Male/Female Guinea Pigs

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iluvmypets

I'm interested in adopting a guinea pig, but first, I have some questions before finalizing my decision.

- I've been doing a lot of reading and it seems that female pigs are recommended for beginners - why is that? Is it solely because it's easier to keep them in groups or is there another reason?

- My friend told me that male guinea pigs smell more. I asked some other people and they said they don't notice the difference between their males and females. Are males harder to "maintain" because of impaction and anal problems?

- I want a very friendly guinea pig and know that this will come with time and proper handling/socialization, but there seems to be a generalization out there that male piggies are friendlier and more affectionate than females - is this true? What have your experiences with them been?

- Lastly, I was at a cavy show last month and spoke with some breeders about owning these cute little critters. I was told a couple of times that with females, it's important to keep them in at least a pair, whereas males tend to do better than females if kept as a single pet. Obviously, any living thing would want some company of their own kind, but my shelter has lots of individual pigs up for adoption. Is it okay to keep a male by himself provided I give him lots of attention on a daily basis?

Thank you.
 
Hi and welcome :)
Shorthaired Sows are recommended for a beginner as they can be more easily kept in groups. If you get the piggie bug, you may well want to add to your group and with sows you can, with boars you almost certainly cant! Shorthaired to start off with until you have more experience as long hairs need regular bathing, trimming and grooming.
Boars you can keep in pairs, best chance you have is getting two brothers when they are 6 weeks old or so. Even then, they can fall out once they reach 3 months or so and try to establish the top pig.
Your other option is to get a single boar from a rescue. You will find rescues know the piggies very well and sometimes a boar will just not get on with any other piggies so are happy with human friendship.
Boars are not any smellier than sows except when they scent (mark territory) and only really do this when they smell other boars.
Boars can get impacted when they are older, but adequate exercise outside the cage can help minimise this happening.
Personally, I think males are more affectionate than females, but that is just my opinion as I have 6 of them ;D
 
lavenderjade said:
Hi and welcome :)
Shorthaired Sows are recommended for a beginner as they can be more easily kept in groups. If you get the piggie bug, you may well want to add to your group and with sows you can, with boars you almost certainly cant! Shorthaired to start off with until you have more experience as long hairs need regular bathing, trimming and grooming.
Boars you can keep in pairs, best chance you have is getting two brothers when they are 6 weeks old or so. Even then, they can fall out once they reach 3 months or so and try to establish the top pig.
Your other option is to get a single boar from a rescue. You will find rescues know the piggies very well and sometimes a boar will just not get on with any other piggies so are happy with human friendship.
Boars are not any smellier than sows except when they scent (mark territory) and only really do this when they smell other boars.
Boars can get impacted when they are older, but adequate exercise outside the cage can help minimise this happening.
Personally, I think males are more affectionate than females, but that is just my opinion as I have 6 of them ;D
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yes yes yes to all of the above, great advice says it all ;) I too have boars, one on his own as that's how i got him. Three brothers, but one had to be separated recently :'( but now happier on his own and the other two are best of buddies :smitten: .........................................good luck let us all know how you get on
 
Thanks for both your replies so far :)

How common are anal impaction problems in older boars? I just did some more reading on it and once they have that problem, it's for life? Oh gosh.
 
Well some get it and some dont! It really isnt a big deal if they do as it only takes a couple of minutes to clear it. I dont think it should put you off boars, once you fall in love with your piggy, you will do anything for them, even clean their bum ;D
 
iluvmypets said:
Thanks for both your replies so far :)

How common are anal impaction problems in older boars? I just did some more reading on it and once they have that problem, it's for life? Oh gosh.
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I have 2 boars aged 3, both neutered. 1 suffers with impaction, the other doesn't but it's nowt really, just a tad smelly  ;D ;D

Agree with the above, once you fall in love, you do do anything ;D
 
I have a boar, hes grumpy at times but can be a cuddler too, but piggies all have their own personalities.

Alot of people ive spoken to say that boars are more affectionate and have more character than sows. I'm sure that there are many people with sows and they say the latter. The other boar i had wasnt very nice but ive heard its rare.

Boars are prone to impactation but it doesnt mean they'll definately get it.
 
archieismybaby said:
I have a boar, hes grumpy at times but can be a cuddler too, but piggies all have their own personalities.

Alot of people ive spoken to say that boars are more affectionate and have more character than sows. I'm sure that there are many people with sows and they say the latter. The other boar i had wasnt very nice but ive heard its rare.

