Siikibam
Forum Donator 2022/23
As said above do call around (or email) and ask if they have any single boars that need a home before you go rushing to the pet shop again.
What are the exact measurements of your cage?
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What are the exact measurements of your cage?
48.4 L x 24.8 W x 18.1 H
Freela
Senior Guinea Pig
You can look for rescues in your area and this is probably the best (and kindest) option. That said, it's not always an option, especially in North America. I do have pet store pigs. Assuming the Pet Smarts in the US are run similarly to Canada, they separate their animals for sale by gender based on location. If one store sells all males, the next store over will sell all females. This way they keep them separated to prevent unplanned pregnancies (which I very much appreciate, having never ended up with a litter of unplanned hamsters or guinea pigs from Pet Smart, which is more than I can say for family members who got pets from PJs or other chains!) If rescues aren't available, just check which Pet Smart in your area carries the male pets.
Siikibam
Forum Donator 2022/23
If that is inches then it’s big enough for a pair of sows or a sow and boar, but not enough for two boars.
Good luck with the hunt.
@Freela that’s interesting that they split and sell different ones. We have had instances of people on here having bought from pet smart and ending up with pregnant piggies so is it not countrywide?
did your pet store guinea pigs bond?
and yes they do separate them by genders because the one i went to only sold male guinea pigs no females
Siikibam
Forum Donator 2022/23
That’s good. I would still recommend you try ringing around before you go to the pet shop. You never know
yes i know i have until around next thursday to find another guinea pig so, if i can’t find one by then i’ll go to a pet shop and try to pick out one that catches my one idkThat’s good. I would still recommend you try ringing around before you go to the pet shop. You never know
Siikibam
Forum Donator 2022/23
Why until next Thursday only? You shouldn’t rush these things. If the rescue is ‘decent’ they will want to do a home check etc.yes i know i have until around next thursday to find another guinea pig so, if i can’t find one by then i’ll go to a pet shop and try to pick out one that catches my one idk
It’s up to you at the end of the day, but just be aware of what could happen and have a backup plan.
yeah imma try my best to do the rescues because i’m leaving to visit for another state i’m less than 3 weeks and imma be there for a while
yes i’m taking him with me and i’ll just most likely wait until i arrive at that other state to see what options they have because they state iam in right now aren’t selling a single male guinea pig and some aren’t doing adoption right now due to COVID
question, i found a 6 week old male guinea pig i don’t know if he’ll be too young for my guinea pig (i don’t know my guinea pigs age).
he needs to be rehomed.
yes
LMPigs
Junior Guinea Pig
Hi again.
I do not think there is any particular age that is too young/too old.
As you might have picked up from the boar bonding guide, the potential disadvantage here is that, if both GP are young and they go through their hormonal "teenage" stage at the same time, it could put more stress on the bond and piggies which started our as friends could cease to get on. People often try to put one older boar with a younger one to help avoid that. However, it seems like you are not going to have a huge amount of options available so you may think this it is best to give this a try.
Ideally you would arrange with the current owner to have the two piggies meet (on neutral territory - see bonding guide) to check they are at least initially compatible before you make a decision as to whether you purchase the new pig but obviously bit will depend on the seller whether they will accept this.
It's obviously a bit difficult to get everything right, especially with limited options available so you just have to do your best. Do keep us updated (with pictures
).
For what it's worth we have two boars the same age that have been together since birth and never had any issues. So it's not a guaranteed disaster to put two youngsters together.
I do not think there is any particular age that is too young/too old.
As you might have picked up from the boar bonding guide, the potential disadvantage here is that, if both GP are young and they go through their hormonal "teenage" stage at the same time, it could put more stress on the bond and piggies which started our as friends could cease to get on. People often try to put one older boar with a younger one to help avoid that. However, it seems like you are not going to have a huge amount of options available so you may think this it is best to give this a try.
Ideally you would arrange with the current owner to have the two piggies meet (on neutral territory - see bonding guide) to check they are at least initially compatible before you make a decision as to whether you purchase the new pig but obviously bit will depend on the seller whether they will accept this.
It's obviously a bit difficult to get everything right, especially with limited options available so you just have to do your best. Do keep us updated (with pictures
).For what it's worth we have two boars the same age that have been together since birth and never had any issues. So it's not a guaranteed disaster to put two youngsters together.
Siikibam
Forum Donator 2022/23
You won't know until you put them together. Just make sure you have a plan b - separate cages if they don't get on. Depending on his current living conditions, you may have to consider quarantining if he's over 4 months old. With your planned trip, would you be able to do that? Also please check his sex yourself to make sure he's a he.
Importance Of Quarantine
yes so i think i’m going to wait until i go to the next state which would be in another 3 week and i agree with you on that i want to get an adult guinea pig so there can possibly be no conflict. I don’t want to rush things so if i do find one in the state i’m currently in and they bond ofc it’s a yes but if i don’t i’ll just wait to see my other opinions elsewhere.Hi again.
I do not think there is any particular age that is too young/too old.
As you might have picked up from the boar bonding guide, the potential disadvantage here is that, if both GP are young and they go through their hormonal "teenage" stage at the same time, it could put more stress on the bond and piggies which started our as friends could cease to get on. People often try to put one older boar with a younger one to help avoid that. However, it seems like you are not going to have a huge amount of options available so you may think this it is best to give this a try.
Ideally you would arrange with the current owner to have the two piggies meet (on neutral territory - see bonding guide) to check they are at least initially compatible before you make a decision as to whether you purchase the new pig but obviously bit will depend on the seller whether they will accept this.
It's obviously a bit difficult to get everything right, especially with limited options available so you just have to do your best. Do keep us updated (with pictures
For what it's worth we have two boars the same age that have been together since birth and never had any issues. So it's not a guaranteed disaster to put two youngsters together.
yes i know, i’m just going to wait it out and not rush things because i don’t want to end up in a worse situation such as 2 single guinea pigs.
Freela
Senior Guinea Pig
Yes, we introduced on neutral ground and did just fine. Bear in mind, mine are sows and they tend to be a little easier to bond. We started with an original pair, but one sadly passed away around age 2, so we introduced a new baby pig to our remaining pig... then when the older one passed away we introduced a new pig to the remaining pig, and then one more time. We just try to observe the new pig and match personalities as best as we can (i.e. knowing that the pig we had at home was bossy, we tried to pick a pig that wasn't the boss of its siblings to try to avoid any fights. There is some good information on bonding guinea pigs bookmarked on the behavior page, I would give those a read before you try so you know what to expect. We introduce in neutral ground (actually in the bathtub with towels down) and scrub down the cage thoroughly to make it smell 'new' before putting the pigs in together once they have accepted each other.
Freela
Senior Guinea Pig
It may not be country-wide, but it's what all the Pet Smarts I've been to in Ontario do. I think it's just company policy and not a law, as we used to have PJ's Pet and they definitely mixed the genders of their rodents (my cousin got 'bonus' hamsters because of that policy!) It's not legal to sell puppies and kittens in pet stores anymore in my province and that put the majority of pet stores out of business here, except for Pet Smart who never did sell anything larger than guinea pigs.
yes i know
but i’m not going to take my chances and i’m probably going to wait it out until that option is ava.