Rumble In The Jungle :-(

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Anarchybmc

Anarchybmc

Teenage Guinea Pig
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hi all, well last night was just horrific :(
I have literally gone from euphoria from hearing my first wheek, to despair from witnessing their first fight! I'm really keen too get your advice too see what I did wrong if you don't mind? So everything was fine as usual the odd rumble from Ted towards Chewy but nothing major he has done that from day dot! They were in their run which they always are from 8am-9pm mainly because I am well aware that their cage the ferplast 120 is simply not big enough for them. Anyway as I always do every night I put them back in their cage via the catching tube they usually come straight out and go straight for their fresh hay but last night they would not budge from the tube, so I got a couple of pieces of kale too encourage them out which worked. In a matter of seconds they were fighting, at first it was the usual rumbles and let's see who can get their nose higher, which quickly escalated into Ted chattering his teeth, snorting and trying too bite Chewy. They just kept going and going I was stood right by the cage horrified at what I was witnessing, they wasn't even bothered when I opened the cage up they just carried on! So I caught Chewy in his pouch and put him back in the run to see if they would cool off abit, they both started wheeking and searching for each other, so I put Ted in the run and it all started again :( it didn't last long though they both settled where they usually would in the daytime, this morning they look like their sulking!
So what did I do wrong? Is it simply because their teenagers approx 5 months old? The kale I gave so late? Or the cage is definitely too small and they hate it?
Feel quite disheartened today! Any help would be extremely gratefully received xx
 
I'm having the same trouble with my 2 I think it's just the fact that they are teens and are trying to work out who's the boss, but I'm not 100% sure I'm right as I'm a newbie to keeping guinea pigs but with what I have read and researched I'm hopping that I'm right
 
Firstly don't panic too much.
If no one actually got hurt it was probably just an escalation of the usual 'boy stuff'.

I have 3 pigs and find it tends to be the 2 girls who bicker, and sometimes it does seem worse than others.

I find offering high value food (the stuff they really like) when they are in close confines can set them off. They all want a piece SO badly, and they are also being hyper defensive because there isn't really enough space for them to retreat to and eat in peace - maybe this was the case with the boys?
Plus as they settle, they are bound to become a bit more confident and pushy.

I don't think they 'hate' their cage, but maybe they just felt that they weren't quite ready to go back in yet, which was why they were reluctant to leave the tunnel.
So it was probably a combination of yummy food on offr plus they felt a bit trapped so turned on each otehr.
The fact that you separated them and they searched for each otehr is a good sign.
 
lol @Swissgreys

I have 9 guineas... I did have 10 but sadly lost one..

All guinea's are different, when they are babies and paired there is no telling if they will get on once they hit their hormone phase, this is one of the problems with younger boars, I have successfully bonded three pairs.

Cage size can matter, it's always best to try and have them in a 2x5 cage or equivalent of that, just so they can get away from each other and they aren't under each other feet, the other thing is, they have both hit hormonal phase and they are probably going to see who can push their luck at being the dominant one in the cage. Sadly not all boar pairings work out when they hit the hormone phase and some need to be split. I adopted a supposedly bonded pair of himi's.... two days later they had a massive fight and had to be split, Cesaro who is no longer with us, he had to be pts about 4 weeks ago simply did not get on with boars, we tried all of our boars with him, forget it, he liked our three sows, so he was a lone boar.

Also have two of everything, bowls, bottles, hidey blah blah blah lol. The problem with the hormonal phase is I believe it can go up to 18 months (I could have that wrong). I really do hope they sort themselves out. I'm going on MY experiences with boars.

PS - the boars that I bonded were Storm and Snow who were around 4 and 6 months, Big E lost his mate and luckily we bonded him with another older boar called Jericho, then there was TK who fell out with Cesaro, he was bonded with a 6 week old boar called Tyrion and TK was around 8 months old.
 
