Please Could Anyone Give Me Some Advice? - Male Dominance

[magicmoments]

Hi,
I’m the owner of 5 lovely piggies, 2 boys (Basil and Frankie), aged about 13/14 months and 3 girls (Dora, Daphne and Gwen), aged around 2 years.

I was wondering if anyone could help me? I adopted the boys when they were around 2 months old. They were already bonded and have always got along great, they’re always snuggled up together. The boys used to be housed in a DIY cage (slightly smaller that a 2x4 c&c cage) opposite the girls. Recently, i have bought a new cage, so they now have a 2x5 c&c cage on top of the girls cage (like bunk beds). They have been living in their new c&c cage for almost a month now.

Basil has always been the dominant one and Frankie is quite happy to go along with it. However, these past few days i had noticed that Basil has been showing a lot more dominance. He has been raising his head, chattering his teeth and getting on top of Frankie. I understand that it is normal for them to show some signs of dominance, but these past few days it’s been a lot worse. They hadn’t been fighting or anything and i didn’t want to have to separate them if i didn’t need to (Frankie just sort of squeaked as if to say ’get off’).
This morning I went in to feed the guinea pigs and Basil was on top of Frankie again. When he went away i noticed that Frankie wasn’t using one of his back legs properly and he was limping, so i took him out of the cage and took him straight to the vet. He is eating and drinking well still.
The vet fully checked him over, there are no wounds. However, his back leg (around his knee) is very swollen and he was in pain. She said that she couldn’t feel any obvious breaks, but couldn’t be sure if there were any fractures without an x-ray. She recommended not to do an x-ray yet because he seemed to be using his leg a tiny bit more than first thing this morning. She has given me metacam to give him once a day and we are going back on Friday. If there is no improvement we will get it x-rayed.

We are back home now and i have separated the boys. I want to make sure that Frankie has the best chance to recover well.

I just wondered if anyone had experienced something similar?
What should i do with the boys? i don’t want them to be on their own but i’m scared they’ll get hurt again.
Should i try to introduce them again when Frankie is better?
Are there any reasons that could have caused Basil to become more dominant? Would them being closer to the girls affect it?

I can’t get any more guinea pigs at the moment, but i just dont want them to be on their own.
Any advice would be really appreciated.

Thank you,
Magicmoments

 

[Wiebke]

Hi,
I’m the owner of 5 lovely piggies, 2 boys (Basil and Frankie), aged about 13/14 months and 3 girls (Dora, Daphne and Gwen), aged around 2 years.

I was wondering if anyone could help me? I adopted the boys when they were around 2 months old. They were already bonded and have always got along great, they’re always snuggled up together. The boys used to be housed in a DIY cage (slightly smaller that a 2x4 c&c cage) opposite the girls. Recently, i have bought a new cage, so they now have a 2x5 c&c cage on top of the girls cage (like bunk beds). They have been living in their new c&c cage for almost a month now.

Basil has always been the dominant one and Frankie is quite happy to go along with it. However, these past few days i had noticed that Basil has been showing a lot more dominance. He has been raising his head, chattering his teeth and getting on top of Frankie. I understand that it is normal for them to show some signs of dominance, but these past few days it’s been a lot worse. They hadn’t been fighting or anything and i didn’t want to have to separate them if i didn’t need to (Frankie just sort of squeaked as if to say ’get off’).
This morning I went in to feed the guinea pigs and Basil was on top of Frankie again. When he went away i noticed that Frankie wasn’t using one of his back legs properly and he was limping, so i took him out of the cage and took him straight to the vet. He is eating and drinking well still.
The vet fully checked him over, there are no wounds. However, his back leg (around his knee) is very swollen and he was in pain. She said that she couldn’t feel any obvious breaks, but couldn’t be sure if there were any fractures without an x-ray. She recommended not to do an x-ray yet because he seemed to be using his leg a tiny bit more than first thing this morning. She has given me metacam to give him once a day and we are going back on Friday. If there is no improvement we will get it x-rayed.

We are back home now and i have separated the boys. I want to make sure that Frankie has the best chance to recover well.

I just wondered if anyone had experienced something similar?
What should i do with the boys? i don’t want them to be on their own but i’m scared they’ll get hurt again.
Should i try to introduce them again when Frankie is better?
Are there any reasons that could have caused Basil to become more dominant? Would them being closer to the girls affect it?

I can’t get any more guinea pigs at the moment, but i just dont want them to be on their own.
Any advice would be really appreciated.

Thank you,
Magicmoments

Hi and welcome!

Any new territory requires guinea pigs to re-establish their hierarchy, especially boars. That is what you have been experiencing. The behaviour itself was well within the acceptable bounds of boar behaviour.

It looks rather like in all the hanky-panky, poor Frankie badly twisted his knee joint. metacam is both a painkiller and an anti-inflammatory. What is Frankie's weight and the dosage he is allowed (cat or dog metacam)?

You can try to re-introduce your boys again once Frankie has recovered (alway on neutral ground). Please keep them next to each other during the recovery time, so they can still interact through the bars. There is however no guarantee whether they will go back together again and you have to brace yourself for lots of mounting etc. during the intros; that is an integral part of boar life. However, as they were not anywhere near fighting, you are in with a good chance that they want go back together again.

