Mixed Gender Pair Falling Out?

[priscillav]

Hi, I’m very new too these forums but I’ve been reading for a while.

A month ago me and my boyfriend got to adopt 2 piggies, a sow and a boar but neither of them are neutered (we didn’t know that was an issue). They bonded really well and for the past 4 weeks have gotten along well and have coexisted really well. We named them Padme and Anakin and they’re very cute! We were told Anakin was around 8-12 months and Padme was around 6.

However, 2 days ago they started to chatter their teeth substantially and their completion for dominance seemed to be getting more and more aggressive. After a lot of research I thought maybe Anakin was going through a period of puberty, and they even have a different smell (pheromones?) but now I’m thinking Padme might also just be in heat.

We separated them 2 nights ago and have them interact on neutral territory and they didn’t fight and calmed down a lot. I put them back in together and after about 3-5 minutes they started to get aggressive and lunged at each other to fight. They’ve never fought before and so i quickly separated them (no one got to injure the other).

Does this mean they can no longer be bonded? I don’t know where to go from here. I’ve never had any guinea pigs before and I don’t think I can accommodate another piggie. :-(

 

[RedLoredAmazon]

Hi! Welcome to the forum!

Most of our members here are based in the UK. There will be someone along to help give you more advice when they wake up.

In the meantime, please keep your boar and sow separate. They cannot be kept together unaltered. Your sow will need to go on pregnancy watch; I will link the pregnancy guide here: https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/pregnancy-guide.109375/ The guide is very helpful and has helped many members. Please keep us updated!

 

[Siikibam]

Regardless of their behaviour, please keep them separated now. Leaving them together when you knew the boar isn’t neutered is pretty much the same as intentional breeding.

You won’t know till later that she’s pregnant. But just in case she is, follow the feeding guide I’ve linked to below. Make sure he can’t escape from his cage and get in your sow. They are both in their teenage months. Boars do experience hormone surges and that teenage period can test even the best of bonds. Butas said, it’s not relevant right now.

Where did you adopt them from? And have you been weighing weekly and had hem vet checked since you brought them home?
Guinea Lynx :: GL's Vet List
Pregnancy-and-nursing-diet

 

[Free Ranger]

When you say Padme is 6 do you mean 6 months (a young girl) or 6 years (a very old piggie lady)?
If she is 6 years it is really very important that you watch out for pregnancy... I am not an expert here as I have never bred but I know that it is a risk for any pig and that old age will increase that a lot. Hopefully if she is old she will be too old to conceive..? I wish you luck for your difficult situation. As the others have said, please keep us updated. We will be thinking of you, Padme and Anakin.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I agree with the other members.
Given the boar is not neutered then the status of bond at this point is irrelevant. They must be separated immediately. Please do not put them back together in the same cage at all.

They will need to live separately from now on and you must now put the sow on pregnancy watch for the next 10 weeks and assume she is pregnant.

Your steps going forward in the future will depend on a pregnancy, sex and number of any pups as to how you can have them all live (there are certain rules for successful groupings so the future living arrangements all depend on how many piggies you end up with following a pregnancy).

If she isn’t pregnant and you can get the boar neutered, he will then have his six week wait post surgery to become infertile and then, in theory, you can try to reintroduce them but if they no longer like each other then any reintroduction will fail and they will still need to live separately.

@Wiebke

 

[priscillav]

Regardless of their behaviour, please keep them separated now. Leaving them together when you knew the boar isn’t neutered is pretty much the same as intentional breeding.

You won’t know till later that she’s pregnant. But just in case she is, follow the feeding guide I’ve linked to below. Make sure he can’t escape from his cage and get in your sow. They are both in their teenage months. Boars do experience hormone surges and that teenage period can test even the best of bonds. Butas said, it’s not relevant right now.

Where did you adopt them from? And have you been weighing weekly and had hem vet checked since you brought them home?
Guinea Lynx :: GL's Vet List
Pregnancy-and-nursing-diet

Hi! Thank you for help. We’ve separated them and I’m going to adjust her diet accordingly! I think they might not end up bonding again and thats ok, I’m also going to look into getting him neutered down the road but I just want to make sure I find a good vet first as we’ve never been. Will be making an effort to see a vet soon

 

[priscillav]

When you say Padme is 6 do you mean 6 months (a young girl) or 6 years (a very old piggie lady)?
If she is 6 years it is really very important that you watch out for pregnancy... I am not an expert here as I have never bred but I know that it is a risk for any pig and that old age will increase that a lot. Hopefully if she is old she will be too old to conceive..? I wish you luck for your difficult situation. As the others have said, please keep us updated. We will be thinking of you, Padme and Anakin.

Hi, padme is 6 months* I should’ve clarified. We are putting her on pregnancy watch now. And if I'm not mistaken I think piggies can get pregnant no matter what stage in life and they don’t go through menopause (which is really scary but Padme is 6 months). Thank you for your help I will keep updating I’m very grateful for the replies

 

[priscillav]

I agree with the other members.
Given the boar is not neutered then the status of bond at this point is irrelevant. They must be separated immediately. Please do not put them back together in the same cage at all.

They will need to live separately from now on and you must now put the sow on pregnancy watch for the next 10 weeks and assume she is pregnant.

Your steps going forward in the future will depend on a pregnancy, sex and number of any pups as to how you can have them all live (there are certain rules for successful groupings so the future living arrangements all depend on how many piggies you end up with following a pregnancy).

If she isn’t pregnant and you can get the boar neutered, he will then have his six week wait post surgery to become infertile and then, in theory, you can try to reintroduce them but if they no longer like each other then any reintroduction will fail and they will still need to live separately.

@Wiebke

Hi! Thank you. This is really helpful. I also didn’t think they’d be able to live together again which is okay. I am going to be watching her heavily to make sure I know soon whats going on. However, in terms of separation, would it he beneficial to keep them next to each other or should I make sure they’re far apart from one another? I’m afraid of them potentially getting lonely.

 

[Siikibam]

You should keep them next to each other so they can still have that interaction. Just make sure there’s no way they can get into each other’s cages. I would also hold off neutering for now until you know what’s what - if she is pregnant and ends up having a boar or two, one could be paired with dad and the other neutered to live with the sows.

I linked to vets on the US in my earlier post so have a look there and give them a call.

 

[Piggies&buns]

they need to be next to each other so they can communicate through the bars. Just ensure his cage is very secure so he can’t climb out and her back in with her

I also agree about holding off on neutering until you know if she is pregnant and the sex and number of any pups - this
makes a big difference to living arrangements going forward as there are certain things you can and cannot do when pairing and grouping piggies up.