A Friend For Teddy, Continued...

[MollyB]

Hi All!

It's finally time to sort out getting Teddy a friend; he's just too sad out there on his own.

Now, I'm wondering (please tell me if this is a horrible idea) if I could rehome a piggie and bond the 2 myself, or whether it's better to leave it to the professionals?
I'm not sure I meet the criteria of the charities I found, so I wanted to run it passed you all first and see what your thoughts and experiences are when doing it yourself.

Teddy's an intact male, about 2 years old and has poor eyesight. He lives in a 2 tier hutch which has room for 1 more, so any advice would be hugely appreciated!

 

[Swissgreys]

I think it depends on where you get the new piggy from to be honest.
If he comes from a rescue and is health checked, quarantined, and has a full 'return' policy if the bonding doesn't wok out, then you could try bonding yourself.
I would always choose professionals if at all possible, but I also know this isn't an option for everyone.
My piggies came from a breeder and Ruby, Lucy and Eddi were already bonded when they came to me, but with Oreo I did the bonding myself, however the breeder made it very clear that is the bonding failed for any reason she would take Oreo back.

I think my worry with getting a piggy from a pet store or unscrupulous breeder (I don't think you have any breeder licensing in the UK?) would be mis-sexing, health issues, or a failed bonding leaving you with 2 separate piggies to house and no friend for Teddy.

 

[MollyB]

Thank you @Swissgreys! I would get another piggie from a rescue, not a shop or breeder most likely. I have 2 rescues I could try, 1 is too far unless my other half drives me (I don't think he will), the other has strict standards to follow that I'm not sure I quite qualify for (they don't like hutches with ramps, and he has no garden space).
I'll keep thinking; maybe get in touch with the stricter charity in case I'm wrong, and see for sure if I can get a lift or not.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi All!

It's finally time to sort out getting Teddy a friend; he's just too sad out there on his own.

Now, I'm wondering (please tell me if this is a horrible idea) if I could rehome a piggie and bond the 2 myself, or whether it's better to leave it to the professionals?
I'm not sure I meet the criteria of the charities I found, so I wanted to run it passed you all first and see what your thoughts and experiences are when doing it yourself.

Teddy's an intact male, about 2 years old and has poor eyesight. He lives in a 2 tier hutch which has room for 1 more, so any advice would be hugely appreciated!

Hi! I would strongly recommend to contact East Peckham Guinea Pig Rescue. They are your closes rescue that offers full residential boar dating; i.e. bonding during a several days' stay at the rescue. This method, which is very time consuming, ensures that Teddy will meet up to three different boars to see whether he really clicks with one of them. Any successful bond is then going to be stress-tested to make sure that it is stable. By the time the two boys go home, the biggest bit of dominance has also been sorted in addition of initial acceptance (which is the bit that is covered by 'speed dating'.
This way of bonding means that the result is every bit as stable as sow bond; it works for boars of all ages and may be the safest way forward for you, especially in view of Teddy requiring a more gentle companion.
There is usually a waiting list, but it is worth it as 'full' boar bonding is the rolls royce of guinea pig bonding and by far the safest way of bonding boars for a sustainable bond since it takes character compatibility and mutual liking fully into account.

The other Kent rescue offering residential boar bonding is April Lodge near Sandwich. There are only a few rescues in this country that offer residential boar bonding, but it is a genuine alternative if you do not want to neuter your boar.
Guinea Pig Rescue Centre Locator

 

[MollyB]

Thank you @Wiebke! I've contacted East Peckham and am currently waiting to hear back

Do you know if it's okay to get a boar neutered just for companionship? I know it's only an emergency solution for a sow, but would it be a better idea to get him neutered and then find a lady for him?

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you @Wiebke! I've contacted East Peckham and am currently waiting to hear back

Do you know if it's okay to get a boar neutered just for companionship? I know it's only an emergency solution for a sow, but would it be a better idea to get him neutered and then find a lady for him?

When neutering a boar, you always have to include a full 6 weeks' post-op wait until a boar is 100% safe to go with girls. This is about the time it takes to make sure that any tadpoles stuck in the tubes have died off. The little baby in my avatar, Tegan, is the unplanned result of a suposedly safe over 5 weeks post-op boar (not one of mine), just to make the point that can really happen as late as that. Tegan is not the only case I have knowledge of. You also have to find a good vet in order to cut down on neutering complications.
You also have to be aware that with a cross gender bond acceptance still needs to happen and that a bond can also fail when dominance cannot be sorted. I would strongly recommend to rescue date any neutered boars.
Neutering is not a quick option, but it is an alternative in those areas where there are no rescues that offer full boar dating, but have access to some very good neutering vets.

Personally, if you have the option for residential boar dating, please go for it - all you have to do is send Teddy on a holiday and receive him back with a friend...

 

[MollyB]

Personally, if you have the option for residential boar dating, please go for it - all you have to do is send Teddy on a holiday and receive him back with a friend...

When you put it like that, it does sound lovely
I'll wait to hear back from East Peckham, and then get back to the one in Sandwich (they were the stricter one I mentioned) and see if they can send someone over to check out my set up and see what they think :3

Thanks so much again @Wiebke!

 

[Wiebke]

When you put it like that, it does sound lovely
I'll wait to hear back from East Peckham, and then get back to the one in Sandwich (they were the stricter one I mentioned) and see if they can send someone over to check out my set up and see what they think :3

Thanks so much again @Wiebke!

Good luck! We don't have any residential boar dating rescues in the Midlands, but good operating vets, so that is the way to go here...

In any case, rescue dating future companions means that you do not have the headache of ending up with two guinea pigs that won't get on with each other!