Don't know what to do

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princess tigerlily

princess tigerlily

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Hi, we had two guinea pigs (boars) a while back but we lost one last summer. We looked in to getting another guinea pig as company but a friend of mine had the same thing happen a while ago and when she brought another guinea (a boar aswell as her piggies were boars) they did not get on after trying to introduce them and she had to buy a seperate cage etc. Now, this originally turned me off because I would'nt have the space really if I got another guinea pig and it didn't get on with Ben (our guinea pig). Ben and his brother Jerry were both rescues and I would look at getting another guinea pig from a rescue, but I'm very nervous that it might not work out. On the other hand I feel guilty for Ben who may (probably) is lonely. We give him attention but we obviously aren't there 24/7 and he really got on with Jerry and I just feel I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place grrrr Sorry if this is long and confusing, I just don't know what to do :(

Thank you for reading x
 
ooh that is hard! :rolleyes


if I were you I'd try it, you won't know until you try and it may be fine and you won't need to worry, and if it doesn't work out maybe you have a friend who could take the a guinea pig on?!


guinea pigs are very sociable so he probably will need a friend!
 
You say your friend bought another piggy as she had boars - did she have two then add a third ? Trio's of boars hardly ever work, pairs are ok.
Don't be disheartened by her experience - piggies are like people, all have different personalities so it is just matching them with a suitable partner, we choose ours so they need the same options in a nutshell :))
Boar dating is the best route and a lot of rescues offer this :)
Keep us updated :)p
 
whereabouts are you? We might be able to reccomend a rescue with boar dating. Some places let you go a couple of times, spend the day or even take your boar for the week to see how it gets on.
Also, you do have life long back up of the rescue and they will often help you out a lot in order to get the right friend for your boar.
It's worth a try because as much as we love them and cuddle them, I just don't think its the same for them as another piggy :)
 
what is the guinea pig dating about? I haven't heard of that? I might try it, but I dont know where I could put him if it didnt work out :( finding another home would be hard because I don't know many people who would take on a guinea pig, one of my friends is even trying to rehome hers now :{
 
You definitely need to try boardating, I can heartily recommend it. It's much better when the piggies choose each other. Where are you? We can direct you to a rescue's webpage hopefully where there's more info on boardating. There's also threads on here if you do a search.
 
gogoguineas said:
whereabouts are you? We might be able to reccomend a rescue with boar dating. Some places let you go a couple of times, spend the day or even take your boar for the week to see how it gets on.
Also, you do have life long back up of the rescue and they will often help you out a lot in order to get the right friend for your boar.
It's worth a try because as much as we love them and cuddle them, I just don't think its the same for them as another piggy :)
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I'm from Hertfordshire, guinea pig dating sounds ideal :) I dont want to stress my guinea pig out but this seems like a good idea. Also, the rescue I am unsure of. I got them when they were 7 and 8 months old from pets at home at the rescue part. I was getting the last of the supplies and I found the two rescues and fell in love :) Ideally I would rescue again.
 
As people have already said not all piggies will like each other ( just as not every person will get along with everyone they meet) but its just about finding that perfect one. Most rescues will let you return a piggie if things dont work out ( in fact we insist upon it here) Plus they will know the personality of the guineas they care for so will help by suggesting suitable piggies for your boar to date with.

Another solution might be to have your piggie neutered so he could have a girlfriend. If you need help to find a piggie savvy vet in your area members on here will be able to advise you.

Pairing up piggies is very rarely a quick process but its well worth doing.
In the meantime you can be your piggies best friend by giving him lots and lots of attention.
Good luck
 
Like everybody has said, the best way of finding a friend is letting Ben decide who he wants to be friends with and get along at a rescue. that way, you don't end up with two single piggies. It is well worth going that bit further for a stable relationship.

Not all rescues allow you to bring your piggy for a round of dating. Whereabouts are you?

