Hunt76
New Born Pup
Thursday morning, we lost my 1.5-year-old boar, Spike, to a stubborn abscess under his jaw after only a couple short months with us. He was an exceptional boy who really came out of his shell in our short time together, going from sitting on my chest petrified to sprinting up my body to nestle into my neck and nap, and becoming completely unafraid to give us a piece of his mind. I’m not ready to “move on,” as I’m devastated that we lost him despite $1,400 in vet bills and around-the-clock care, especially so young and so soon.
His cage mate, a big 4.5-year-old boar with a troubled past (attacked by his original cage mate before he went to the rescue, requiring stitches, then placed in a communal boar cage at the “rescue” where he allegedly hit another guinea pig who later passed away due to infection). He displays obvious signs of fear aggression but, after bonding with Spike, he was pretty good - curmudgeonly, but good. He’d tell Spike off and chatter his teeth if he was annoyed, or sit in place and lunge until Spike left his “bubble” if he was in a mood. They’d often eat from the same bowl or hay feeder, and sometimes sit together, even. Since Spike’s passing, he’s gotten significantly less activity - he’s happy to whisper at me during lap time and he’s eating just fine, maintaining weight, but he mostly just eats or sits in his favorite corner. It’s obvious to me that he needs social interaction with his own kind, and I intend to get him a cage mate once we’ve taken care of the recent lice outbreak that we noticed on our Spike in his final days - I haven’t seen any anywhere else in the cage, though, or on my old man.
Unfortunately, nowhere near me offers boar dating besides one rescue that I will not be working with due to prior poor experiences. There’s one rescue about 2 hours away with a handful of baby boars, and I’d like to adopt one - however, I’m very worried about the baby hitting adolescence and turning out to be very dominant, or just a jerk during his hormonal phases. Due to my old codger’s social challenges, being relentlessly harassed is a recipe for disaster or for the new guy to risk being bitten.
I’ve read all the literature on bonding, introductions, etc. and know how to go about it - so I’m not really looking for links to Wiebke’s bonding threads or anything. Trust me, I’ve pored over them religiously. However, I was wondering if anyone else has experience matching boars without boar dating. What traits do you look for to try and best estimate if two boars will get on well? I know they’re fickle beings and like to pick their own friends so there’s no guarantee but, unfortunately, I’ve been forced into a position where I have to play matchmaker. Thank you in advance for any advice!
His cage mate, a big 4.5-year-old boar with a troubled past (attacked by his original cage mate before he went to the rescue, requiring stitches, then placed in a communal boar cage at the “rescue” where he allegedly hit another guinea pig who later passed away due to infection). He displays obvious signs of fear aggression but, after bonding with Spike, he was pretty good - curmudgeonly, but good. He’d tell Spike off and chatter his teeth if he was annoyed, or sit in place and lunge until Spike left his “bubble” if he was in a mood. They’d often eat from the same bowl or hay feeder, and sometimes sit together, even. Since Spike’s passing, he’s gotten significantly less activity - he’s happy to whisper at me during lap time and he’s eating just fine, maintaining weight, but he mostly just eats or sits in his favorite corner. It’s obvious to me that he needs social interaction with his own kind, and I intend to get him a cage mate once we’ve taken care of the recent lice outbreak that we noticed on our Spike in his final days - I haven’t seen any anywhere else in the cage, though, or on my old man.
Unfortunately, nowhere near me offers boar dating besides one rescue that I will not be working with due to prior poor experiences. There’s one rescue about 2 hours away with a handful of baby boars, and I’d like to adopt one - however, I’m very worried about the baby hitting adolescence and turning out to be very dominant, or just a jerk during his hormonal phases. Due to my old codger’s social challenges, being relentlessly harassed is a recipe for disaster or for the new guy to risk being bitten.
I’ve read all the literature on bonding, introductions, etc. and know how to go about it - so I’m not really looking for links to Wiebke’s bonding threads or anything. Trust me, I’ve pored over them religiously. However, I was wondering if anyone else has experience matching boars without boar dating. What traits do you look for to try and best estimate if two boars will get on well? I know they’re fickle beings and like to pick their own friends so there’s no guarantee but, unfortunately, I’ve been forced into a position where I have to play matchmaker. Thank you in advance for any advice!