you :( It is far better to construct a safe run indoors & sit inside the run & let them come to you for pieces of veggies :) Make sure the run is secure & not accessible to other pets you may have, like cats or dogs & sit in there daily with them for half an hour of so. No need to try to pick them up, they will become curious & come to you if you do this daily. Getting a piggies trust can take weeks, so be patient & they will reward you with their affection :)
 
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