PS: You may find this thread here very interesting; it's a boar dating blog from a rescue lady in South Wales. http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=59233
 
I'm in Hertfordshire, near Hertford. I think I'm going to try and contact some rescues, I only know of one, does anyone here know of any near by?
 
Hi I'm in wgc and i took in a little boar a few months back to get him out of a horrible situation. The time has come now for me to find him a forever home as I cant afford 4 at the moment and due to my girls being downstairs and not reacting well hes having to be upstairs which is not fair on him. Hes approx 4-6mths old and friendly, hes a tad skittish as the people before never picked him up and left him in a hamster cage but hes ok once you get him in your arms. If you would be interested in him let me know.

Sarah x
 
1st-time-mum-sarah said:
Hi I'm in wgc and i took in a little boar a few months back to get him out of a horrible situation. The time has come now for me to find him a forever home as I cant afford 4 at the moment and due to my girls being downstairs and not reacting well hes having to be upstairs which is not fair on him. Hes approx 4-6mths old and friendly, hes a tad skittish as the people before never picked him up and left him in a hamster cage but hes ok once you get him in your arms. If you would be interested in him let me know.

Sarah x
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Hi Sarah, I would be very interested. Would you mind if I brought my guinea pig to meet him first or if not would you be ok if they didnt get on to take the boar back. It's not that I don't plan on keeping him, it's that I wouldnt have the room to keep two guinea pigs in seperate hutches/cages. Thank you, ash xx
 
princess tigerlily said:
Hi Sarah, I would be very interested. Would you mind if I brought my guinea pig to meet him first or if not would you be ok if they didnt get on to take the boar back. It's not that I don't plan on keeping him, it's that I wouldnt have the room to keep two guinea pigs in seperate hutches/cages. Thank you, ash xx[/QUOTE


I would suggest you read the thread on bonding / introductions on here if you want the two piggies to meet - as you can expect humping rumblestrutting and even possibly some teeth chattering - I bonded a lone boar to 2 females in January - and even after reading lots on here and on guinea lynx etc the reality is a bit different to reading about it - It went fine but they have to sort out who will be top pig and what is perfectly normal behaviour can look quite scary to us if you have no previous experience of it -
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I'm sure if you asked the rescue places, they would let you take ben to see if he got on with the guineas they have? I know they would only be together for a short while but if they said you could do that at least you might have some idea of who he would get on with. Also, if they didnt get on i'm sure they'd understand if you wanted to try him with another pig?

Good Luck! Xx
 
Maybe you could try him with a neutered sow? Or get him neutered? I'm sure he will love a little friend .... good luck:))
 
Thank you everyone, I'm going to look at some local rescues and see if they would mind me bringing Ben to see how he reacts to the other guinea pigs :)

Ash xx
 
I am so happy you are going to try the boar dating! As others have said, you can also neuter him and get him a ladyfirend. Just please do not be put off by someone who has not had success in having 2 boars together. This does NOT mean that boars will never get along together and it does NOT mean that sows will always get along together. I have 2 boars acquired from 2 different locations who do get along and as you yourself initially saw, your 2 boars got along until one passed away.
 
I have only ever had boars and introduced many to each of my various numbers over the years.

Boars can be stubborn little men, I think its the volume of testosterone that resides in the cage sometimes. They also like to fight and gnash their teeth at each other to work out who will be boss of the cage. I've seen the original boss retain his title and newbies take over. you never can tell which way it will go.

Your little man needs a friend. Don't be put off by what you have been told. Also don't be put off if they decide to gnash their teeth and try to hump each other. I have worked out its all about dominance and them trying to work out the pecking order. It does settle down and when you see the two new friends sat together side-by-side, all fluffed up and handsome, then it's worth it.

One thing to try if you can't do the boar dating (which i love the idea of btw) is see if you can borrow an indoor cage and have it set up near the other cage or let your original piggy roam round it. that way the two guys can check each other out with a cage between them.

So go for it! Get another boar! (sorry, I'm a boar lover. I love the furry little guys that can be so easily overlooked).

oh and post a picture when you get a new man!
 
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