Need help

[Alyssaer]

Hello, I appologize if I am not using this correctly this is my first post… any way… I just adopted a 3 year old guinea pig named Wilbur. He’s a sweet boy. I felt for him, feeling that maybe he needed a buddy. Not one that would share the same cage, but would be “neighbors ” with him. I adopted a second boy baby guinea pig and he’s been pretty upset about that. I tried to introduce them to eachother and he was not having it. He kept growling at him and even bit his ear. I have separated them but he kept biting on his cage, frustrated because he wanted to get to the baby so bad. The baby ended up getting sick, even after I had quarantined him for a week. I had to bring him back because it was stressful for the both of them. I felt it wasn’t fair to any of them. I still want a second pig. Should Wilbur be alone? Would a female work out better? Should I have cages in separate rooms? Please let me know, thanks.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry to hear about this.

Two piggies need to be compatible to be able to form a bond and live together. Buying a piggy means you don’t know whether the two will be compatible so there is always a risk they won’t like each other and won’t be able to bond. In that case, the two piggies must live in separate but side by side cages so they cannot fight but so they can still talk to each other through the bars. Single piggies can’t live in separate rooms otherwise they will both be lonely without the through the bar interaction.
Living as neighbours is fine in the case of failed bonds where you are already committed to the new piggy (ie you bought from a pet shop instead of from a rescue centre) , but you are ideally looking for a compatible friend and that they can live in the same cage

The best way to find a friend for a single piggy is to have a rescue centre help you find a compatible friend. Some will help you with the bonding process so you can be sure they like each other before you bring a new piggy home. Others won’t, so you bring the new piggy home, try the bonding yourself and if it doesn’t work, then the rescue centre will take the piggy back and you can try another. If you carry out any bonding yourself at home, then there is a specific process you need to follow and it must be done on neutral territory.

You can get Wilbur a female friend but only if Wilbur is neutered and six weeks post op safe and infertile. If he isn’t neutered, then a sow cannot live in the same cage with him until you had him neutered.
Having an unneutered boar living side by side with a sow is risky depending on your cage set up - boars become very determined to get in with sows so any cage an unneutered boar lives in needs to be very secure to stop him from escaping/climbing over the bars, and getting in with the sow and causing a pregnancy.

Neutered boar/sow bondings also comes down to character compatibility so you need to find a sow who will accept Wilbur, again if you have a rescue centre you can turn to, then they are best placed to help you find a compatible piggy.

For future information, baby piggies shouldn’t be quarantined. If buy a piggy from a pet shop but the piggy is under four months old, then you don’t quarantine them as their social interaction is more important. You simply have to take the risk of having to treat both piggies should the illness be contagious.
Any piggy which is over four months old can be quarantined. Quarantine is done in a separate room and must be for two weeks (unless piggy is not coping being alone in which case again, you carry out the bonding and accept you may need to treat them both).
Piggies from reputable rescue centres should have already been quarantined and you can therefore rest assured that they are not carrying any illness. You can also be sure that any sow is not already pregnant (buying sows from a pet shop does come with the risk that they have not been separated with boars early enough and could already be pregnant)

The guides below explain everything further.

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
A Closer Look At Pairs (Boars - Sows - Mixed)

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)

 

[Alyssaer]

I’m sorry to hear about this.

Two piggies need to be compatible to be able to form a bond and live together. Buying a piggy means you don’t know whether the two will be compatible so there is always a risk they won’t like each other and won’t be able to bond. In that case, the two piggies must live in separate but side by side cages so they cannot fight but so they can still talk to each other through the bars. Single piggies can’t live in separate rooms otherwise they will both be lonely without the through the bar interaction.
Living as neighbours is fine in the case of failed bonds where you are already committed to the new piggy (ie you bought from a pet shop instead of from a rescue centre) , but you are ideally looking for a compatible friend and that they can live in the same cage

The best way to find a friend for a single piggy is to have a rescue centre help you find a compatible friend. Some will help you with the bonding process so you can be sure they like each other before you bring a new piggy home. Others won’t, so you bring the new piggy home, try the bonding yourself and if it doesn’t work, then the rescue centre will take the piggy back and you can try another. If you carry out any bonding yourself at home, then there is a specific process you need to follow and it must be done on neutral territory.

You can get Wilbur a female friend but only if Wilbur is neutered and six weeks post op safe and infertile. If he isn’t neutered, then a sow cannot live in the same cage with him until you had him neutered.
Having an unneutered boar living side by side with a sow is risky depending on your cage set up - boars become very determined to get in with sows so any cage an unneutered boar lives in needs to be very secure to stop him from escaping/climbing over the bars, and getting in with the sow and causing a pregnancy.

