JaseChase
Junior Guinea Pig
Ever since I got my two boars (Noodle and Tofu) 2 months ago I've always thought Noodle was the dominant one. He's the rumbler, he would rumblestrut around the cage from pretty much the first moment they started exploring, he has kicked Tofu out of choice hideys before, etc. Tofu is not bothered, he is happy to get out of Noodle's way when he's rumbling. I adopted them from a very reputable rescue (the Potteries) and the lady wasn't sure which of them was dominant - they do look very similar! However, she was confident that they'd get through their teens just fine from what she'd observed of their bond (they were 4 months when I brought them home, they're now almost 6 months and litter mates).
As such, I've always handled Noodle first, fed him first, etc. to respect their hierarchy thanks to tips in the wonderful guides on this forum. Noodle has always been more confident, he was handfeeding from day 3 and is very comfortable wandering around the cage with me in the room. Tofu is more shy and is taking longer to come out of his shell, so I give him space and time and he's getting more and more brave and now does come out in the open much more often, is happily handfeeding as well, etc.
Recently though, I've noticed some behaviour which is making me doubt whether Noodle actually is the dominant one. In the first week I had them when I was still figuring out which one was dominant, if I ever fed Tofu first, Noodle would visibly react - he'd chase after Tofu to get the food, or run up to me demanding some too, which I took as a sign that he was more dominant. When I fed Noodle first, Tofu didn't react at all. Noodle has also always been slightly bigger than Tofu when I weigh them.
But over the past few days, I've spotted Tofu rumbling a bit and also sitting in the favourite hidey spots where Noodle will normally kick him out. Noodle doesn't seem bothered and is perfectly content in the other hideys (I have 2 of everything, multiple exits). When feeding them, Tofu has come up to me first, and when I fed him Noodle didn't react despite not getting the first bite. And this morning was weigh day, and I went to the favourite hidey just assuming Noodle would be in there, but to my surprise it was Tofu! So Tofu got weighed and handled first, and again, Noodle didn't react or seem bothered.
Noodle definitely still rumbles more often, but today was the first time Tofu has weighed more than Noodle (not a substantial amount, Noodle is 913g and Tofu 933g. Last week, Noodle was still 913g and Tofu was 905g). Is it possible Tofu is taking over? Or is Noodle just a very chill leader? Generally speaking, their bond is great, they're very relaxed around each other. I've never seen humping or teeth chattering from them, just rumblestrutting, and an occasional squabble over a hidey might lead to a lunge from one or the other but it's very rare. They love to chase each other too but it's accompanied with lots of popcorning so doesn't seem like dominance behaviour to my inexperienced eye.
Should I worry about this? I only try to figure it out because I know with teen boars it's good to respect the hierarchy and deal with the dominant first. But I can't figure out who that is! Help?
Sorry for the essay, here is piggy tax. Thank you
As such, I've always handled Noodle first, fed him first, etc. to respect their hierarchy thanks to tips in the wonderful guides on this forum. Noodle has always been more confident, he was handfeeding from day 3 and is very comfortable wandering around the cage with me in the room. Tofu is more shy and is taking longer to come out of his shell, so I give him space and time and he's getting more and more brave and now does come out in the open much more often, is happily handfeeding as well, etc.
Recently though, I've noticed some behaviour which is making me doubt whether Noodle actually is the dominant one. In the first week I had them when I was still figuring out which one was dominant, if I ever fed Tofu first, Noodle would visibly react - he'd chase after Tofu to get the food, or run up to me demanding some too, which I took as a sign that he was more dominant. When I fed Noodle first, Tofu didn't react at all. Noodle has also always been slightly bigger than Tofu when I weigh them.
But over the past few days, I've spotted Tofu rumbling a bit and also sitting in the favourite hidey spots where Noodle will normally kick him out. Noodle doesn't seem bothered and is perfectly content in the other hideys (I have 2 of everything, multiple exits). When feeding them, Tofu has come up to me first, and when I fed him Noodle didn't react despite not getting the first bite. And this morning was weigh day, and I went to the favourite hidey just assuming Noodle would be in there, but to my surprise it was Tofu! So Tofu got weighed and handled first, and again, Noodle didn't react or seem bothered.
Noodle definitely still rumbles more often, but today was the first time Tofu has weighed more than Noodle (not a substantial amount, Noodle is 913g and Tofu 933g. Last week, Noodle was still 913g and Tofu was 905g). Is it possible Tofu is taking over? Or is Noodle just a very chill leader? Generally speaking, their bond is great, they're very relaxed around each other. I've never seen humping or teeth chattering from them, just rumblestrutting, and an occasional squabble over a hidey might lead to a lunge from one or the other but it's very rare. They love to chase each other too but it's accompanied with lots of popcorning so doesn't seem like dominance behaviour to my inexperienced eye.
Should I worry about this? I only try to figure it out because I know with teen boars it's good to respect the hierarchy and deal with the dominant first. But I can't figure out who that is! Help?
Sorry for the essay, here is piggy tax. Thank you
My boar pair Reggie and Sheepy were 1.5 and 2.5 when they came to me, I had them for nearly 3 years and never knew who was boss! They got on like a house on fire, shared everything and never saw one squabble!
