Buying a new guinea

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percypiglet

percypiglet

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Hi
I currently have 2 male unneutered guineas who I have had for about 8 months but I am considering getting another male unneutered guinea who is still very young. He would ideally live in their cage with them. Is this a bad idea? I am worried that my guineas may gang up on him and he could get hurt if I bought him since it could be 2 against 1 and he is smaller than them.
Any advice or tales from experience are appreciated, thanks :)
 
boar threesomes rarely work :( sorry to be the barer of bad news
 
When I used to own three males it never worked with me.
They would only tolerate being in the same space for a short while. Like the run for example.

Torres and Fudge both got on well with Toffee, but Fudge kept mounting Torres and he didn't like it all, so it caused some fights. I had to keep switching Toffee between the two because I didn't want them to go long periods without a buddy.

I have a female trio successfully bonded on first try.
One adult and two young ones. Amy took to the two young girls AMAZINGLY. She became very protective of them instantly
 
No unfortunately it's highly unlikely to work.
There always needs to be an alpha male un a pair and one will always be a bit more submissive. This is challenged more and often 3 ways in a trio casing fights. A third could also upset the bond between your current pair causing all 3 to fall out and end up alone and needing new friends.
 
what about having a rescue pair that have already been bonded and having them in a separate cage if you want to add to your collecton
 
Pepperdog said:
what about having a rescue pair that have already been bonded and having them in a separate cage if you want to add to your collecton
Click to expand...

When you said buy, did you mean pet shop buy? Go with a rescue piggy for sure, there's always some poor wee thing needing a good home.
 
:redIs there absolutely no chance that it could work?
the pet store have suggested that I bring in my two tomorrow and they'll put them in a tub and introduce them to the guinea that I'm interested in to see if they get along.
thanks
 
Personally I'd go along with the advice on here rather than a pet shop. My knowledge from this forum has grown so much.

If you really want the piggy then go ahead, but be prepared to have a separate cage ready, which you ideally need to have for other reasons.
 
In about 20 years of owning pigs I've known of one sucessful trio, and they still fought. I think it's because its not a natural set up for them, in the wild they would have one male and several females with no one to challenge their status.

Unfortunately pet shops often have little knowledge (not all but a lot). A reputable rescue would never advise setting up a trio due to the risk of fights and potential damage so that says it all to me.
You already have a good pair, why risk upsetting the apple cart? All three could end up alone and unhappy. And if they fought, with injuries.
You'd be far better off taking on a second pair from a rescue.
It's a massive risk that 9 times out of 10 fails. Just being honest to save you from potential stress!
 
We were "advised" by the pet shop that three boars would be fine together. Two weeks later had to get another cage and snuggles is on is own now. Getting a friend for him in about three weeks.

We have just got two lovely boys from the local rescue and like I've said we will never get a piggie from anything other than the rescue in the future oh and I will never trust the pet shops again.

End of the day they are there to make money, while the resuce is not.
 
There's a good chance if you introduce your happy pair to another male and it ends up in a fight, you may well end up splitting your pair up. I've tried a trio, it didn't work, it rarely does. I would certainly never risk it and I'd never trust the advice of a pet shop, they just want you to spend more money.
 
percypiglet said:
:redIs there absolutely no chance that it could work?
the pet store have suggested that I bring in my two tomorrow and they'll put them in a tub and introduce them to the guinea that I'm interested in to see if they get along.
thanks
Click to expand...

Can I please ask whether the problem you reported 3 weeks ago on the health of one of your current 8 month boars has been resolved as per this thread?

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=89641

You have already had good advice today about how a trio of boars very rarely works - and that's when they are all healthy. Trying to bond a trio of boars when one of the piggies is under the weather or has an underlying condition is complete no-no.


The most important thing at the moment is to find out why your current piggie has a swelling on his bottom - and from the photo you posted it could be serious and really should be looked at by a vet if it hasn;t already?

If your current piggie has not seen a vet and/or had the problem diagnosed/resolved it would be extremely irresponsible to consider trying to introduce a third tomorrow. And perhaps it would be better to use the money you are prepared to pay for a third piggie for a veterinary consult for your boy instead?

Sorry if this sounds harsh and if you have already been to a vet and resolved the problem with your current piggie then i apologise.

