Pet shop line guinea what to do now?

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Carwsu

Junior Guinea Pig
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So I fell for the listen to the pet shop and only got one Guinea. I quickly realized my mistakes (yes there were a lot of them) when I googled how to take care of him when we got home. So in process of fixing everything. New 2x4 c&c cage is arriving on Tuesday. But here is my dilemma he needs a friend but not sure how to go about it. I have checked local rescues and there are only bonded sows available. There are very few rescues in my area and not many available.
Not sure he is old enough to neuter and with the separation time I am concerned about him being lonely. I did go back to the pet store 2 days after we got him and his cage mates were already gone. Hoping they went together. Yesterday there were 2 little boys at the pet store but I don’t want to separate them and not sure I have space for 3 of them. Plus not sure I want to risk 3 males that don’t get along.
So wondering if I should keep checking the pet store for a group of 3 boys and take one or should I get him neutered so I can get a sow? Knowing that it will be 6-8 weeks before he will have friend? So mad at myself for falling for the pet store advice. (We were going to get a hamster. I was very prepared for one of those).
 
Have you looked at the Rescue Locator in the green bar to see if there are any near you? They often offer boar dating so that takes all the worry out for you. Your piggie also can then choose a friend he actually likes too. Single boars are not always advertised so do drop them an email or text them to find out
Three boars is a recipe for disaster long term
Let us know how you get along and good luck x
 
Bill & Ted said:
Have you looked at the Rescue Locator in the green bar to see if there are any near you? They often offer boar dating so that takes all the worry out for you. Your piggie also can then choose a friend he actually likes too. Single boars are not always advertised so do drop them an email or text them to find out
Three boars is a recipe for disaster long term
Let us know how you get along and good luck x
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I messaged the rescue society nearest me yesterday haven’t heard back yet. I will keep trying. Going to get an appointment with the vet near me that takes Guineas to make sure he is actually a he too!
 
There is a single boat at a different pet shop but he is quite a bit bigger and who knows how much he has been handled. But he is in a tiny cage and would love to see him in a better place. Would it be worth trying to hold him? Should I try to get one around the same age as the one we have or would an older boat maybe be better?
 
I’m no expert on bonding tbh hopefully someone more experienced will reply to your thread soon.
 
Whether they will get on is down to character matching and not age. You could get the lone piggy from the other pet shop, but have to quarantine him in case. And also have a backup plan in case they don’t get on. If that were to happen, they could live side by side and still interact through the bars.

You do have an option to neuter your boy (if he’s old enough) and then can hopefully pair him with a sow or two. He has to be accepted by them rather than the other way round. I would get him seen by a vet (cavy savvy one) as soon as possible. Then you can decide how to proceed. It’s also good for him to have a general health check.

With regards cage size, ideally a pair of boars would need a minimum of 150x60cm, or a 2x5 c&c. A 2x4 can accommodate a pair of sows, or a boar and sow.
 
Carwsu said:
So I fell for the listen to the pet shop and only got one Guinea. I quickly realized my mistakes (yes there were a lot of them) when I googled how to take care of him when we got home. So in process of fixing everything. New 2x4 c&c cage is arriving on Tuesday. But here is my dilemma he needs a friend but not sure how to go about it. I have checked local rescues and there are only bonded sows available. There are very few rescues in my area and not many available.
Not sure he is old enough to neuter and with the separation time I am concerned about him being lonely. I did go back to the pet store 2 days after we got him and his cage mates were already gone. Hoping they went together. Yesterday there were 2 little boys at the pet store but I don’t want to separate them and not sure I have space for 3 of them. Plus not sure I want to risk 3 males that don’t get along.
So wondering if I should keep checking the pet store for a group of 3 boys and take one or should I get him neutered so I can get a sow? Knowing that it will be 6-8 weeks before he will have friend? So mad at myself for falling for the pet store advice. (We were going to get a hamster. I was very prepared for one of those).
Click to expand...

Hi!

It is great that you are so concerned for your little boy! All you can do is to keep looking and see whether a little boy is going to turn up in the coming weeks.

Firstly, I would double-check the gender of all piggies involved before you put them together: Illustrated Sexing Guide

Here are our tips on what you can do for your single boy in the interim and what you need to be aware of:
Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities
Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips

Neutering only comes into play once the testicles descend around 4 months (that is also when the teenage months start).
Here is more information on that: Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths, Facts and Post-op Care

All the best! You will eventually find a companion, one way or other!
 
Last edited:
Wiebke said:
Hi!

It is great that you are so concerned for your little boy! All you can do is to keep looking and see whether a little boy is going to turn up in the coming weeks.