Boars are prone to impactation but it doesnt mean they'll definately get it.
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And i have a sow who's grumpy but that's just her, they're all different & i love them all for their little "quirks" :smitten: :smitten:
 
i have both fmelaes and males, ive got 5 females who all get on great and as said abopve if you get the piggy bug they are generally ok to add to the group with no problems, which ive experienced my eldest 2 are both 5 1/2 yrs old and my youngest sow is 7 months..so they take to each other well :)

i do notice my boars smell more, but they are in a smaller cage, they are inside where as my girls are outside, but boars do smell more as they mark their territory..

personally id go for females for my first, as its less likely they will fall out etc i got females to begin with and only a year ago had my males join me :)
 
I've got 2 girls living together and a girl and boy couple living next door to them. My girls are a lot more active and funnier to watch than my boy but that could be due to age, Ralfie (my boar) isnt as bothered about being cuddled although they all make an effort to get away! I'd recommend girls to start with, they get on better (although they do get pmt and get narky with eachother ;D but not major fall outs like boars!) My other couple i'm still getting used to, iv had Ralfie a while but only just got him a baby sow, Sephy is 6 weeks old and loves Ralfie and he tolerates her! So you could get a neutered boar from a rescue and a baby sow or a sow that will let the boar be dominant, that way you get the best of both worlds, but not all pairings work, some pigs just like to be on their own wether male or female! Sorry for waffling! i think i'd recommend getting young sows to start because they're less likely to fall out x
 
completely agree , all piggies are different . mines grumpy but i love him to bits :smitten:
 
lavenderjade said:
once you fall in love with your piggy, you will do anything for them, even clean their bum ;D
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Hehe, that's what I figured ;) Thanks everyone.

The problem now is...if I end up adopting a boar from the shelter, is it okay to just keep him as ONE? Or would I need to try to pair him up first before leaving him alone? I would be getting a young one and I stopped by the shelter earlier today...the people there don't spend enough time with the small animals to know their personalities, so some of them are young and never have been paired with another piggy. At the same time, I just don't have the space or time to clean two cages if I adopt two and it doesn't work out.

Thoughts?
 
I'd suggest having a look for a grumpy boy who doesnt like other company, that'd be ideal if you wanted a lone boar x
 
some piggies wont tolerate others,they prefer to be alone, my boy is on his own. I got him a friend and they got into fights even introducing him as advised.


just make sure you provide him with lots of attention (I'm sure you will ;)) and toys to play with.
 
I have three boars with huge personalities, they popcorn, wheek and are very affeectionate, each has their own personality. Cuzzy is very friendly as he is a house pig. Sunshine and Twinkle are just mad, they love cuddles but are so active on your knee, wanting to climb on your head...lol

I also have two sows, who are more reserved than the boys, they do wheek and like a cuddle but they sit around looking regal. We call them the princesses as they seem to look down their noses at the boys...lol It's taken longer for the girls to settle, not sure why but my boys where pet shop pigs and settled straight away. My girls are from a rescue and we treated great so they probably missed there old home to begin with but they are doing fine now.

Louise
:)
 
archieismybaby said:
some piggies wont tolerate others,they prefer to be alone, my boy is on his own. I got him a friend and they got into fights even introducing him as advised.


just make sure you provide him with lots of attention (I'm sure you will ;)) and toys to play with.
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Yep same thing here, my first boar was already six months when i got him and was told about introducing a young male for company........but...... it did not work, was ok for the first two/three days then game over. so i would say if his on his own leave him that way, better safe than sorry. you can make it up with lots of cuddles :smitten:
 
thats right O0

thing is i want another, been looking at all these piccies of babies and i know i shouldnt say it over older rescue pigs but i want one ! :D


mine hates being picked up and grumbles at me most of the time , i love him but i want a smoochy piggie :-\
 
Babies definately aren't smoochy lol :D my babies hate being picked up more than my older boy, but babies are funny to watch! They run round like loonys and fall when they popcorn ;D my most cuddly piggie is Ralfie, after him i'd probably say its my 4month old sow Bumble, i think it depends on the pig but a baby will be funny for you :smitten:
 
Thank you everyone :)
Yes, I am planning on providing him with LOTS of attention everyday. I'll just continue looking around to see what's available for adoption - who knows, maybe I'll come across a pair that really catches my heart!
 
I have 5 boars, a pair and a trio and there all lovely and friendly, I find that they don't really smell at all. Can't really comment on females as I don't have any. Good luck with finding a Guinea. O0
 
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