But - the advice regarding boar trios still stands - they very rarely work - especially when your pigs are only 8months of age and raging with hormones - this is the most difficult time!

x
 
Don't trust the petshop! Also, please keep us updated. Why do you even want another one to be in that group so badly? Just get another pair! I don't advise putting the pairs together, put the cages side by side. I really want an update on this thread!
 
DO NOT LISTEN TO THE PET SHOP! i got 3 boys, said they would be fine, i now have 4! i had to seperate them and double everything! its been HELL! i wish i had found out before the 3 never work :( its honestly been hell and its still on going!
 
I recently tried this, DON'T DO IT!

percypiglet said:
Hi
I currently have 2 male unneutered guineas who I have had for about 8 months but I am considering getting another male unneutered guinea who is still very young. He would ideally live in their cage with them. Is this a bad idea? I am worried that my guineas may gang up on him and he could get hurt if I bought him since it could be 2 against 1 and he is smaller than them.
Any advice or tales from experience are appreciated, thanks :)
Click to expand...

My two original guinea pigs are Momo and Jojo. They are in a cage that is 3x4 grids connected to another section that is 2x6 grids on top of tables, lots of space, 10.5 ft. across.
I got a friend for my two boars recently and went through all the proper steps and all to introduce them together.
Everything was going fine for the first few days until Jojo started chasing and teeth chattering at Momo, it was horrible to watch, I thought it would calm down but it only got worse.
Every time Momo would come near Jojo he would chase him away, and on top of that, Jojo wouldn't let me take the new pig out of the cage, he would start going crazy and wheeking all around the cage looking for him.
And when I would take Jojo out of the cage he would not sit still anymore, he use to lay on my chest and just chill out, but he started nipping at my shirt right away trying to get back to the cage every second he was out!
This went on for about 2 weeks, until I separated Jojo and Beansy from Momo.
But Jojo was still showing all the other signs when I would be taking him out of the cage and what not.
3 weeks later I found Beansy a new home and cleaned up the whole cage and room, gave them a bath together to have them smelling the same and they have since gotten back to normal! (Thank God)
I highly recommend not trying this yourself unless you have a professional find you a suitable third friend and do it for you.

Hope you have better luck then me if you decide to try this.
 
it's been ages since i've last been on here but i found some of my old threads and if anyone's interested, all three boys are doing fine together - we brought the two guineas to the pet shop to meet him, there were no problems, pet shop said we could bring him back if there were, but other than occasional squabbles they all seem happy together! so threesomes can work
 
Couldn't agree more i have two sets of three/four boys and mixed ages and the older ones keep the younger boys in check. With boys its down to personalities i have found and age once you get past the first initial hormonal stage they tend to settle down a lot more :)
 
My three boys have worked out wonderfully although my boys have been together since birth, If you want to go ahead with the bonding I would definatley have a spare cage waiting, also if possible i suggest you go to a rescue for your piggie, but all the best otherwise :)
 
Is it worth getting an extra boy when they could badly fight for as getting a third appeared for your own personal gains? I have six girls which get on well. I had girls because I wanted more than two. The recent thread on the illness section shows what happens when an attack ensues. I hope you did not make a mistake. I don't like being so opinionated but my heart rules when it comes to animals. I hope your three get on.
I did look at getting two male rabbits from a breeder a year or so ago. I called my vet asked for advice they told me two boys is asking for trouble. I took their advice I did not get them. I focused on my pigs instead. If I get rabbits in the future I think I will get a bonded pair from a rescue. All I can say don't ask for advice if you don't really want it. Also if you can't trust other GP owners call your own vet and get professional advice.
Sorry for being tough with my words. Good luck anyway.
 
No, I completely understand, don't worry. They get on fine and they've been together for about a year now with no problems. I asked for advice which I did find helpful, and made me decide to take extra precautions such as introducing them at the pet shop rather than just bringing him home, and I did have a spare cage just in case...#thanks anyway
 
Please be aware that adding a third can end up in all three boys not wanting to live with each other, even if you dated them. If you can, please rehome a well bonded pair from a good rescue (who know their piggies' characters) rather than experiment with three hormonal piggies. 90% of subadult (under 15 months old) boar trios will fall out at some stage, unless the character combination is JUST right - it has nothing to do with being litter mates, by the way!
 
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Thats great that they get on so well.... xx
 
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