Anarchybmc said:
hi all, well last night was just horrific :(
I have literally gone from euphoria from hearing my first wheek, to despair from witnessing their first fight! I'm really keen too get your advice too see what I did wrong if you don't mind? So everything was fine as usual the odd rumble from Ted towards Chewy but nothing major he has done that from day dot! They were in their run which they always are from 8am-9pm mainly because I am well aware that their cage the ferplast 120 is simply not big enough for them. Anyway as I always do every night I put them back in their cage via the catching tube they usually come straight out and go straight for their fresh hay but last night they would not budge from the tube, so I got a couple of pieces of kale too encourage them out which worked. In a matter of seconds they were fighting, at first it was the usual rumbles and let's see who can get their nose higher, which quickly escalated into Ted chattering his teeth, snorting and trying too bite Chewy. They just kept going and going I was stood right by the cage horrified at what I was witnessing, they wasn't even bothered when I opened the cage up they just carried on! So I caught Chewy in his pouch and put him back in the run to see if they would cool off abit, they both started wheeking and searching for each other, so I put Ted in the run and it all started again :( it didn't last long though they both settled where they usually would in the daytime, this morning they look like their sulking!
So what did I do wrong? Is it simply because their teenagers approx 5 months old? The kale I gave so late? Or the cage is definitely too small and they hate it?
Feel quite disheartened today! Any help would be extremely gratefully received xx
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I am sorry, it is the age - the hormones have started to kick in. You can find lots of detailed information and tips in this guide here: Boars: Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
 
@Wiebke yeah I read all of the info before I adopted them in preparation, I think I was just shocked to actually see it..... It's one thing to read about it but to witness it is another beast :yikes:

@Swissgreys you made me laugh...... Thanks :hug: it was the first time I had given them kale for their main meal last night and they loved it so much I knew I could tempt them out of the tube with it, never again!

@Kerrie74 sorry for your loss :hug: I am in the process of getting the things together for a 4x2 c&c cage this will have an added piece on to make it an L shape so their beds go in their rather than take up floor space in the main part, I'm also toying with the idea of putting a loft in?

Ok so what shall I do about tonight? Shall I leave them in the run or put them in their cage? Also did I do the right thing by intervening or should I leave them too it? Luckily nobody got hurt although they are very quiet today only a few popcorning sessions so far! I'm off out today too get more tunnels and bowls for them.
 
When stan (who sadly passed away) and benson were at that stage, i used to put an enormous mound of timothy hay in and that seemed to distract them. I'm sure a mound of mixed veg or pile of fresh grass would work just as well. Just be sure if you do want to try this, dont use meadow hay or your problem might escalate as they both scramble to find the best hidey hole in it!
 
Well I'm pleased to report that all is calm! I left them in their run all day and night and once they realised they were not been moved they ran riot! It was like being a fly on a wall watching two teenagers when their parents have gone away :))
Hubby has booked Monday and Tuesday off so we can start constructing pog palace as he calls it!
 
Swissgreys said:
So pleased to hear all is calm in the world of teenage boar hormones.
Be sure to post pics of the new palace too.
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It's definitely the cage! I put them in it with two separate bowls of their morning veg at separate ends, while I did a full clean of the run. They ate their veg all sweetness and light I was looking at them every now and then thinking awwww how cute......but once that had gone their :gd: came out! They started fighting again! I finished their run clean (rather rapidly) changing things around also, put them back in and hey presto their back exploring and popcorning all over the place with not so much as a rumble! I think I can safely say that the "minimum" cage requirements for two boars is too small for my lads :hmm:
 
Good luck with the cage build. Boys can be little monsters sometimes can't they!

Personally I wouldn't add a loft, not when things are a bit iffy. I tried it once and it just stopped the problem as the pigs just avoided each other. One stayed in the loft and the other had the full run of downstairs.
 
Jaycey said:
Good luck with the cage build. Boys can be little monsters sometimes can't they!

Personally I wouldn't add a loft, not when things are a bit iffy. I tried it once and it just stopped the problem as the pigs just avoided each other. One stayed in the loft and the other had the full run of downstairs.
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm thinking bunk beds for them, as I read that the ramp actually takes away from floor space and my lads love too run :D
 
I would love to see one climb up his little ladder onto his bunk, haha.

I have two boys that have had a very ropey relationship. I've tried them together on two separate occasions and it didn't work. Third time lucky and they're together now.

They have a cage with a hay pile at each end, and two houses in the middle for them to sleep in. So they can have as much room as possible to interact and stay apart if they want, and plenty of room to run around in.
 
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