a happy result but advice needed please !

Status
Not open for further replies.
S

samantha.b

Joined
Jun 18, 2010
Messages
118
Reaction score
1
Points
0
Location
harrogate
I'm sooooo happy :)) if you read my previous thread about having to give my 2 boys back to pets at home due to their fighting on friday, i have missed them so so much over the weekend that my husband has said i can go get them back ! we swapped them for 2 sows so now i will have 4 by the end of the week. i rang p@h and they said i could have them back on friday as they are still in quarantine waitiing for their cuts to heal but should be fine by friday. so now here are my questions ! i know that they obviously need to be kept seperatly but would like to keep them in the same cage with a mesh divide so they can still interact but not fight.
1) what size hutch would i need for the two ?
2) how would i seperate it ? i would need a sleeping compartment and a mesh open area at each side so i cant work out how this will work. any ideas ?
2) my husband is going to build a run for them, what is the best way to do this and what design ? should it have a mesh divide down the middle or 2 smaller separate runs ? what is a good size for them to have ?
3) if we cant build a seperate access point via ladder down from each of the boys sides to the run is it ok to just put them out in the run every day for a few hours ? if so how many hours should they be out for ? before they have just had free access via their cage so the choice was theirs !
any futher advice on keeping my 2 seperate but happy would be more than welcome. sorry for all the questions but ive got to have it right for their homecoming ! also, do you think it will be possible that at sometime in the future they may be reintroduced and get along ? thank for all help that may be offered x
 
How about two hutches with runs underneath, that way they can go down to the runs to say hello, but can get away from each other if they want to too. There are some cheap ones on zooplus, that should be ok for a single piggy each. I have them (with runs attached) and they are small, but with two floors, I think they would work fine, oh and there is a bigger size too. Or I'm sure you can find lots of similar ones

Here is a link.
http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/rodents/cages/rabbit_hutches/natura/14642


I'm so glad you can get them back :) your OH rocks!
 
clairelove said:
how about getting both the boys neutered and pairing each one with each girl so they both have a girl each and live in diff cages?
Click to expand...

Great idea! That'd be much better than having boys on their own, and you'd only need two cages instead of three.
 
Oh I am so pleased your husband changed his mind, am not able to advise on housing but just wanted to say how great it is that you can get them back.
 
Sorry, no advice on hutches - I've only ever had indoors piggies. But you'll need a minimum of 2x4 ft for either two guinea pigs or one in order to give them space. You can time share runs; quite a few on here with several sets of piggies do it.

I am not sure whether you will ever be able to rebond your two boys, frankly. You may after several month or even over a year, but equally, they may never get on.

But you and your hubby could think about having the boys neutered when they are old enough and introducing each to one of the girls after the obligatory 4-6 weeks wait. Cross gender pairings are the most stable of all. Several members on here have gone down this route with their fallen out boys - all with good success! It would mean that long term, you will only have to cope with two pairs of piggies and both boys will be very happy indeed; as will be the girls!

However, it pays to look for a good and experienced guinea pig vet in your area in order to minimise the risks of an operation.
 
That's excellent news! I really felt for you having to give them up. Your hubby is a star :) You'll have to tell him how wonderful we all think he is :))

I also think you should have the boys neutered then pair them with the girls. That would make your boys very happy and save you space.
 
aw thankyou everyone ! you are all so kind :) i am so made up about getting them back. me and my hubby have spent all evening trying to work out what is best to do in terms of housing. we have decided to get them neutered if poss when theyre old enough and pair them with a sow each, so we are thinking - should we do a seperated outdoor hutch or should we do some sort of indoor set up for them in our insulated shed ? the indoor ones look cheaper and easier to make up (i am refering to the home made ones in the hutch gallery on here) would these be suitable to do in a shed ? also what would i need for these ? and how big should each one be ? i would obviously put them in an outdoor run for the majority of the day. so excited but need to have it straight in my mind as to what our housing plan is ! x
 
I personally would prefer the indoor option. Guineas aren't as robust as rabbits, plus it means you can go and spend time with them even if the weather is bad. You need at least 2x4 foot for a pair of piggies but depending on the size of your shed you could really go to town with it :) I'd be tempted to divide the shed in half and have them 'loose' in their own halves with lots of hideys and hay :)
 
now that sounds fab !xx>>> if i did the half and half thing how high would the divide have to be ? can they climb over it ? lol - that could possibly be a stupid question but just goes to show my guinea pig expertise !:))
 
I'd say a foot high at least to be on the safe side. They can jump onto things that they can stand up against (usually).

I'm excited about it! Wish I had a housing project to do :)
 
aaw thats great news.

makesure you do get your piggies though and they dont sell them. staff at big places like that sometimes dont communicate very well x
 
wish you lived near me rachael, i would be more than happy for some help / advice when doing it as i feel rather nervous as I'm such a novice ! i will post pics when done though. what is your set up like ? and how many piggies do you have ? x
the lady at p@h said she would leave a note on their cages and tell her manager so they dont get rehomed before i get there to pick them up ! they better had or else the piggies wont have been the only ones shedding blood ! :))
 
Aww, I'm sure you'll do a great job. Check out as many pics as you can of people's set ups on here and pinch all the best ideas :)

I have 2 boars (also from p@h before I discovered this place and the importance of rescuing animals) they are 19 months old, not related but were in the same pen in the shop. I've been pretty lucky with them. I wouldn't say they are best friends but they've never actually fought, just the odd rumbling. They're in the lounge in a c&c cage that my husband made. I'll try and remember to take a pic tomorrow for you. (in bed now) :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top