Okay to Move to Cage?

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NewGuineaLad

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Hello, I brought home a 2nd male Guinea pig. I had them in a neutral territory last night for several hours, lots of chasing the Peanut (the larger of the two) mounted and humped Nugget (the new guinea pig) quite a bit. Raised haunches and some raised heads with teeth showing, but no actual fights!

I left them in the neutral territory overnight with hay and water. I’ve been awake about 30 minutes and there was a bit of chasing and “testiness” but now they are laying down about a foot from one another (Peanut originally layed down as far away from Nugget as he could but when Nugget came over to lay down closer to him he remained in his spot).

Is it okay to now move them to the C&C cage? They don’t seem to love one another and while I have done lots of reading from on here, I’m having a hard time telling whether or not the bonding worked or not since I know boars can be test-y in general. Any advice or info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
 
They should have been in neutral territory for long enough to be moved to the cage now, but I would still keep an eye on them if they do don’t appear to be settled. Fully forming the relationship takes around two weeks.
 
Make sure the cage if thoroughly clean and free from any piggie smells, good luck I hope they have a lovely bond 🤞
 
Piggies&buns said:
They should have been in neutral territory for long enough to be moved to the cage now, but I would still keep an eye on them if they do don’t appear to be settled. Fully forming the relationship takes around two weeks.
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Thank you! I am keeping an eye on them. I was wondering - not to sound ignorant as I have done reading on here and other sites - but what is the best way to tell if a bond works out or not? They ate their veggies together earlier but still some chasing, teeth chattering, etc. I tend to get anxious, overthink things, and look too far into things at times and I want to make sure they bond well 😅
 
NewGuineaLad said:
Thank you! I am keeping an eye on them. I was wondering - not to sound ignorant as I have done reading on here and other sites - but what is the best way to tell if a bond works out or not? They ate their veggies together earlier but still some chasing, teeth chattering, etc. I tend to get anxious, overthink things, and look too far into things at times and I want to make sure they bond well 😅
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I'm an anxious, overthinker too.

While they are in the two week period, they are going to show dominance behaviours while they settle and sort things out. But there is a difference between mild and normal dominance and warnings that things are getting tense.

Generally, if they are both freely moving around, they both eating, gaining weight, no tense interactions, then things are ok.
Boars tend to be pretty upfront about things so it can be easier to spot problems than in sows who can be more subtle.
If two boars don’t like each other it can be anything from relentless chasing and/or mountjng, one piggy isolating himself and choosing to stay out of the way of the other to a full fight.

These guides will help
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Bonds In Trouble
 
Just to add that in any bonding it can actually take a couple of weeks for all the details to be ironed out.
I know it's easy to over think things, but really they are just reading the fine print before they sign the contract.
 
Boars will always bicker, in my experience. It doesn't mean they don't like each other.

That behaviour of one pig lying down a long way off, and then the other one following them, I think may be a bonding behaviour. In our two, the dominant one will move away and then the other one follows. My hunch is that it's something to do with the boss choosing the sleeping place.

So I wouldn't worry too much.
 
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