Post Bonding Teeth Chattering

[Doragon]

Hey everyone,

I sadly lost Kuro on Friday night following a sudden stroke. It was awful, she just went down and that was it.

I have now been left with Oreo (1, neutered boar) and Panda (3, female). I have done a bond introduction today lasting 3 hours that has gone well (grooming one another, grooming in front of each other, following one another around) so I have decided to pop them into the main cage (5x2 c and c) after new bedding and completely cleaning it out / disinfecting. There’s 3 hay points, two bowls of nuggets, veg scattered about etc. I have not put hides in for today as I only have 1 exit hides.

Since putting them in, they’ve been spending lots of time separated, with teeth chattering once one gets “too close!” to the other! I’ve been watching them in a camera for the afternoon. There’s been no fighting, but wanted to check opinions (and calm my nerves…) that this is likely dominance sorting out? No fighting and no chasing one another around has happened so far.

Please let me know! If I need to separate I can, I have Oreo’s old bachelor pad while he was recovering still out and ready in case. Just want to be prepared! If this bond fails, I will likely invest in a 6x2 c and c and spilt it directly in half. While doing a number of successful bondings in the past, this is my first one involving a boar who each guinea pig is an adult, so new territory for me! Thank you so much.

 

[Claire W]

Hi, mild teeth chattering is normal dominance behaviour. I’d keep an eye on them for the rest of the night and if things appear to be going downwards by bedtime, you can always separate and try again tomorrow. However, it’s always recommended to see a bonding through to the end when you can as each time you separate, they start the process of bonding from the beginning

 

[Doragon]

Thanks for the reassurance! I’ve been very fortunate enough to have smooth bonding so far when I’ve needed to bond. I’m watching them as I’m making dinner at the moment - I put a little camera up so I can see if I’m not in the room to calm my nerves! Still chattering a bit, but they tend to back off and everything is fine. Fingers crossed I won’t have to separate - seen a nap through and that’s the closest we have to any bad signs.