You can find lots of information in this link here which should help you make sense and to plan your next steps after the recovery, including a much needed plan B if things don't work out.
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Illustrated Bonding Behaviours And Dynamics
Introducing And Re-introducing Guinea Pigs
Boars: Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

As we have members and enquiries from all over the world, you can help us to tailor any advice and recommendations to what is available and possible where you are straight away if you please added your country, state/province or UK country to you details. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. Especially when it comes to situations like yours, local access to rescues and good vets determine your individual options. Thank you!

 

[7squeakers.]

I am no expert when it comes to piggie behaviour (that's Wiebke ), but I think you can re-introduce the two boys when Frankie is better. At 13/14 months of age, they are coming to the end of their "teenage" phase, and should start to settle down. They may still have a few fights for a while, but as long as no blood is drawn, I would just let them sort themselves out. The reason that they started fighting was because you have put them in a new cage.

 

[magicmoments]

Hi and welcome!

Any new territory requires guinea pigs to re-establish their hierarchy, especially boars. That is what you have been experiencing. The behaviour itself was well within the acceptable bounds of boar behaviour.

It looks rather like in all the hanky-panky, poor Frankie badly twisted his knee joint. metacam is both a painkiller and an anti-inflammatory. What is Frankie's weight and the dosage he is allowed (cat or dog metacam)?

You can try to re-introduce your boys again once Frankie has recovered (alway on neutral ground). Please keep them next to each other during the recovery time, so they can still interact through the bars. There is however no guarantee whether they will go back together again and you have to brace yourself for lots of mounting etc. during the intros; that is an integral part of boar life. However, as they were not anywhere near fighting, you are in with a good chance that they want go back together again.

You can find lots of information in this link here which should help you make sense and to plan your next steps after the recovery, including a much needed plan B if things don't work out.
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Illustrated Bonding Behaviours And Dynamics
Introducing And Re-introducing Guinea Pigs
Boars: Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

As we have members and enquiries from all over the world, you can help us to tailor any advice and recommendations to what is available and possible where you are straight away if you please added your country, state/province or UK country to you details. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. Especially when it comes to situations like yours, local access to rescues and good vets determine your individual options. Thank you!

Thank you for your advice. Frankie weighs 900g. He has been given dog metacam and i have been told to give him the 2.5kg mark on the syringe, once a day.

If he has twisted his knee, should that heal by itself?

Thank you so much for the links. Currently, i have Frankie in the old cage, opposite Basil. I have no more c&c grids at the moment, but i'm ordering some today so i can divide the cage. Do you think this will be okay for a couple of days before they arrive?

I will update my location now.
Thanks again,
Magicmoments

 

[7squeakers.]

Yes, that should be okay. It might sound a bit cruel, but if you can, build a small cage for Frankie so that he cannot move about too much. He must rest that knee so that the Metacam can work properly. That's what my Vet told me when one of my girls sprained her leg.

 

[magicmoments]

Yes, that should be okay. It might sound a bit cruel, but if you can, build a small cage for Frankie so that he cannot move about too much. He must rest that knee so that the Metacam can work properly. That's what my Vet told me when one of my girls sprained her leg.

Thank you, yes he's in his old cage which is smaller. I'm keeping a very close eye on him. He's currently cuddled up to a teddy bear in a bed. :-)

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you for your advice. Frankie weighs 900g. He has been given dog metacam and i have been told to give him the 2.5kg mark on the syringe, once a day.

If he has twisted his knee, should that heal by itself?

Thank you so much for the links. Currently, i have Frankie in the old cage, opposite Basil. I have no more c&c grids at the moment, but i'm ordering some today so i can divide the cage. Do you think this will be okay for a couple of days before they arrive?

I will update my location now.
Thanks again,
Magicmoments

Thank you! You can split the metacam dosage and give half twice daily to account for the quick metabolism that guinea pigs have. You can even up it safely a little bit more if Frankie is in severe pain.

Whether he has broken a bone or just twisted it, it impossible to say, but I hope hat he regains more of his mobility over the coming days! It may take a while to heal off, depending on how severe the injury is.

Their bond won't be broken for a few days. Put the hay areas and a soft sleeping pad each against the grids.

PS: If Frankie or Basil are showing signs of pining, you can give each a soft rag that is smelling of the other to snuggle into or for Basil to hump.

Thanks for adding your location.

 

[magicmoments]

Thank you! You can split the metacam dosage and give half twice daily to account for the quick metabolism that guinea pigs have. You can even up it safely a little bit more if Frankie is in severe pain.

Whether he has broken a bone or just twisted it, it impossible to say, but I hope hat he regains more of his mobility over the coming days! It may take a while to heal off, depending on how severe the injury is.

Their bond won't be broken for a few days. Put the hay areas and a soft sleeping pad each against the grids.

PS: If Frankie or Basil are showing signs of pining, you can give each a soft rag that is smelling of the other to snuggle into or for Basil to hump.

Thanks for adding your location.

Thank you so much for your help! I'm going to try and find something to divide the cage until the grids arrive. Basil has been chewing the bars of the cage, so i think he's missing him. I'm going to try the soft rag idea :-) .