mounting male guinea pig

[mandamoo]

I have four guineapigs ( two sets of brothers ).when i woke up yesturday moarinig i noticed that cola kept trying to mount lucas, (they are not brothers )and didn`t realy take much notice because they all try to mount each other every now and again.But yesturday cola just wouldn`t leave lucas alone.He was trying to mount him all day, i took cola out of the cage for a little while to see if he just needed a bit of cooling down time, but when i put him back he was just streight back on him again.Now i know this is normal behavioure for guineapigs to establish thier dominance, but i am worried that this is causing lucas quite alot of stress.Also cola seems to be standing guard outside lucas`s pigloo waiting for him to come out.I have had to remove cola again this moarning so that lucas can get some food and water.I don`t understand,they all got on fine before, this behavioure seems to have come on sudenly and i don`t know what to do ! Is this behavioure just a phase or do you think cola is bullying lucas ?

 

[1frankie7]

How long ago were they introduced? I think mounting is a dominance thing(not sure though).

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

How big is your cage?

It doesn't matter if they are not brothers. Sometimes brothers fight worse and they still do the dominance thing.

You may want to take out the pigloo and put in tunnels or hideys that have more than one entrance so no one gets trapped.

And put two to three of everything in the cage.

 

[mandamoo]

They have all been living together for about two months now.I`m sure it is a dominance thing, im just worried that lucas is getting stressed with being picked on all the time, and wanted to know if anyoneif anyone else has had experience with this kind of guineapig behavioure or if anyone has any advise for me, or does anyone knows if this behavioure will carry on or if it will pass.Im worried that a big fight is going to break out and that someone is going to get injured,or that lucas is going to become depressed and get ill.To me he looks very small compared to his brother (Snowball) and when i picked him up he feels as if he has lost weight.

 

[xoLauraox09]

You shouldn't guess the weight of a pig by picking him up, should weigh weekly.

 

[mandamoo]

Im not asking advise on weighing guineapigs thank you .

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

We are giving that advice because it is a vital health issue. Please read https://www.guinealynx.info/weigh.html

If he is losing weight, he is likely sick. Like you yourself said, you cannot tell if he has lost weight merely by picking him up. You don't know what he weighed before or what he weighs now. You need to know that. By the time you notice a significant weight loss, it is usually too late and they are very sick.

Guinea pigs will pick on a weak one so that may be what is going on. You need to take him to a vet and start weighing. Handfeed https://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html if needed

You did not answer how big the cage is. It may be too small for two males.

 

[akstrohm]

How big is the cage? How old are your pigs? What kind of hideys do you have and how many? You should have multiple water bottles, hay racks, and food dishes spread through the cage so both pigs can get to them.

Weight loss can indicate a very serious problem. I would take him to the vet.

 

[TwitterPopcorn]

How old are your boys?
Do you have a hut/hiding place for each one?
How large is your cage?

This will give us a good idea on how to answer your questions?

 

[shamrockmommy]

I am also curious to know their ages. This sort of thing happened between my Diego and Marquee. It never escalted to fights, other than poor Marquee occasionally nipping back and saying "KNOCK IT OFF!"
This went on for a few weeks and I opted to neuter Diego. I believe he was about 6 months old. He did have an abscess from the suture material, but once the testosterone was out of his system, he became a very peaceful piggy. He's now very sweet and no longer dominant. Marquee is dominant but very nice about it.

As a bonus, Diego's chronic bladder infections stopped- I think he was rubbing his poor private parts raw from all the humping.

Good luck.