Squabbling boars

[Bonnerchops]

Hi there. We got two guinea pigs last Tuesday. They are two boars who and lived together before and are around 2 years old. They were given away as the family's kids lost interest. We have housed them in half of our shed and they seemed fine up until today. They have spent most of the day chasing each other and sitting on each other’s heads, chatting their teeth and lunging at each other. The only thing that has changed since bringing them home is that we cleaned them out today. Does anyone have any advice on whether to leave them or separate them please? Thanks

 

[Wiebke]

Hi there. We got two guinea pigs last Tuesday. They are two boars who and lived together before and are around 2 years old. They were given away as the family's kids lost interest. We have housed them in half of our shed and they seemed fine up until today. They have spent most of the day chasing each other and sitting on each other’s heads, chatting their teeth and lunging at each other. The only thing that has changed since bringing them home is that we cleaned them out today. Does anyone have any advice on whether to leave them or separate them please? Thanks

Hi!

I am very sorry for your problems.

Please separate them temporarily! A change in territory can cause underlying rifts to come up again and at the worst lead to a permanent fall-out.
Your boys have likely just settled in enough to start to re-establish their hierarchy in their new home but are not necessarily coming to an amicable solution, especially if they did struggle during teenage. Lunging is not an aggressive behaviour but a very strongly worded 'stay away from me'. Mutual mounting from all sides is also not uncommon in boars; this mild to moderate dominance behaviour.

Please follow the tips in these two guides here:
- Bonds In Trouble (including how to conduct temporary short term separations and re-introductions)
- Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
- Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
- A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars (chapter 3 deals with boar specific problems, including changes to the territory).

 

[Bonnerchops]

Hi!

I am very sorry for your problems.

Please separate them temporarily! A change in territory can cause underlying rifts to come up again and at the worst lead to a permanent fall-out.
Your boys have likely just settled in enough to start to re-establish their hierarchy in their new home but are not necessarily coming to an amicable solution, especially if they did struggle during teenage. Lunging is not an aggressive behaviour but a very strongly worded 'stay away from me'. Mutual mounting from all sides is also not uncommon in boars; this mild to moderate dominance behaviour.

Please follow the tips in these two guides here:
- Bonds In Trouble (including how to conduct temporary short term separations and re-introductions)
- Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
- Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
- A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars (chapter 3 deals with boar specific problems, including changes to the territory).

Thank you so much for all the info, this is really helpful. I think we will have to do a trial separation and go from there. Many thanks for your help.