Firstly, I would double-check the gender of all piggies involved before you put them together: Illustrated Sexing Guide

Here are our tips on what you can do for your single boy in the interim and what you need to be aware of:
Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities
Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips

Neutering only comes into play once the testicles descend around 4 months (that is also when the teenage months start).
Here is more information on that: Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths, Facts and Post-op Care

All the best! You will eventually find a companion, one way or other!
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Thank you. This is all helpful. Am I more likely to get him to bond with another male if the next one is same age or younger? He is pretty small they said 4 months but who knows. I am calling around to find a vet. But will try to confirm whether he is a boy tomorrow.
 
Bill & Ted said:
Have you looked at the Rescue Locator in the green bar to see if there are any near you? They often offer boar dating so that takes all the worry out for you. Your piggie also can then choose a friend he actually likes too. Single boars are not always advertised so do drop them an email or text them to find out
Three boars is a recipe for disaster long term
Let us know how you get along and good luck x
Click to expand...
Unfortunately there aren’t any rescues near me that do this. Nearest is a 2 hour drive from my house. I did message them just in case. But not sure we could manage the boar dating over that distance. Unless we got lucky on the first go. So far the only piggies I am finding near me are intact sows. And I haven’t found anyone local that will neuter him.
He is getting more comfortable and comes out when my daughter and I are cleaning his cage and putting in treats so that had me feeling better. Very nervous about finding him a friend. Already messed up and I don’t want to make it worse! I will keep looking and hope the right solution comes up.
 
Carwsu said:
Unfortunately there aren’t any rescues near me that do this. Nearest is a 2 hour drive from my house. I did message them just in case. But not sure we could manage the boar dating over that distance. Unless we got lucky on the first go. So far the only piggies I am finding near me are intact sows. And I haven’t found anyone local that will neuter him.
He is getting more comfortable and comes out when my daughter and I are cleaning his cage and putting in treats so that had me feeling better. Very nervous about finding him a friend. Already messed up and I don’t want to make it worse! I will keep looking and hope the right solution comes up.
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Hi!

I have dated piggies of mine over that distance and have adopted others from much further afield involving train journeys over 3 hours; one journey through London took around 5 hours with the safety margins for transfer from one station to another including to make sure that I had enough time to catch the connecting train even coming into London on a delayed train and still had time to walk (and not run) the mile between the stations with a guinea pig carrier!

Piggies travel pretty well. ;)
Here are our travelling tips: Travelling with guinea pigs
 
That is good to know I was afraid of him being terrified the whole trip! So if I find a likely candidate it might be worth the trip. I did find a rescue that posted a spayed female a couple of weeks ago. Hoping she is still there but probably not likely. But at least they know my situation. I have 2 more vets to call to see about neutering. Which I will only do if I am 100% convinced the vet knows how to handle it.
How easy is it to tell if they get along? Should I plan on several hours for a boat dating visit or would I need to maybe do 2 visits?
 
Vets often go by weight - I ‘rescued’ a young boar last year who had been labelled as having to live alone because they had no idea how to bond piggies.
My vet was happy to neuter at 600g although he had put on a bit of weight before his op.
He lived alongside my 3 sows for his 6 week wait which allowed me time to see if the girls accepted him.

That was a good option for me.
Hope you find a suitable companion for your boy - you do sound like a very caring owner so he’s a lucky boy to be with you.

Welcome to the forum
 
Carwsu said:
That is good to know I was afraid of him being terrified the whole trip! So if I find a likely candidate it might be worth the trip. I did find a rescue that posted a spayed female a couple of weeks ago. Hoping she is still there but probably not likely. But at least they know my situation. I have 2 more vets to call to see about neutering. Which I will only do if I am 100% convinced the vet knows how to handle it.
How easy is it to tell if they get along? Should I plan on several hours for a boat dating visit or would I need to maybe do 2 visits?
Click to expand...

You usually know fairly quickly if a bond is not working out, but you want to ideally leave more time with a little rest in between for several meetings. The details you need to organise with the rescue and the person that is supervising the intros.

You may find our bonding guide helpful for learning to spot key behaviours that can tell you wether a bonding is going well or not. Keep in mind that the whole bonding process takes about 2 weeks in total on average. what you are doing at the rescue is ensuring that acceptance has happened and ideally that the leadership has been established. These are the most crucial stages.
Make sure that you have two carriers (perhaps you can lend a cat carrier from somebody that you disinfect first?), so you can bring them back separately and rather re-introduce them on neutral ground at home in case one the piggies is suddenly panicking during the journey home with a strange piggy in a confined space and a stressful situation.
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
 
Aww you are not the first and won't be the last .. at least now you are doing what's best for your boy - best to get that confirmed ASAP 👍👍😊😊 Good Luck!
 
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