A number of issues after my piggie passed :(

[Charlie84]

Ok, where do I start? Sorry if this turns into an essay, but I thought it best to post in this forum.

I had 4 piggies, 2 of them were Bear and Graham, always lived fairly happily together apart from the odd grumble from Bear at Graham if he got a bit frisky!

The other two I suppose I 'rescued' from an incompetent pet shop as they were covered in ringworm and were not looked after at all.

Very sadly, I lost my lovely little Bear last week. He was nearly 5, and I came home from work to find him laying in a corner of his cage, with his eyes barely open. I rushed him to the vets straight away and they kept him in over night. They gave him an xray and 2 scans and could see lots of air in his tummy, but he had food in his stomach so he had been eating, he didn't look bloated at all, and had no blockages in his intestines.

The vet said his scan showed his liver was slightly enlarged and some of his neurological signs were not there.

They fed him over night and gave him zantac, and palpated his tummy to try and move some of the air out, but after 2 nights in there we got the dreaded call to come in asap. 8...

He was basically gone, he was floppy and totally non responsive. We made the dreaded decision to let him go. I sobbed for days and days, and I still can't believe he is not here anymore. They couldn't tell me why he passed, which makes it even worse really. I keep thinking to myself that I could have saved him, but maybe it was just his time? I really don't know. :0

So on to why I am posting - his cagemate Graham literally sat in the spot where Bear was laying and didn't move for 2 days, not an inch! He is now getting back to himself, eating and drinking and wheeking for carrots, but I can tell he is very sad.

The other 2 little'uns have started to get a bit fussy with each other, after 6 months of living together - is that normal? One, Nigel, is smaller and very very friendly. The other, Mousey, is a very big pig and can be quite bossy. ( I was told they were both 8 weeks when I bought them, both were small, but mousey has grown into a monster pig!) Lots of teeth chattering going on, and I have noticed that they do not sleep together or sit together.

I decided that because the Bear was a very placid pig, I would try and pair up Graham and Nigel together, and introduced them outside of the cages, on a towel. However, Graham didn't like him at all. He very nearly bit him, so I had to separate them again.

I thought that maybe Mousey, being a bit more feisty like Graham, may be the answer. But no luck there either, Graham retreated up onto my lap and mousey was buzzing, rumbling ans strutting around getting up on my knee, trying to 'get at' Graham!

So now I am stuck. Do I leave Nigel and Mousey together, even though they are getting more agitated with each other, and try and find Graham a new friend, and run the risk that Graham wont like his new friend? Or do I let him live on his own even though he has been with Bear all his life? :{

One other thing that has happened recently is that Nigel has been making a tweeting noise, just like a bird cheeping! I do wonder if it's because he is being bullied by mousey, and is distressed?

I'm in a muddle as to what the best action is to take. They are all indoor piggies, and I really don't have enough room for 4 separate cages, if mousey and nigel fall out for good, and if Graham doesn't get on with a new pig?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! So sorry this is so long!

 

[Poison]

Hi Firstly sorry to hear about the loss of you piggie

Secondly, your two baby pigs could've reached piggie puberty and they're hormones are all raging and stuffs. Some piggies get a bit unsettled at this time, and sometimes they get through this stage and the bond survives, however sometimes sadly the bond doesn't survive and the piggies have to be separated. I had this problem with my first pair of boars Slush and Spike, they were happily bonded for over 6 months when they started rumbling and teeth chattering at each other. I decided to see how it went, and left them together, one day I came home from school to find them full-on fighting and chasing each other. I separated them immediately, and seeing as Spike was the smaller one immediately checked him for wounds. Spike was fine, Slush on the other hand had nearly has whole lip torn off by Spike. Slush was rushed to the vets and survived, thankfully. After that they were kept separated, but next to each other. They had floor time together and seemed to be fine with each other then, but just would not tolerate living with each other, and I was not about to risk a reintroduction.

Despite what happened with my pigs, I would suggest that you leave Mousey and Nigel together for the time being. They may well get through this stage without fully falling out. One of them just needs to re-establish dominance over the other, and hopefully they will settle down. Dominant behaviour often looks worse than it actually is, with the chasing, mounting, rumble-strutting etc However, I would not separate them unless you really believe that one of them is going to harm the other or unless blood has been drawn. Although I really hope that they settle down, so finger crossed that they do!

As for Graham, I think he need time to get over his loss. I found that when Slush died, Spike was much the same. Even though they did not live together, Slush and Spike still used to talk to each other. So when Slush died, Spike was very confused and didn't really understand what had happened. But I think that as with humans piggies need time to come to terms with their loss. I waiting 4 months from when Slush died to rebond Spike to a baby boar. Although, 3 years later when Spike died, I rebonded Chewie immediately because he was really pining and stopped eating his veggies. This was probably because Chewie had been with another pig since the day he was born, and had never been alone before.

