advice on settling re homed piggies

[sarah_sparkle]

Hi there, I'm a mum to 3 children, two cats and now two re homed guinea pigs! They are both around 5 years old, one girl, one boy (kept separate). Its the first time we have had piggies before, so if anyone has any settling in advice, id be most grateful. Id aslo like to know if would be best to get the boy done and introduce them, or just keep them as they are? ive heard they can get very lonely on their own

Sarah x

 

[Lady Kelly]

Hi Sarah and welcome to the forum. You could get your boy neutered and after 6 weeks introduce them however this does involve an operation with general anesthesia which is risky to any animal but more so small animals. You then need to couple this with your boys age. At 5 years old he is certainly heading into his senior years and may not be able to hand the anaesthesia all that well. One key thing with any operation is having a vet who is knowledgeable and experienced enough to minimise the risks. I have had a sow over 5 years spayed before as an emergency and this is much more invasive than having a boar neutered, she recovered extremely well and I know that the main reason for that would be my vet.
I would advise doing research first and consider finding a cavy savvy vet who could do a general health check so they can provide their opinion as to how well he may or may not handle the surgery.