Pairing senior and baby boar without boar dating, unfortunately

[Hunt76]

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!

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry for your loss.
There is not really anything specific you can look for as it all comes down to the character match and until you see those two particular piggies together, you won’t really know - what looks good on paper doesn’t always come off and vice versa. Particularly with a baby because how they behave as babies (who are desperate for companionship) and how they will be when they become teenagers can be different.
Would you be able to take baby back if it didn’t work out or would you do side by side living?
Good luck for the bonding

 

[Hunt76]

I’m sorry for your loss.
There is not really anything specific you can look for as it all comes down to the character match and until you see those two particular piggies together, you won’t really know - what looks good on paper doesn’t always come off and vice versa. Particularly with a baby because how they behave as babies (who are desperate for companionship) and how they will be when they become teenagers can be different.
Would you be able to take baby back if it didn’t work out or would you do side by side living?
Good luck for the bonding

My now-solo boar is living in a 6x2 C&C that he shared with his cage mate, so I could always cut it down to two 3x2s, but that just doesn’t feel like enough room for them to open up and run around. I won’t be able to take the baby back, simply because I’ll get way too attached for such shenanigans.

In my challenged boy’s case, do you think it might be best to pair him with another adult? Obviously, they still might not hit it off but it’d be a bit easier to gauge personality.

 

[Piggies&buns]

A 3x2 covers around 9 square feet so strictly speaking it’s minimum, but it is also generally accepted that a 3x2 is small and that a 4x2 is best for singles
Generally speaking, a baby stands more chance of being accepted, there is the unknown teenage factor, but most boar pairs make it through. Without being able to date, I’d personally rather take my chances on a baby.