Neutered boar/sow bondings also comes down to character compatibility so you need to find a sow who will accept Wilbur, again if you have a rescue centre you can turn to, then they are best placed to help you find a compatible piggy.

For future information, baby piggies shouldn’t be quarantined. If buy a piggy from a pet shop but the piggy is under four months old, then you don’t quarantine them as their social interaction is more important. You simply have to take the risk of having to treat both piggies should the illness be contagious.
Any piggy which is over four months old can be quarantined. Quarantine is done in a separate room and must be for two weeks (unless piggy is not coping being alone in which case again, you carry out the bonding and accept you may need to treat them both).
Piggies from reputable rescue centres should have already been quarantined and you can therefore rest assured that they are not carrying any illness. You can also be sure that any sow is not already pregnant (buying sows from a pet shop does come with the risk that they have not been separated with boars early enough and could already be pregnant)

The guides below explain everything further.

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
A Closer Look At Pairs (Boars - Sows - Mixed)

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)

Thank you so much for your help I appreciate it so much. I will look into rescues and see where I can go from there.

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you so much for your help I appreciate it so much. I will look into rescues and see where I can go from there.

Hi and welcome

A few US rescues do have de-sexed sows for adoption (namely Portland Guinea Pig Rescue OR and Metropolitan Guinea Pig Rescue in the Baltimore/DC area; but without knowing your state we can of course not tell whether you are in reach of one. There may be more.

Guinea Lynx :: US Guinea Pig Rescue and Shelter Organizations (link to recommended good welfare standard US rescues)
Rescues (Adoption and Dating), Shops, Breeders or Online? - What to consider when getting guinea pigs

 

[Alyssaer]

Hi and welcome

A few US rescues do have de-sexed sows for adoption (namely Portland Guinea Pig Rescue OR and Metropolitan Guinea Pig Rescue in the Baltimore/DC area; but without knowing your state we can of course not tell whether you are in reach of one. There may be more.

Guinea Lynx :: US Guinea Pig Rescue and Shelter Organizations (link to recommended good welfare standard US rescues)
Rescues (Adoption and Dating), Shops, Breeders or Online? - What to consider when getting guinea pigs

I am going to be adopting 2 girls that are already bonded they are about a year old. They will be living in a separate room from Wilbur. Wilbur is going to get neutered. Girls will not meet him for a couple months after his neuter. I know they will still be able to smell eachother… is this ok?

 

[Wiebke]

I am going to be adopting 2 girls that are already bonded they are about a year old. They will be living in a separate room from Wilbur. Wilbur is going to get neutered. Girls will not meet him for a couple months after his neuter. I know they will still be able to smell eachother… is this ok?

Hi

As long as Wilbur cannot climb or jump over the divider or wiggle through it, your piggies are much better off as neighbours because of the interaction and stimulation Wilbur will be getting for his own mental health. it will also give both parties time to make friends through the bars and ups his chances of acceptance. He will also be much less likely to over-react when meeting the girls (or rather sow pheromones) for the first in the bonding area and going on a nonstop humping spree for a day or several as a result. It is generally better to get that out of the way beforehand.

Please cable-tie any dividing grids, peg a towel on his side along the divider and make sure that he doesn't have any huts near the divider, you should be fine with a C&C cage.
A single boar has no cage mate to fight and fall out with, so the sow introduction rule does NOT apply; it is crucial only for any boars-only bonds because of the fighting risk.

The recommended post-op safety is 6 weeks. In the UK, this cut-off has been practised by all good welfare rescues for a full decade now with literally hundreds of boars being neutered every year without any accidents at all so far. Believe me, if there was a case it would make the rounds like wildfire!
The recommendations on our forum have all got a solid safety margin/longer term experience already factured in, so there is no need for you to add another one and make Wilbur wait even longer.

If the bonding is not coming off - which is a risk that you carry with any home bonding on spec because you cannot guarantee a personality match - then Wilbur and the two girls can continue living as next-door neighbours with interaction through the bars. It is the ongoing stimulation from his own kind that he needs for his own mental wellbeing.

Please take the time to read these guides here; the mixed pairs guide essentially also covers a mixed trio:
Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths, Facts and Post-op Care
A Closer Look At Pairs (Boars - Sows - Mixed)
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

I hope that this helps you?

 

[Alyssaer]

Yes ! Thank you so much!