Can A Male And Female Live Together Without Mating?

[06coopers]

3 months ago I bought Cooper my first Guinea, he was about 4 months old. I've been wanting to get him a friend and I finally found a good one but she is a female. I fell in love with her why I why I got her. When I introduced them I noticed Cooper trying to mate with the new one.

I really don't want baby piggies anytime soon, and quite frankly I don't wanna watch my Guinea pigs getting on while I'm watching tv. Is there a way to discourage coopers desire to mate? Or should I cut my loses and put the new girl up for adoption?

(The red one is Cooper, the other is the new female)

 

[DM030819]

I hate to be the bringer of bad news, but she's probably already pregnant. It takes seconds, literally.

If you want them to live together you need to get him neutered. It's not necessarily going to calm him down, but it will stop accidents happening.

 

[06coopers]

Okay thank you so much! I will talk to the shop I got her from and let them know and see if they will let me exchange her for a male!

 

[Swissgreys]

I agree with @Jaycey
Chances are she is already pregnant, so if you do return her to the shop please let them know she has been in with a male.

 

[VickiA]

I have replied on your other thread.
Please don't start multiple threads on the same topic.

 

[VickiA]

Male and female piggies cannot live together without mating/breeding. It's basic biology. The only way to prevent mating and babies is to keep different sexes apart or to ensure one has been neutered. Frankly it's a little late now to think that you don't want babies.

There is a strong likelihood that your sow is pregnant. If you decide to put her up for adoption you MUST tell whoever adopts her that she is almost certainly pregnant. If you decide to keep her you will need to ensure she comes through pregnancy safely. And separate your male from her before birth so that he does not impregnate her again. You will then need to separate at the appropriate time any male babies to prevent future pregnancies. You will need to have a long term plan for your piggies.

I'm tagging @Wiebke for pregnancy care and advice.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome

Where are you located? Could you please add your country, state/province or UK county to your details, so that we can help you better finding a proper solution. We have members from all over the world. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location.

It is very likely that your girl is already pregnant if she has been with boars for any length of time. Was she on her own in the shop and correctly sexed?
Boars start making babies from 3-5 weeks onwards and sows have their first season between 4-6 weeks of age. Unfortunately, there is no menopause. Sows come into season again within hours of giving birth - they are designed to be nonstop breeding machines to make up for the longest pregnancies with the smallest number of babies of all rodents.

Please separate the two asap. How long have they been together? if your little girl has been near her season, she would have come into season spontaneously.

If you want to take her back, please let the shop know that she has been introduced to a boar and that there is a risk of her being pregnant; you do not want the next owner have a nasty surprise and mum/pups suffering from lack of adequate care.

Otherwise, you have to have your boy neutered, so he can live safely with your girl after a 6 weeks post-op wait to make sure that he 100% safe. He is thankfully coming up to the age when he is old enough for the snip. However, you want access to a good vet to cut down on the risk of post-op complications and you have to factor in that in some countries operation cost are very high; hundreds of dollars, in fact; so you need to do your research!

If want to introduce a new male guinea pig to your boy, please follow our tips for introductions (guides are at the top of this section) to make sure that they have a chance to get on when they meet on neutral ground. If you just drop a guinea pig into a cage, it will be seen as an intruder and there is a major risk of fights or a bonding fail! The key to any happy guinea pig is mutual liking and character compatibility.

UK: Guinea Pig Rescue Centre Locator
Other countries: Guinea Lynx :: Rescue Organizations

https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/pregnancy-guide.109375/

 

[Pawz]

It's never a good idea to place a female with an uncastrated male. Guinea pigs are horny little beasts and they will mate..more times than you can count.

As the others mentioned above, it is highly likely that your female is already pregnant and if you give her back to the store /put her up for adoption then it is very important that you inform them. If you don't then someone else is going to be in for a shock and you have to imagine how you'd feel if you were that person.

If you exchange her for a male, please don't just "dump him in the same cage" as the current one or you risk some territorial scuffles. They should be housed side by side but separated (a sturdy cage divider if no second cage), and introduced slowly on neutral territory until it looks safe enough to try housing them together over time.

The other option is of course to have him neutered. But you still need a number of weeks post op before he is "safe" to go and meet the ladies without a risk of pregnancy.
Castrated males will still mount females occasionally especially if the ladies are in heat. Mounting is also a dominance behavior so you will even see it happening with two males or even 2 females, so it's something you'll grow accustomed to witnessing if you own guinea pigs.

Wishing you luck with whatever your choice.