help?

[jay3ttp]

Hi my daughter bought 2 guinea pigs from pets at home (I wish we had read everything on here before). She bought them when they were 9 weeks old and they are apparently both boars, this would make them about 11 weeks now. We weighed them both this morning and one was 390g and the other was 510g. Both have been getting on fine, they eat at the same time without fighting etc. At night they tend to have a mad half hour and chase each other round the cage whilst popcorning etc. As far as we could see it was all good. I have 2 baby boars that i bought last week from a lady who had a guinea dumped on her and she turned out to be pregnant, they are about 7 weeks old and look tiny but we weighed them too and they weigh 450g and 460g. My own boys seem to rumble at each other and nudge each other a lot, which is something that my daughters didnt do.
My daughter just called to me as her piggies where teeth chattering at each other and doing what looked like large yawns, she has been reading up and paicked they were going to fight. My partner removed the smaller one from the cage and he is in the washing basket at the moment (he is comfy).
It was only just now i thought to myself when wondering why they suddenly changed from happy to angry that it occurred to me one may be female? I maybe wrong but the weight difference made me think, plus the bigger one is chattering his /her teeth more, although the little one is not exactly acting like he is scared if that makes sense. Is there anything that we should look out for to find if she is pregnant or just greedy etc. When we first got them it was the bigger one that was trying to hump the smaller one, would that happen if she was a girl? Sorry if this doesnt make sense, I am a little flustered right now! help x

 

[Toffeewoffee]

Right, ok, lol, so you have 4 boars all together? The 2 from P@H and the 2 from the lady?

Do you have them all together? Please post good clear, fairly close pic's of each pig's bits so that we can correctly sex them for you.

It could be that the ones from the lady are girls or one is and the P@H 2 can smell them causing them to fight, or they could just be falling out, sadly it does happen with bpars but until there is blood drawn you shouldn't separate, what seems bad to us is norml to them so let them get on with it, but have a towel near by incase they do tear into each other, you can grab one with a towel to save you from being bitten. xx

xx

 

[AbbyGuinea]

Hello

I have two little boars (definitely boars, I checked the gender myself) and one is quite alot bigger than the other - The big one humps the little one until it get's himself in a 'Sticky' situation - Both eat plenty of food and veg and hay but there is still a weight different. I think it is all down to the big one being abit more dominant.

If you are unsure of gender - could you post pictures of their private parts. They need to be quite clear pictures. If you could it will make it easy for experienced owners to then confirm the gender of your piggies.

Sorry I couldnt help more - Some one more experienced will come along soon with an answer for you.



Edit - Beaten to it!

 

[MintyAndGarry (TEAS)]

How much space do the boys have? 2' x 4' is the minimum space recommended for two pigs, but boars often need more room due to their hormonal attitudes! I've got two pairs of my boys each in a 5' x 2.5' cage and it allows them enough room to be close but also to escape one another.

 

[jay3ttp]

Hi sorry i should have been clearer lol. my daughter two are in a 140 cage in her room. My two are in a home made cage in the lounge. I don't handle hers as i dont have time and she almost always has them on the floor with her. She does however handle mine but she washes her hands first etc. I will try and get some pics i just have trouble uploading them onto this site but I will learn as I need to know haha. Our guinea pigs have never come into contact with each other and as far as we know we have 4 boars. I can tell as soon as I look at mine that they are boars, but both my daughters two look less obvious even though they are older. I will go try get some pics xx

 

[Toffeewoffee]

It is likely your daughters have been mis-sexed coming from P@H so hopefully we'll clear it up one way or another, it could just be that they aren't getting along.

 

[MintyAndGarry (TEAS)]

It is likely your daughters have been mis-sexed coming from P@H so hopefully we'll clear it up one way or another, it could just be that they aren't getting along.

It is more likely to be the latter. Just because pigs are from a pet shop, it does not mean that they have to be mis-sexed. I hope this thread doesn't descend into another hate thread for P@H and non rescues. They are getting boring.

To the OP: Assuming they are boars, they are reaching the prime age for the beginning of puberty and will be rife with hormones. Everything will be a battle for them and they will spend the next 6-9 months determined to prove a point to each other! Don't panic as long as there is no blood shed between them, although it is good to be able to recognise the signs. I had a pair of boars who were always chasing and chattering, but they actually loved each other! The 140 cage is good - is there any way of adding a second floor to make more space if needed? Make sure that they have a hidey-hole each. The wooden bridge type things are good as they aren't closed in and the pigs have an escape route if needed.

When I had my boars, I made a playpen out of wire cooling racks you'd use when baking, joined together with cable ties. You can attach as many as you want to make it as big as you want. Could be an option for floor time, or for times when they can't be watched. Otherwise, a child's paddling pool was a favourite for mine - one with the rigid sides in a larger size, pehaps six foot across, makes for a fun enclosure.

P.S. Boars will hump no matter what it is. Sheer dominance display!

 

[Toffeewoffee]

It is more likely to be the latter. Just because pigs are from a pet shop, it does not mean that they have to be mis-sexed. I hope this thread doesn't descend into another hate thread for P@H and non rescues. They are getting boring.

To the OP: Assuming they are boars, they are reaching the prime age for the beginning of puberty and will be rife with hormones. Everything will be a battle for them and they will spend the next 6-9 months determined to prove a point to each other! Don't panic as long as there is no blood shed between them, although it is good to be able to recognise the signs. I had a pair of boars who were always chasing and chattering, but they actually loved each other! The 140 cage is good - is there any way of adding a second floor to make more space if needed? Make sure that they have a hidey-hole each. The wooden bridge type things are good as they aren't closed in and the pigs have an escape route if needed.

When I had my boars, I made a playpen out of wire cooling racks you'd use when baking, joined together with cable ties. You can attach as many as you want to make it as big as you want. Could be an option for floor time, or for times when they can't be watched. Otherwise, a child's paddling pool was a favourite for mine - one with the rigid sides in a larger size, pehaps six foot across, makes for a fun enclosure.

P.S. Boars will hump no matter what it is. Sheer dominance display!

I wasn't trying to turn it into a hate thread, i don't have any issues with any of the pets at home stores near me.