Two male guinea pigs housed together

Question
Hello Pat,

I am a relatively new guinea pig owner. I have had my Abyssinian male Watson for about 3 months and he is probably 5 months old now. I recently adopted a 6 week old male Cauchy because I read that guinea pigs are social animals and that they are happier with other guinea pigs. I introduced them on neutral territory and they seemed to get along well. Watson mounted Cauchy a bit but I read that that was okay. Now they are housed together in a 2x3 C&C cage with an upper level. I am concerned because Watson rumbles almost continually. He has stopped mounting Cauchy but he still smells his bottom often and they chase each other. Whenever Watson is near Cauchy he starts rumbling. I am just concerned that they may not get along in the future. Basically, I would like to know if they do end up fighting, will there be any warning signs? Is it a bad sign that Watson is rumbling so much? Cauchy is so small and I am afraid that should Watson decide to fight with him, Cauchy could be seriously hurt. Should I separate them until Cauchy is closer in size? And is it likely that if they fight, it could be out of the blue?

I really love these guys and I want to do what's best for them. Any advice would be appreciated!

Thank you very much for your time!
Lor

Answer
Congratulations on your new baby. I love the name Watson, very cute.

It's absolutely normal for Watson to purr and rumblestrut like he's doing. He hasn't figured out yet that the baby is also a male who won't appreciate his advances. He'll stop soon.

Watson is just reaching his sexual maturity and his hormones are telling him that this might be his "lucky day."  Reality will take over quickly and he'll settle down. I'm assuming that you know for sure that Cauchy is a boy? Make absolutely sure about that. It's not uncommon for someone to purchase what they think is a boy and turns out otherwise. Sometimes it's difficult when they are young to tell the difference.

It's actually quite entertaining to watch the 'dance of love' that a boar does. They lower their rear end and sway back and forth as they purr. That's the typical rumblestrut maneuver. It can be compared to a man doing the puff up the chest, tighten the muscles, lean forward a little and make like a crab with the tight fists clenched to make themselves look real strong and manly!  

Every species has their own way of "looking cool to the chicks" and Watson is just learning to perfect his moves.  It's harmless and temporary. The sniffing Cauchy's rear is just trying to find out if Cauchy might be receptive to his advances.

You may even find that poor Cauchy has been 'glued' on his backside a time or two. Cavy semen dries the way hot glue does. It sticks to the hair and often takes scissors to cut it out. Again, perfectly normal, especially with young boars just starting into their prime. As they get older and wiser they stop doing that, and only attempt to breed when the sow says ok.

It's unlikely they will start fighting as time goes on. When introducing a young boar to an older one they usually bond quickly and live happily together. Generally if there's going to be fighting and biting it starts right away. It sounds like they're off to a good start to a happy life. So rest easy and enjoy your new pets.