Trouble Finding A Friend, Neuter?

[gwinnypiggylove]

I now have a lonely rat and a lonely guinea pig in need of friends. My exams will be over in a couple of weeks and then I should have no bother finding a couple of girl ratties for Toola. George is the problem. I have tried the rescue locator and there is no rescues near me. The only one in Scotland appears to be more of a holiday boarding place rather than a rescue and I don't think could offer much in the way of possible friends for George. The spca has males occasionally but I doubt they do boar dating and I don't want to risk them not getting on. The other possibility is to have George neutered but I'm not sure I want to. It would make it a lot easier if I could just get him a wife pig. So I guess the questions are, does anyone know of any other rescues in central Scotland that are not on the rescue locator? Or should I have George neutered? He is healthy, 1.5 years old. I would just worry too much! But it may be the best option. Any advice/opinions welcome

 

[Wiebke]

Jo at Hutches in Alyth actually does quite a bit of boar bonding for our Scottish members' bereaved boars! It may be small rescue, but it is a busy one! It is worth contacting her before you make any decisions.
The SSPCA hasn't got a boar bonding policy to my knowledge.

If you want to go down the neutering route, the most important bit is to find an experienced neutering vet with a good track record, as that cuts down enormously on the rather still common risk of post op complications. You will also have to factor in a full 6 weeks post op wait until George is 100% to go with a sow. I have the surprise baby courtesy of a supposedly safe over 5 weeks post op boar, just to prove the point that it really can happen as late as that! I don't know whether you can get to one of our recommended piggy vets? http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/pages/guinea-pig-vet-locator/

 

[Shrap]

If you're on the west coast then I used Glenbrae vets in Bearsden to neuter my 3.5 year old male after his cagemate died. I was very worried as they were originally from pets at home stock, so not the hardiest of breeding. I rang them and they told me they see quite a lot of small furries, and not to worry, they have someone watching their pigs/buns until they're up and about etc. Everything went smoothly for my boy and he had no issues with his wound He now has a gorgeous wifepig! I found the lack of rescues a bit of a problem too so went down the neutering route.

 

[gwinnypiggylove]

@Wiebke @Shrap Thanks both of you for your help. I will definitely contact Jo before anything else, I'm sure I could get my parents to drive me up during the summer holidays with George. I'm not in that much of a rush as George is quite the independent little pig and is doing fine on his own, although I will be getting him a friend. If that doesn't work I'll look into neutering and find a good vet. There is not enough rescues in Scotland at all, it's a bit annoying!

 

[guineapig-al]

Hi, your piggy sounds super-healthy, why would you want to subject him to the stress of medical procedures? Give it some time, eventually a younger friendly boar will turn up. Being lonely won't kill him, but complications from an operation or the post op meds or the stress of the procedure might be too much