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Dominance Males Always Chattering

Lumpkinz11

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Cavy Slave
Joined
Oct 23, 2018
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Joined
Oct 23, 2018
Messages
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Hey everyone!

So just a bit of information before I describe the issue I am having. I have two males: Bernie (skinny piggy) and Gene (Abyssinian). They have been housed together for two months now, and they live in a 2x4 C&C cage (the cage also has a 2x2 loft, plenty of hiding places, toys, chews, food bowls, hay holders, water bottles, etc.). They are fed an adequate amount of veggies, a few treats, and vitamin C each day. Very healthy and, hopefully, happy piggies!

The issue I am having is, they are constantly chattering. Gene doesn’t do it so much, but Bernie will chatter very VERY loudly, for long periods of time, before chasing Gene around the cage. Gene never rumbles, he rarely chatters, he just sort of makes little noises that sound submissive (I’m not too sure). They did this when they were first introduced, and then stopped doing it. Now, they do it every night, almost all night! Most times I will move Bernie to the loft and he chills up there so they don’t bother each other, but I don’t know why they are always doing it! They don’t fight, but I would assume this is stressful for both of my piggies. I was just wondering if it’s anything I’m not doing correctly, or anything I could fix? Or if they will just always do this.

Thanks so much!
 

bpatters

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Sep 23, 2009
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Well, you're making it worse by separating them. They need to work out their dominance issues, and you need to let them.

The behavior is totally normal. They're apt to do this for several months, possibly until they're around two or so.

What I'd do is, if possible, is dismantle the loft and extend the size of the main cage. More room on one level is always better than a two level cage. I'd also hang some fleece forests or panels in a couple of places in the cage to break up the sight lines. Out of sight, out of mind is always a good thing when you're dealing with boars.
 

Lumpkinz11

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Cavy Slave
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Oct 23, 2018
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I understand about the serpating thing so I won’t do that again, but unfortunately I don’t have room to build out. I plan on keeping the loft, just because I feel like it’s another sort of “hiding” area for my guinea pigs. I will definitely take your advice and put up panels or fleece. Thanks!
 
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