My Awkward Piggy.

[burnhambabe]

I have four guinea pigs two as a pair and two single. One of my single piggys Bramble doesn't seem to like being by himself. I have tried pairing and bonding him with my piggys and also another belonging to someone else. He cant seem to get along with any of them and is too aggressive to live with one. I have tried everything I can find on the internet and it just doesn't work. All my piggys are in C and C cages but bramble ate the plastic so much I was starting to get worried for his heath. So I moved him into a normal cage next to the others so he is still not left out. However he has began to bite the edges of the cage and make a racket through the day and through the night. I cant see how he can be bored because Bramble is very much a mummy's boy and comes out for cuddles, floor time and in the garden. He also has a nice cage with a house and toys including tunnels, balls and things to chew on. I don't know what to do to make this piggy happy and I would love a good nights sleep soon. I would really appreciate any suggestions thank you.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome!

Could you please add your country, state or (if you are in the UK) you county/city. Your options depend to certain degree to where you are located.

It would also be helpful if you could tell us whether Bramble has been bonded before or whether he has always been a single piggy.

How old is he? Boars go through a hormonal teenage stage between 4-14 months old. During this time, they are their most difficult to bond. Some dominant boys crave company, but are unable to behave in a socially acceptable manner during that time. These are all factors that need to be taken into consideration.

 

[burnhambabe]

Hello and thank you. Bramble has never been bonded before for I got him when he was around 10 weeks old.However through this time I have attempted to bond him with the other piggys in the family this has been unsuccessful. He is now approximately 11 months old. Do you think it would be best to try and wait it out and see if his behaviour improves?

 

[Wiebke]

Bramble may turn out to be one of the few piggies that have not been able to socialise enough with other guinea pigs and have instead latched onto humans. A few boys can be VERY difficult to find the right friend for! However, there are ways to find out whether that is the case with Bramble without you having to acquire any guinea pigs first.

Thanks for adding your location; that is helping me with discussing options for you.
- Boar dating at a rescue that offers this service: Some of our recommended piggy savvy good standard rescues allow you to set up meetings with likely boars at their rescue under expert supervision, so you come home only with a new mate if there is success, at a minimum risk for you of ending up with an incompatible piggy. There are several recommended rescues in the wider Bristol/Cheltenham area that you could contact. You can find the contact details on our rescue locator on the top bar or one of the rescues may recommend a practised vet they are using for neutering. https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/pages/guinea-pig-rescue-locator/

- Neutering: You need to find an experienced neutering/small animals operating vet to go down this way in order to minimise the risk of mainly post op complications, but it can be a viable alternative for those boars that are very difficult to near impossible to bond. I have one of those myself, and he has had a VERY happy new life as the patriarch of a group of sows for the last 3 1/2 years!
If you want to go down that route, you also need to factor in a full six weeks post op wait until a neutered boar is 100% safe to go with girls. One of Hywel's wives if the surprise baby courtesy of a supposedly safe over 5 weeks post op rescue boar, just to prove that particular point!
Sadly, spayed sows are about as rare as gold dust in this country, as spaying is a much more invasive and risky operation than boar neutering. Spaying is generally only done for medical reasons.
Any sow should ideally live out of sight/spread of pheromones from other boars in order to prevent fights or unrest whenever she comes into season. I would also recommend dating at a rescue as mutual liking/instant acceptance will go a long way towards a happy "marriage".
We also have got a piggy savvy UK vets locator on the top bar: https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/pages/guinea-pig-vet-locator/

Please take your time in researching these options. Bramble is not bored, but he would seemingly like company, even though he is struggling to handle it.

 

[burnhambabe]

Thankyou soo much for your help! I was wondering if he would take better with a girlfriend but wasn't sure. I will definitely try Boar dating. Thanks again for your help.