Rumbling, Strutting, Humping And Mounting!

[Littlelegs70]

Hi Guinea lovers. Need some reassurance. ..... just got 2 young male guinea pigs at the weekend. And one of them is constantly making a rumbling sound, shifting his hind legs from side to side and will not leave the other guinea pig alone! I have left them too it but it's stressing me out! I gather from Internet searches that this is normal...but how long can I expect it to go on for? Has anyone else been through this? Thanks.

 

[Danielle Smith]

I've had my two males for a month and a half. I know exactly how you feel, it's not fun having to watch them. They have calmed down a lot since I got them... From what I can gather moving to a new cage means that the dominance dance has to start all over again. How old are your chaps? Mine are 6 months old and can be expected to act like this until around a year and a half, although things should settle down a little after that.

Unless serious fighting happens, or the more submissive pig isn't being allowed to eat or sleep, you've just got to let them get through it I'm afraid! There are some great tips in these threads (1, 2) which let you know when things have gone too far.

In the meantime, set them up for success by making sure they have enough space (at least a 140cm cage or a 2x5 C&C is recommended for a pair of boars: I found when I moved from a 120cm cage to a 3x4 C&C it made a huge difference).