Dominant Baby & Mellow Adult - Guinea Pig Cages, Care, Store, Photos of Guinea Pigs and More Forum!

**redinque** · #1 12-30-05, 05:58 pm

[font=Arial Narrow]I got two boars in October, and at the time, Caramel was a month old and Toby was 1 year old. They were adopted out together because they bonded the best out of all the other babies. A month or so later, I read somewhere that a mellow adult should not be paired with a dominant baby since it may cause problems later once the baby reaches teenage years (5 months). I was a little worried because Caramel had been showing signs of being a dominant pig.

Now, there are definite signs of dominance challenges. Caramel seems to bully Toby, chasing him out of boxes (hidey homes), grabbing his food away, and just simply harassing him. And Toby's bigger! Toby will just accept it, run away, and try to get more food elsewhere. Today for the first time, they engaged in a minor fight with sqealing, pushing, and head butting. Toby's not even a teenager yet! Has anyone had experience with this? Did it end up being ok? I know that guinea pigs WILL fight, but I just want to know what people have seen/experienced. Caramel is being such a brat! Poor Toby. He's so chill.[/font]

**DaCourt** · #2 12-30-05, 06:32 pm

Yes, yes, yes! Scooby was about 1 year old when we adopted Scooter, who was about 1 month old. Scooby was in charge for a couple of months and then Scooter took over. He ate first, he drank first, he did everything first. I had to put two of everything in the cage. Every time Scooby would try to eat, Scooter would sit in the food dish. They are now 3 yrs. and 2 yrs, and Scooter is still in charge. They still have squabbles, but no blood shed. Every once in a while, Scooby will get a nip on the bottom...nothing big.

HOWEVER...it got a lot better when believe it or not...we added a 3rd boar to the mix. Emmet seemed to even everything out. He was a prefect mix of the 2 personalities. Even though now....he is the most timid.

Your story sounds exactly like mine. I was scared they would never get along, but they do.

**redinque** · #3 12-31-05, 04:18 am

Yeah, I hope it gets better after a few months. They still seem ok for the most part. I think that Toby indulges Caramel.

**bbqbarbiedolls** · #4 12-31-05, 07:00 am

I had the same thing happen to me. Sputnik and Manson had a few tiffs while they were trying to sort out their dominance issues but they get along beautifully now.

**cudley n pepper** · #5 10-30-09, 08:10 am

Im having the same problem we got cudley(long haired) first only 8 weeks old such a happy little piggy always popcorning and we decided to get her a friend we got pepper pig (pure white pedigree)she was 3 months old, Cudley doesnt seem as happy as she was before, I feel so sorry for her at times as pepper is always head butting her bum butting and now we hear cudley squealing and pepper has cornerd her is this normal, theres never been any blood drawn but pepper is always shoeing her out of what ever house cudley goes in, could this be because they are different breeds,

**JD In Van** · #6 10-30-09, 08:12 am

Babies usually get aggressive and assertive through puberty.
This behavior is all normal and acceptable. Don't worry unless they draw blood.

**blackarrow** · #7 10-30-09, 09:32 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by cudley n pepper

I feel so sorry for her at times as pepper is always head butting her bum butting and now we hear cudley squealing and pepper has cornerd her is this normal, theres never been any blood drawn but pepper is always shoeing her out of what ever house cudley goes in, could this be because they are different breeds,

No, it's not because they are different breeds, it's because they are guinea pigs. It's perfectly normal. It might ease tensions if you use hideys that have multiple exits, though, if you don't already.

It may not be all sunshine and roses right now but almost no social relationships are - it doesn't mean they're not better off having a social relationship that it isn't all wonderful!

**ferndalezoo** · #8 10-30-09, 11:19 am

THe typical advice is to get a baby to go with an adult because "the adult will naturally be dominant". That isn't always the case, and it's totally normal. When we got Greyson (4 weeks old at the time), to be Phil's(adult of unknown age) buddy, it was obvious from the get go that the dominant pig was going to be Greyson. As long as there isn't any bloodshed, it doesn't matter how the heirarchy works out. It WILL work out, somehow.

**1frankie7** · #9 10-30-09, 11:34 am

I have a 9 month old who is far more dominant than my young one charlie who is 3 months. but I still dont know if they get along as my older one jake is still being quarentined.

"Thank you, JD In Van, for this useful post," says:
blackarrow (10-30-09)

"Thank you, blackarrow, for this useful post," says:
rabbitsncavyluv (10-30-09)