I purchased 2 male guinea pigs from the humane society for my 2 kids not knowing that getting 2 males wasn't the best. I put them in the same cage but separated them for about a month. I have them now in the same cage and they seem to get along except the older and slighty bigger one keeps mounting the other. They don't fight and at times snuggle in the same house. Should I be worried about the mounting or is this O.K?
]Originally Posted by woehlke
First of all, I don't know what you mean about the two males not being the best. It is a complete myth that males do not get along well. My boars are bonded for life, and I would never think of separating them.
Next, I congratuate you on adopting!!! That was an excellent choice.
The mounting is merely a sign of dominance and is perfectly normal! Mine still do that, and I've had them since January. Hope this helps! =)
Yeah I have 2 males and every now and then one will mount the other. But they always cuddle and play so its ok. unless they do get in a fight i would keep them together. But i wouldnt worry because mine have never got in a real fight.
My two sows squabble quite a bit lately, so I guess it doesn't matter if it's two boars or two sows =)
Thanks everyone for your thoughts. All the "book research" seemed to stress that males won't do well together unless raised together from a young age. I feel much better about keeping them together now that I've heard your comments. It just goes to show you that personal experience is worth more then book smarts.
Sure is! A lot of books print out inaccurate information. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to post them.
I agree, books aren't really the way to go. Thanks for asking, and feel free to post more questions. =)
yep, when i first started learning about guinea pigs, i read many books. then i found this forum and realized that half the things i learnt from the book was wrong. I'm glad i found this place before i got a guinea pig, otherwise, i would have done so many things wrong.
True books aren't always right. One book I have says that 5 cavies will be fine in a 2 1/2 feet by 2 1/2 feet and won't be overcrowded.
The mounting does just show dominace.
[QUOTE=My Baby Mu] One book I have says that 5 cavies will be fine in a 2 1/2 feet by 2 1/2 feet and won't be overcrowded.QUOTE]
WHAT!?!?!?!
Relax... it's just in the book. I just hope nobody follows that advice. Whoever attempts that is really stupid and hopefully, they'll find out it doesn't work too well. It makes us all mad, but it's just a fact of life--not everyone tells the truth.
I would never put 5 in a 2 1/2 feet by 2 1/2 feet cage. The book also says a 1 foot by 2 feet is fine for 1 it's really stupid.
I found the problem with the books is that they often go by USDA regulations for minimum sizes, that is, the minimum size that doesn't constitute cruelty to the animal. This is hardly the ideal for the pig. I also wish that they would revise their recommendations to list preferred cage sizes for happy pigs because I also got sucked into the ridiculous 1x2 cage at the pet store for $90. Luckily I found this site right away and returned it the next day.
Think about the analogy of the computer. Microsoft will tell you that you need a minimum 64MB of RAM to run windows. True - if all you're going to do is sit and stare at your desktop and not acutally attempt to run any programs. However, to expect it to do something when you click with the mouse, you'd better have a whole heck of a lot more RAM.
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