Rescue piggy

[Ame]

Hi! I am new here and also a new guinea pig owner
I have recently rescued a 2 month old boar and he was bullied in his old home and taken to rescue shortly after.
Should I still try and bond him with another piggie? He is not neutered so will need to get another boy.
I have read it is best to get a baby boy when he is 6 months old is this a good idea? Any advise welcome

 

[Bill & Ted]

Hello and welcome to the forum
Good on you for rescuing the little guy. There will be someone more knowledgeable than me with regard to which works best but yes a little friend would be lovely for him

 

[Ame]

Thanks so much for your reply! Really hoping to get him a friend

 

[Piggies&buns]

Well done for taking him in.

Any bond comes down to the two piggies having character compatibility - the two piggies need to like each other to be able to form a relationship. If you get a piggy on spec, then there is a risk that they will not have this and therefore they won’t bond and will need to live in separate cages.
Age isn’t a factor in whether a bond will work but having a bigger age gap between two boars can help so that they aren’t both teenagers at the same time and therefore hormones are much less of an issue. They are teenagers between 4 and 14 months of age. While you may be able to bond him with a six month old piggy, a six month old is right at the time of highest hormone output. Your piggy will be a teenager shortly so you will have two teenage boars at the same time - again, not impossible to work provided the two have character compatibility (my two were both teens at the same time).

The best way to find him a friend is to speak to a rescue centre and enlist their help. They can help you try different piggies until you find a good character match, that way you won’t be left with two piggies who don’t like each other and cannot live together.

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

If you would rather he have a sow as a friend, then you will need him to be neutered first. A sow/neutered boar bonding is more stable for the long term, but he won’t be able to be neutered until four months of age when the testicles descend. He would then need to be kept away from a sow for a further six weeks after neutering to become infertile. He could then start the process of finding a sow friend (again, ideally with the help of a rescue centre)

Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths, Facts and Post-op Care

 

[weepweeps]

That’s brilliant you have taken him on and are getting him a friend. He will have a wonderful forever home with you.