When to rehome?

[MortyJojo]

I know I’ve gotten on here a lot and asked about dominance and the behavior of my pigs a couple times already but I’m beginning to wonder. I don’t wanna seem irrational by asking this but does anyone think I should rehome Jojo?

I’ll explain why I ask.

I took Jojo out of the cage and held him in a towel I sat in my lap and fed him some veggie. He was pretty nervous but ate the veggie no problem and kinda let me pet him as he ate. When I didn’t have any veggie he retreated back under the towel. (I took him out first because he’s the dominant one). After about ten minutes of sitting with him and feeding him he started climbing around as though looking for a means of escape. I put him back in the cage and took Morty out and did the same with him.

Morty actually seemed kinda happy to be out of the cage and gave me little nibbles and licks on my fingers and let me pet him with little to no problem, even without the veggie. Even managed to snap a few pictures while he sat with me (I’ll post the pics with this also). He ate his veggie very contentedly. When I put him back in the cage Jojo almost immediately started in with the rumbling and bum swinging as well as mounting and a bit of lunging. Morty was making little sounds of protest and sounded a bit distressed.

I apologize if I’m repeating myself with this post, what with the dominance things and such but I can’t help but wonder if they’ll start to get along over time or if their personalities just don’t click . Any thoughts and/or advice on this situation? I’m beginning to wonder if I should rehome Jojo and replace him for Mortys sake.

 

[MortyJojo]

they also are young so it could be that but

 

[Piggies&buns]

This sounds just like normal dominance and no reason to need to rehome one of them. All piggies display dominance - some more than others - but it’s part of a normal bond and relationship between two piggies. The dominant will always do this. If they are young, then being hormonal teenagers does mean you’ll see it more but it doesnt stop when they are adult. My boar pair are three years old and love nothing more than chasing, rumbling and mounting - it’s normal. Sometimes it occurs more than often, for example in spring time, my dominant has periods of hormone spikes and while they are always fine together, the act of moving them from the shed and back to the run and vice versa will cause him to mount and rumble a little more than normal. I always keep my two together, they go in the same carrier or hidey when I take them from the shed to their run for playtime. They are never separated.
What you describe as sounds of protest, may in fact be Submission squealing which is again totally normal.
As you are separating them to have lap time, then seeing dominance when they are pur back together would be expected. Please try to keep them together at all times.

 

[Siikibam]

I would take them out for lap time together. Perhaps have a fleece on the sofa for them and let them sit next to you. Or a cat bed or other hide they can be inside of. That way they get time out of the cage but under their own terms. If Jojo doesn’t seem to like lap time then I wouldn’t do it. Try having him next to you instead.

 

[Swissgreys]

I agree that this sounds like perfect normal behaviour after a separation.
Piggy behaviours often look aggressive or mean and can be daunting to witness, but unless someone is getting physically hurt (bite wounds, blood drawn) then they really are just communicating about who is in charge.

 

[Sweet Potato]

I agree, this doesn't sound anything out of the ordinary. Having one next to you in a carrier or on a towel sounds like a good idea. I've never been able to have both my piggies on my lap at the same time because although spud is not usually very territorial towards Gundham in the cage he doesn't like sharing my attention. It's very normal for one piggie to be more confident with handling than the other this doesn't really correlate to which piggie is dominant it's just a personality thing.

 

[weepweeps]

Lap time with two piggies at the same time is a nightmare. My two were always running in different directions. I was worried one would fall off the sofa or bed. So now I sit in the bathroom with them. I put in boxes and hides and tunnels. They love running around and sometimes jump on my lap (if I bribe them )

 

[MortyJojo]

Lap time with two piggies at the same time is a nightmare. My two were always running in different directions. I was worried one would fall off the sofa or bed. So now I sit in the bathroom with them. I put in boxes and hides and tunnels. They love running around and sometimes jump on my lap (if I bribe them )

I can relate lol. Last time i had them on the couch with me it was a bit of a fiasco, i also worried about them falling off which one almost did a couple of times

 

[MortyJojo]

This sounds just like normal dominance and no reason to need to rehome one of them. All piggies display dominance - some more than others - but it’s part of a normal bond and relationship between two piggies. The dominant will always do this. If they are young, then being hormonal teenagers does mean you’ll see it more but it doesnt stop when they are adult. My boar pair are three years old and love nothing more than chasing, rumbling and mounting - it’s normal. Sometimes it occurs more than often, for example in spring time, my dominant has periods of hormone spikes and while they are always fine together, the act of moving them from the shed and back to the run and vice versa will cause him to mount and rumble a little more than normal. I always keep my two together, they go in the same carrier or hidey when I take them from the shed to their run for playtime. They are never separated.
What you describe as sounds of protest, may in fact be Submission squealing which is again totally normal.
As you are separating them to have lap time, then seeing dominance when they are pur back together would be expected. Please try to keep them together at all times.

Development: a real fight just happened. I was able to break it up and after inspecting both the piggies morty was fine other than some of his fur being in the cage but Jojo has a scratch on his lip now. Should I let them alone to sort it out or does that mean its time to separate them?

 

[Piggies&buns]

A full on fight sadly means their bond won’t work and they will need to be separated. They will need to live in side by side cages and each cage will need to be a minimum of 120x60cm.

 

[MortyJojo]

A full on fight sadly means their bond won’t work and they will need to be separated. They will need to live in side by side cages and each cage will need to be a minimum of 120x60cm.

Do they need to be separated forever or can i reintroduce them at some point?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Do they need to be separated forever or can i reintroduce them at some point?

A full on, fur ball rolling around, injury causing fight - if that is what occurred - is due to them not being compatible
and not liking each other and is therefore bond breaking. So a separation after such a fight is unfortunately permament.

 

[MortyJojo]

A full on, fur ball rolling around, injury causing fight - if that is what occurred - is due to them not being compatible
and not liking each other and is therefore bond breaking. So a separation after such a fight is unfortunately permament.

Well darn