If Graham is pining and seems very very lonely, then I would consider bonding him with a baby boar immediately, however if he seems to be dealing with the loss, then I would maybe wait a while before rebonding. Try to keep his mind off the loss by playing with him and giving him lots of cuddles and new toys.

In my experience, bonding and older boar with a baby boar almost always works. You will need to bond them on neutral territory and the younger the boar the better (but no younger than 5 weeks). I have always placed a clean blanket or towel on the floor of a room that neither piggie have been in recently, and placed one piggie at one end of the towel and the other at the other end. I usually put a big bowl of veggies in the middle to distract them from each other a little bit. And I have another towel on hand to throw over them if they start getting violent with each other.

You might find the introductions sections on this site useful: http://www.cavyspirit.com/sociallife.htm#Introductions

I usually do this over a period of 2 or three days. So I'll introduce them on the first day and then if they don't establish dominance, and are still mounting each other and chattering, I'll give them a break and then try again the next day, and so on until they stop demonstrating dominance behaviour so much, obviously there's always gonna be some rumble-strutting going on, cus that's just what boars do. But I've found that eventually (3 days max in my cases) they settle down. I then clean and disinfect everything in the cage that they're going to be in so it smells neutral and let them live together. So far this has worked just fine with my baby boar - older boar bonds.

Good look with your boars

EDIT: lol my post is more of an essay than yours

 

[Charlie84]

Thank you for your reply!

It makes sense that Mousey and Nigel are getting to the age where they may fall out a bit. I hope they don't fall out for good! I will keep persevering and see how it goes. I've only heard one little chatter today from them, so that's an improvement.

Graham is doing ok I think. For two days afterwards he was beside himself and extremely jumpy and scared of every single noise. It has been a week since we took Bear out of the cage and obviously we have cleaned the cage, so I think he is getting used to the fact that Bear isn't there anymore. He is still demanding Carrots, food and hay as normal so that is good.

One thing he is doing which he never ever done before is he starts to randomly wheek really loudly for no reason, and as soon as I go and talk to him in a soft voice he calms down. It's like he is checking that we are still there too! Bless him. All my piggies live in my living room so they hear us and see us all the time.

Thanks again for your advice, I'll keep the post updated with how it goes.

I may try introducing him again to Nigel and Mousey, so at least he can have friends when they are out in their pen. We have an 8 foot square indoor run which they absolutely love! It would be nice for them to all go in that together.

 

[Coconut]

Don't really have much time to post anything proper (and Poison pretty much covered it all) but have you considered boar dating Graham? If your happy to have another pig then some rescues will happily bond him with a pig they've already got and the n you can take both home with the comfort of knowing the relationship is already looking good.

 

[Poison]

Be careful, if you're considering bonding all three together. As trios can be tricky, and you don't want to risk the bond between Mousey and Nigel at the moment seeing as it's already a bit unstable. On some occasions boars can be kept kept fine as trios, however sometimes, attempting to introduce three boars can upset all the bonds and you may end up with three unbonded pigs, which you don't want.

The wheeking may be because he's looking Bear, or he might just want some extra attention or more food (typical pigs lol)

 

[debbyweekweek]

Huge Thanks

Charlie84 - I feel your pain.
Thanks to everyone who posted in this thread. My boar passed 2 days ago and I am worried about his brother. He hasn't been on his own since he was born and is now almost 5. I'll take your advice and keep an eye on him and bond with a baby boar if necessary. *hugs*

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! I am sorry for your problems and your loss. I would not try to merge your boars - under the circumstances, that would be a recipe for surefire disaster.

You can always consider "boar dating" at a reputable rescue that offers this service for single boars in order to find a stable and compatible partner. Not all rescues allow you to bring your boar, but it is well worth going the extra mile. If I were you, I would look around and make enquiries while you are waiting for Graham to come out of deep mourning. Boars of all ages can find a new mate that way, provided it is done carefully and expertly.

Whereabouts are you?

 

[Charlie84]

debbyweekweek - I'm so sorry for your loss, we got a card today from our vets which stirred up the pain of losing bear again. I still am having a hard time with it all - I went over to them to say goodnight last night, as I do every night, and before I knew it I had said 'Night night Bear'

I have to be safe in the knowledge that we did everything we could for him, and that our chosen vet is actually very very good with guineas.

I have thought about the bond between mousey and nigel after posting last time, and as yet after their spats in the last couple of weeks the past few days have been very quiet from them. No more chattering or rumbling, which is a good sign.

I haven't re-introduced them after last time either, I thought that I would give Graham some more time. He is seeming to be ok, almost totally back to his old self. So thats another good sign at least!

I am in Bedfordshire, Luton to be precise, are there any rescues around my area that does 'Boar Dating' that anyone knows of? I would always try and have a rescue piggy over a 'shop bought' pig.