Roomates or Haters?

[Zao77]

Ok, so now I have two male pigs in a large cage. They seem to get along alright, (except for the rumblestrutting and occasional guinea-man love) however whenever I take out the dominate one, the little one squeals with what seems to be delight and runs all over the cage making burbling noises and acting quite happy )he jumps about etc, searching for the large dominate guinea pig. The longer the other one is out the more active the small guy gets.

When I put the old pig back in with the small one, the old one (Amish) rumbles his butt and goes into the hideout. The small one (Cake) follows him, they harass each other, and promptly sit around in the plastic house all day doing nothing.

My question is, are they really getting along? Or is the old one just harassing the heck out of the young one (psychologically) and they shouldn't be together?


anyone else have this problem or behavior from their male pigs?

 

[Slap Maxwell]

Consider a large C&C cage for them. Preferably 2x5. They both will have their own space.

 

[Zao77]

It is a large cage. I think they may be just strange pigs.

 

[Slap Maxwell]

How big is it? If it is a petsore or commercial cage it is too small. I have the biggest avalible pet store cage, I know. It is too small for one piggie.

 

[Zao77]

Its not a pet store cage. Its a C and C cage that I built for them.

 

[Zao77]

Going by the guildlines and all provided on this website..

 

[Slap Maxwell]

what x what? A 2x3?

 

[Zao77]

they have 7.5 square feet.

think making it 2 stories would helP?

 

[Zao77]

I can't expand the cage horizontally since my car is far too small to carry a sheet of coroplast that big... But I have more grids.

 

[Teria]

It doesn't sound to me like they're getting along very well, no matter how large the cage is. My two girls were the same - never snuggled, only chased and harrassed each other. They get along better now that I have a REALLY large cage and a neutered male for them but they're definitely not close friends. I think you'll just have to live with it. Maybe consider adopting another male or two?

 

[Piglet]

Is the squealing similar to wheeking? When I pick up one of my boys, the other one sometimes wheeks and looks for his buddy.

 

[Ziggysmom]

I have the same problem. I waws given a boar for Valentine's Day and when I came upon this site I made a big C&C cage and got him a friend. Well, the friend (Stardust) dominates and bites Ziggy in the face. I had to separate them and when I tried to reintroduce with the bath technique, etc. I thought everything was fine because I didn't see any outward aggression. Then I took Stardust out for some one-on-one with his "dad" and Ziggy started going all over the cage popcorning and running up and down. He started eating and using his litterbox. All that day it didn't dawn on me that Ziggy had been slumped in a corner not doing anything or using his litterbox. I sure figured it out when I took Stardust out! I looked Ziggy over carefully and found yet another bite wound from Stardust! These two just can't get along and I am not willing to put Ziggy through more turmoil to wait it out and have them establish their routine. Even on floor time where they have supervised access to the whole living room/dining room/kitchen, Stasrdust will keep Ziggy under the china cabinet while he runs all over the place, but take them out separately and Ziggy is a new pig!

I want to get Ziggy a female because I'm not willing to risk another male that may give him problems then what do I do with that one? I don't know what I'll do since on GL it gives the neutering risks that scare me and I've checked the only two rescues in NM. for a spayed female. One is gone and the other one's site hasn't been updated since 2003 and says has no pigs.

 

[pennick]

I have 2 girls and one is very dominant. What she says goes. They get along but the timid one has to obey the other. Since I have 3 levels there is enough room and houses and whatnot to keep each one occupied. If one is chased out of a house or whatever they could always run to another level and occupy themselves there.

 

[marci]

Keep in mind that animals do not have the same sort of relationships that we do when it comes to dominant relationships. Just like dogs, pigs are pack animals and NEED to have a definite place in the heiarchy or they feel "lost". Sometimes I'll forget and think my "beta" dog is sad because the "alpha" is so pushy, but then I'll take the B somewhere and he'll be sad because he misses his packmate. They thrive on those kinds of relationships, and they're okay unless one of the pigs is actually *hurting* the other.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

Zao, did you know you can roll coroplast up? There are some instructions in the gallery I believe that tells you how to roll it.

 

[Zao77]

you can roll that stuff? I'll have to check it out. I couldn't roll it for the love of me when I bought it. Heck I had a hard time trying to fold up the sides

 

[Ziggysmom]

Yes, I believe in the pack order too. Unfortunately, one of the pigs is hurting the other. Still hunting for that spayed female. I would like to know just how dangerous it really is to have a male neutered. If I can't find a spayed female, I may have to go that route.