Thinking About Getting Chewy A Wife

[smileyface:)]

Chewy is new, 6 months old and currently living on his own - he was in the adopted section at Pets at Home a fortnight ago, they said he fought with any new piggies they brought in after his lot had been sold and they eventually gave up and plonked him in the adoption section.

He is presently living in his own hutch in the shed of Spud and Freckles (bonded boys) hears and sees them daily, but I want to eventually get him his own buddy.

Considering all the recent advice about boar dating him (which is hard as my only N Ireland rescue don't often have many piggies) I am now thinking about getting him neutered and giving him a wife - but in your experience would that make a potentially more successful bond?

Would this cause problems for the other boys living close by - their hutches are stacked - Dandelion on top of Bluebell, with separate runs for exercise?

I am the only person who has access and the kids never get to see them unsupervised so I am sure they would never be mixed up, and would have to trust that the kennels in the summer never mix them either - though they keep their own piggies too so should be fine - maybe I should neuter all the boys just incase?

Any advice is very welcome as I would like to find Chewy a friend after the summer holidays as I think it would help him be less timid

 

[Wiebke]

Cross gender bonding, once acceptance has happened (which is usually the case with sub-adults) is the most stable of all guinea pig bondings. You need to keep any sow out of sight and preferably above any boars (pheromones don't rise, but they fall). You also need to handle, clean, roam etc. the boar pairs before any sows, so you don't carry the scent across. If you have adjacent runs, you may want to get some additional correx for an opaque divider.

For neutering:
- please try to find the best neutering vet with the most experience; if necessary ask Assisi rescue who they use. We can give you tips on how to prepare for the op and any post-op care if things don't go swimmingly.
- You will have to wait 6 weeks before Chewy is 100% safe to go with a lady. My Tegan is the "present" from a supposedly safe over 5 weeks post op rescue boar; all good rescues now make sure that they observe the 6 weeks mark and have so far not reported any pregnancies in several years.

 

[smileyface:)]

thanks so much for all the help on this - that sounds good - so if I put spud and freckles below and chewy and new Mrs above - I suppose instead of thinking of it as expanding the piggies to 4 piggies in two pairs - I am really creating two families that won't interact.

But this may be the best outcome for Chewy and the boys too. Good tip about asking Assisi as I'd prefer a totally experienced vet and it would only be a day trip for Chewy to get that done.