Hi all!
I am wondering if anyone has ever had any success with certain combinations of guinea pig bonding/living. We have 2 young boys (Darth Sidious "Sid" and Chewbaca "Chewie"). Currently, we are not looking to expand our herd, but looking at all those unwanted piggies on craigslist makes my heart hurt and I know that eventually we will give in. Everything I have read says more than 2 males is generally a no-go, and we definitely don't want babies. So, I am wondering if anyone has had success with 2 unneutered boys paired with 2 spayed girls? Or vice versa: 2 neutered boys with 2 unspayed girls. Or maybe all 4 being unable to pop out little piggies. We aren't looking at the moment, but I am trying to do research before my heart breaks on craigslist and we make an impulsive, albeit well intentioned, decision.
Thanks!
Hi and welcome!
Sadly you will have to open a new group with any further arrivals. Neutering and spaying only affects the procreation but NOT the social behaviour or instincts. While spayed sows don't come into season anymore, they are still sows with sow behaviours and crucially sow pheromones. Neutered boars still produce testosterone via their pee and behave and mate with sows exactly the same as full boars.
I have and have had both neutered boars and a number of spayed sows; apart from the ability that they can live with the other gender (provided that they want to in the case of spayed sows), their behaviour doesn't differ at all from that of not de-sexed piggies. You wouldn't be able to tell the difference in my own piggies!
Please do not risk breaking a stable boar bond for your own gratification.
While there are rare reports of people being able to successfully keep two boars with a group of sows, these occurrances are RARE and rely on the fact that the group has massive space and that both boars are adult and very laid-back. Otherwise in a traditional cage setting it is a recipe for disaster. Please never count on you being one of the very lucky few! The rule is that there can be only one boar per sow group, and he needs to be accepted by the sows in the first place. Nor can you ever expect all sows getting on - if you think that teenage boars are tricky, you haven't yet met adult sows!
The temptation to get more piggies when you have a delightful pair is always great but things are not as easy or straight forward.
As we get asked this question fairly regularly, I have written a detailed guide on which combos work and which have a high fail rate in normal circumstances. Here is the link:
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
If you want to understand better why certain constellations aren't likely to work, you may find this guide here interesting, which has a section on how guinea pig society works. It is always an uphill battle when you are going counter to social instincts - in these cases you have to basically provide more space than just a single group territory so the piggies can get away from each other without risking constant conflicts and fights:
Guinea Pig Facts - An Overview
The challenges when taking in single piggies:
Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities
Here is information on neutering:
Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths, Facts and Post-op Care
Please be aware that when rehoming piggies on spec from free-ads you always need to plan for the case that any bonding may not work out and that you need to have an alternative available. You also need to be prepared for the fact that owners desperate to get rid of no longer wanted pets will lie through their teeth, so brace yourself for unwelcome surprises from neglect, malnutrition, undisclosed major medical issues or 'surprise' pregnancies. You need to have the funds ready to be able to step in with vet care (ideally from a good exotics vet) and not fail the piggies any further by not giving them the support they need.
Rescuing is anything but cheap or easy, as any rescue can tell you. Vet cost are always the biggest headache because they can quickly run into the hundreds of pounds/dollars for any necessary surgery or care for complex health issues like bumblefoot, lumps/tumours, untreated abscesses, dental and digestive issues due to malnutrition etc.
It is great if you want to help unwanted piggies, but please don't do it if you can't provide the kind of medical and home care that is needed. We have seen from the example of other members just how difficult and heart-breaking it can get when you do not get into this with your eyes open!
Here is a list on what you need to consider before taking on piggies from unchecked backgrounds and with undeclared conditions. I am not saying that you shouldn't help piggies in need, but please do so only if you really have the necessary resources in terms of vet care, extra cages, quarantining space in another room and space to keep sows and boars ideally well apart and out of sight.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/thinking-about-starting-up-your-rescue.158184/
Please take the time to really read through the information links I have provided and to think things through. If you have access to a good rescue, then please consider adopting from there in order to help make space for more piggies in need of expert vet and rescue care until you are ready and experienced enough to spread your wings yourself.
