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Post by wheeksqueek987 on Apr 18, 2011 14:09:09 GMT
hi i have 2 adult boars and they have gotten along for months! But this morning one of them was hiding upstairs and would not come down  so i made him go down and the other guinea pig just leaps at him and starts chasing him around the cage and and so he just went back upstairs and would not come down, even for food!! any help on this? |
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Post by pickles on Apr 18, 2011 14:58:45 GMT
Are there any bite wounds on either pig? When this happens does it look like they are playing or is agressive? Just based on this post you written sounds like one piggy wants to play!
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Post by wheeksqueek987 on Apr 18, 2011 16:18:13 GMT
i don know if it was for play because they were tossing and tumbling and i heard teeth chattering from both pigs and no bite marks as far as i know
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Post by 3piggles on Apr 18, 2011 17:33:59 GMT
Hello and welcom!!! How old are your boys? Youngsters get along great, even brothers, until they reach puberty, then all bets are off. From about 3-10 months, they are just going through a really bad teenage phase, and have to get through it. By 12-14 months they mature into adulthood, and stop being brats. It varies by pig, environment, etc., all the same issues that plague human puberty, so there is no set schedule or conduct.
If one is hiding and acting bullied; shaking, afraid to eat or drink if the other is near, etc., then the dominance has gone too far, and one's health is suffering. If you can, put up two of everything, so both can eat and drink at the same time. Make sure there are no place such as inside houses, where one can trap and bully the other. If necessary, which I had to do, remove the houses and anything with hard sides, and drape cloths over the cage side or something, for pass-through hidies. Put in two hay holders, at opposite ends of the cage if possible, etc. Just make it as difficult as possible for the dominant one to block the other one from getting food, water or hay, and from trapping the other one anywhere in the cage. I have back doors cut in my pigloos. It is really easy to use cardboard boxes as houses, and cut multiple openings in the boxes so there is always an escape route.
If you can do those things, how ever they work in your cage, it should be enough to allow the boys to make it through puberty. But if one starts attacking the other and drawing blood, separate them. If possible, divide the existing living space so they live in the cage but divided from each other with a separating grid. That way you can regularly move them between cages so they not only see each other through the grid, but smell each other and keep the idea of a scent in the living space. They can probably be put together in a large enough neutral area on the floor, etc., while you clean the cages, as long as you are there to supervise. Once blood has been drawn, always have a towel handy to toss over the attacking pig. Too many of us can vouch for the result of putting our hands between the two to stop the attacks.
I hope this helps. It's a lot of trial and error until you figure out what works for your pigs and for you, as you have to clean the cages and keep them stocked.
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Post by wheeksqueek987 on Apr 18, 2011 18:46:21 GMT
one is 14 months and the other is 6 months!
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Post by 3piggles on Apr 18, 2011 20:04:56 GMT
If the 14 month old is tormenting the 6 month old, it's the same situation. The six month old is all mouth and attitude, and the older pig is making sure he understands his place. If the younger is bullying the older pig, you need to watch it carefully to make sure the older pig doesn't become too stressed. The milder-mannered pig will give in to the pushy one, of any age or sex. But while youngsters can outgrow their attitude problems, older pigs are often set in their ways.
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Post by wheeksqueek987 on Apr 18, 2011 22:00:31 GMT
so how can i get them back to normal?
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Post by 3piggles on Apr 19, 2011 0:08:52 GMT
Which one is doing the tormenting???
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Post by jolovespiggies on Apr 19, 2011 14:18:47 GMT
Oh dear, welcome to the forum love and I hope the piggies are back to normal soon.
Jo xx
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Post by wheeksqueek987 on Apr 19, 2011 22:04:35 GMT
the younger one is doing the tormenting!
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Post by 3piggles on Apr 20, 2011 14:17:48 GMT
The younger one will probably outgrow it, but the older one also has to put a stop to the tormenting. If the older one can't do that, he will get overly stressed, probably develop health problems and need treatment.
We rarely advise they be separated unless blood is drawn, but if the older pig becomes stressed, they need to be separated until he is back to normal. It's also a chance to see how he reacts to being on his own versus with the little monster, lol. He may decide he'd rather be with the little monster than alone. If so, he will talk to the youngster, spend time at the divider to be with him, etc. If he seems to relax and ignores the youngster, I don't think they are good candidates as cage mates.
Don't give up. You still have a lot to determine before making any decisions. For now, do the two of everything. Remove the houses and anything that can be territory for the youngster to protect and dominate. Provide only pass-through hidies that can't trap anyone but still provide some privacy and security, and see how it goes. If you have one loft, make another one if you can. I started with one and had a pig that decided that was her loft and no one else could use it. Add a second loft, and that issue stopped. It's mostly about removing their motivations, and if there's no territory to dominate, the youngster may settle down faster.
I hope this works. With cage mate issues, it is always a matter of trial and error. Sorry there are no absolute solutions for you.
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Post by wheeksqueek987 on Apr 21, 2011 13:18:24 GMT
ok will try
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Post by 3piggles on Apr 21, 2011 13:36:52 GMT
It might also help to keep the youngster entertained so he doesn't spend as much energy bothering the older pig. Just stringing a line of toilet paper tubes across the cage gives him a chew toy. Crumpling a piece of paper into a ball gives him a toy, etc. He may be bored enough that just having two of everything doesn't solve the problem, so try giving him lots of distractions like paper chews/toys. Even draping hand towels/tea towels over the cage side in places gives him a whole maze of pass-through hidies to play in.
I had one pig who got bored really easily. Worst I've ever had, and when he was bored, he was destructive. He either worried his poor cagemate to distraction, or did everything possible to wreck the cage. I finally put in enough distractions to keep him busy, at least for enough of the day that I wasn't constantly having to rescue his cagemate, lol!!!
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so i made him go down and the other guinea pig just leaps at him and starts chasing him around the cage and and so he just went back upstairs and would not come down, even for food!!
