Hi everyone! This post is about all dominant behavior in guinea pigs. You may notice them.
Scent marking, rumble strutting, and showing who’s boss
Guinea pigs don’t spray the cage with Chanel No.5 to show who’s boss. Male and female guinea pigs scent mark by dragging their bottoms across the cage floor (awkward moment alert!) to show what belongs to them. You see them doing this often when you clean their cage or put in a new thing. They also may urinate on it. Though disgusting as it sounds, it is their way of saying, ”This is my thing, back off!”
Females do it too, though not as much as males. You may see it differently, but I see that my male pigs do it more often than my female pig. You may see them scent marking more often when there is an other pig nearby. Bobbie scent marks every thing because Theodore Bonbon’s cage is right next to theirs, so he’s practically telling Theodore to back off.
As yucky as it may seem, male piggies spray female piggies to scent mark them as their own. So if an other male comes to check out the sprayed female, he will smell the wee of the other male and back off, or try to mate with the female. However, the male might be driven off.
You also may know your piggies to move themselves slowly, sideways, purring. This can be mistaken for loving purring. However, this is territorial behavior. It is called rumble strutting. Like scent marking, this is a way to ward off other guinea pigs. This isn’t marking something as their own, they do this to ward off other pigs or show who’s boss, or both. This can lead to biting, but not much.
Before a fight, or something leading up to a fight
Piggies can fight. I know this because I once had two males, Thomas and Mozart, together. Not wise. You may see signs leading up to a fight, or before a fight. However, it may be just a severe warning. Here are some:
1. Teeth chattering. This is more aggressive than rumble strutting. Always keep an eye on your pig if he/she chatters his/her teeth towards an other piggie.
2. Paw kicking. This is used to swipe an other pig away.
3. Fur puffed up. This makes the pig seem bigger.
4. Mouth open. This exposes their teeth to freak the other pig.
If a fight occurs, take one pig away to calm down. If fights occur a lot, you will need to separate one of the pigs.
Cavy Dreams 