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Puberty Baby Boars Biting (but don't want to be separated)

onearpainter

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Hello, So I recently adopted two young boars. I have had them for about 2 months now, and I recently boarded them at my exotics vet for a long weekend. While I was gone they got into a fight and RiffRaff tore a chunk out of Meatloaf's ear. Since I have brought them home I have noticed several bite marks on Meatloaf's rump, some look old, but there is one fresh one.
When I am in the room they appear to be well behaved, and if I try and separate them for more than a 1/2 hour they both start whining and try to find the other. I even tried just diving up their cage with grids do they could still see and smell one another, but they started chewing the plastic coating off the bars.

I have a 2x3 cage with a large lofted area, two houses, two food bowls, two water, bottles, etc. At this point I'm wondering if RiffRaff is just going through a puberty phase, or if being at the vet somehow made them nervous? I think it's worth noting that the girl I got them from had them in a rabbit hutch and that her cat tried to eat them on more than one occasion. They are still very jumpy and not well socialized (we're working on that and progress has been made). Do they just need more time? As far as I know these two have always been together. RiffRaff is not preventing Meatloaf from eating or drinking, both have consistent weights for their age.

I have two older, very mellow boars in a different cage I'm wondering if I should put Meatloaf in with them for a while so that RiffRaff can work out his issues? Their cage is 6x2 and when I introduced the big guys to the little ones, Meatloaf did fine with them.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
 

katkor03

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2X3 for boars is too small :( I'm sorry. Even with lofts and such, it's much too small. Don't separate them, that only stresses them out as they are wired to figure out who's the top pig at all times. Even my boys who always bicker like sows need a 2X4 minimum. It sounds like your boars need a 2X6 minimum.

Piggies NEED space to run around or to go away from the other to be alone for a bit. Floor space is the most important thing when it comes to a C&C pen. It's more important than a ramp or lots of things.
 

PeanutnCookie

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A 2x3 cage is usually only recommended for one guinea pig. 2 guinea pigs need at least a 2x4 cage. Also, males need more space than females do, so it might be better to invest in a 2x5 cage (or bigger) if you have the space. Don't keep separating them and putting them back in with each other, that will stress them both out more. RiffRaff will only be able to work out any issues with the other guinea pig in there with him, separating will do more harm as you will have to re-introduce them.

It sounds like they may just be fighting from a lack of space. Another thing you could try, but I don't know how well it will work, is combing the two cages and have them all in one big cage. If they were all females this would probably work fine, but males tend to have a harder time getting along with a group more than two, though it is not impossible. I would get a second opinion on this, though.

I hope I helped!
 

bpatters

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Ditto the others. The cage is way too small, and the aggression will only continue as long as they're in it.
 

onearpainter

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Thank you all. I am in the process of expanding their cage, however in the mean time my vet said to keep them apart and then reintroduce them in the new cage. I don't want Meatloaf to be bitten anymore, as his ear is still healing (it was a pretty bad bite). Previously to boarding them they had gotten along fine in the 2x3 cage with the loft area. They just now have started fighting, which is why the vet thinks it may be puberty related. I cannot put all of them together as Riffraff tries to dominate the older boars and they do not put up with that.
 

lunarminx

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Thank you all. I am in the process of expanding their cage, however in the mean time my vet said to keep them apart and then reintroduce them in the new cage. I don't want Meatloaf to be bitten anymore, as his ear is still healing (it was a pretty bad bite). Previously to boarding them they had gotten along fine in the 2x3 cage with the loft area. They just now have started fighting, which is why the vet thinks it may be puberty related. I cannot put all of them together as Riffraff tries to dominate the older boars and they do not put up with that.


My boars were brothers that turned grumpy to each other, I found I had to go wider over longer to make it work. I used a 3x3 for them that worked perfectly.
 

onearpainter

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I'm probably going to move them out of my studio into my spare bedroom, and make another 2x6 cage for them, that size seems to work very well with my two older boars.
 

Fay

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Welcome to the forums! :eek: Whenever you separate your pigs and put them back together they need to re-establish dominance (depending on how long they are apart) which will cause more aggression if not re-introduced properly. So once you have a big enough cage make sure to follow the following introduction guidelines to help everything go smoothly:

https://guinea-pigs.livejournal.com/3002707.html

Good luck! Also, if you have any pigtures I would love to see your little pigs :D
 

onearpainter

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Thanks! I've gone through introductions before. I have had my two older boars for a few years now, and have gone through the introductions process with them. My two new ones are the first babies I've had as my older boys were adults when I got them. As requested here are some pictures of my boys.
Rocky- tan and white American
Frankenfurter- Brown, tan, and white American
RiffRaff- Tan and white Abyssinian
Meatloaf- black, tan and white Crested
FullSizeRender 2.jpgFullSizeRender-1 2.jpgIMG_6905.jpg
 

lunarminx

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They are very cute! Enjoy the babies.
 

Fay

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Awww they are so adorable!!! :D I love their coloring.
 
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