Advice please re single male long hair

Status
Not open for further replies.
N

netutopia

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Apr 24, 2008
Messages
95
Reaction score
7
Points
165
Hiya

I am looking for some advice please. I have 2 male piggies of my own and they are very happy together.

My friend asked my advice as she wanted to get pets for her boys. I recommended that she would be best to get 2 boy or girl short haired piggies from the same litter (I did tell her about rescues too).

Anyway she went completely against my advice and ended up with a baby french lop male bunny and a peruvian (I think) male piggy :o :o :o

Luckily I managed to persuade her NOT to put them together, I kept Max (the piggie) here overnight while she got another hutch.

Now a few weeks on she has decided that my advice was right - they can't handle the bunny and she is fed up with Max already as he needs a lot of grooming.

I have offered to have Max as he is gorgeous and I was going to get another couple of piggies anyway (I wanted to get some from a rescue but I had a feeling that this would happen so I have held fire).

Anyway, if I do have him what do you think the best thing to do is - should I get a baby boy to keep him company? I think he is only about 3-4 months old. If so would any breed be suitable to pair up with him? I wouldn't dream of putting him with my other pair as they are very happy.

Any advice would be gratefully received as I don't know a lot about long haired guinea pigs.

Jo
 
Pity that your friend didn't heed your advice in regards to pets. Bunnies can be trained to use a littler tray and generally when you handle a bunny a lot they get quite tame and friendly to be around.

Long or short hair piggies, the basic requirements are the same for both types. The only real difference is that the long haired ones need a lot more grooming than the short haired varieties. You will have to brush the peruvian minimum of once a week to keep the hait tangle free. I know some piggy owners who clip they hair to feet length to keep it "neat and tidy" - that is if you don't want to use the piggy for shows.

Yes, I do recommend finding a little mate for Max - you could get him neutered if you wanted to keep a girl, but considering you've already got two boys a girl in the mix would upset them too. (They would sniff her and would probably start fighting) So I guess best bet it to find a baby boar for him.
I noticed some rescues are quite happy to "pair" your piggy up with suitable "candidates". That means you take your piggy to them and they try to put him with another piggy and watch them to see if they are compatible.

Good luck, I just hope the your friend will do the right thing for the animals.
 
If he's only young his coat will still have lots of growing to do - Peruvians need really frequent grooming (I run a brush through mine every day or so!) otherwise they can quickly become unmanageable. I keep mine trimmed esp. in summer, round the bum and round the sides particularly so their coat doesn't drag on the floor and to make them more comfortable in the heat.

A young boar should be ok with him but they might still fall out when they reach 6 months yobbish stage - but there's no guarantee either way, so you'll just have to keep your fingers crossed!

Look forward to seeing some pics of the little guy

Sophie
x
 
Also, just so you can see - this is Elvis as a baby, and Elvis now! He's a Peruvian...

DSCN0924.jpg


DSCN2068.jpg


Sophie
x
 
Thank you for your replies O0

Sophie - Elvis is gorgeous :smitten:

how old was he in the baby photo?

This is a picture of Max which my son took when my friend first had him:

tn_max.JPG


I also have 5 bunnies (a pair and a trio), but from my own experience with bunnies and guinea pigs thought that guinea pigs were better pets for children to handle. I did explain to my friend though that you have to have the pets for you and obviously be responsible for looking after them, although my son (age 10) is a brilliant help with all of our pets.
 
we have a male dutch rabbit in with our two girls, they seem to be fine together, although they do have a very large hutch so plenty of room,

Nx
 
lawnmower piggy said:
we have a male dutch rabbit in with our two girls, they seem to be fine together, although they do have a very large hutch so plenty of room,

Nx
Click to expand...

Do you mean girl piggies or bunnies? I would deffo reconsider keeping bunnies in with piggies. I have known several very sad and traumatic ends to little piggies at the feet of bunnies.
 
Re: Advice please re single male long hair - now arrived

Hi

Max is now here and he is adorable :smitten:

He does seem lonely though and quite subdued compared to my other boys. Please can anyone advise what is the best thing to do for him for the long term.

Should I:

1) Try him with my boys (I am very reluctant to do this)
2) Keep him on his own
3) Get him a male friend - if so what age would you suggest?
4) Get him neutered and get a girlfriend.

Any advice would be very gratefully received.

Thanks
Jo
 

Hi!

get him a friend! My very first piggie was a little boy called Corran. I only bought 1 & wasn't advised by the pet shop to get another.

He was so quiet & subdued, then a friend told me that thye should never be on their own. :( I got him a friend - another little boy, Tycho, & suddenly he perked up. ;D He was almost like a different pig! It was the best thing I have ever done. 0:)

I can't advise about whether to get a girl or boy, as I have no experience of girls! What I can say thought is Corran lived to 8 1/4 years & Tycho to 6 3/4 years! Friendship works! :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
 
I you have a rescue near you then you ould ask if you could take him along and let him pick a friend for himself. If he doesn't get on with the males then a little girlfriend would be great. Where about are you?

Guinea pigs are great pets. However, not all are friendly, I have a little boy who just hates people. He just bites all the time. Vet couldn't find anything wrong but taking him back on tuesday to doubel check.
 
We are near Chipping Campden - in between Evesham and Stratford upon Avon

He is the pretty much the calmest piggy I have seen in terms of with humans - he just lets you pick him up and is very content to sit on your lap for ages. No trouble to groom either and I have even given him a bit of a trim and he didn't mind that.
 
Max looks gorgeous! :smitten:

Keep his coat cut short, that's my advice as grooming long-haired is very time consuming and I think that in the hot weather ... well I am assuming that there will be some this summer ... it is awfully hot for them. Mine all like a good trim, although sometimes they play up and moan a little, then they have to have a nap to get over all the fuss they have made! ;D

Piggies all have very different personalities, as we all know. You could put Max with another male and everything will be fine. I had a father and son who adored each other. But I had two litter mates, brothers, who were fine at first and then all hell let loose when puberty arrived, with one called Stuart certainly taking the worst of it before I realised he was being bitten on his back and neck and because he was long-haired I didn't see it was happening straightaway.

Stuart is now neutered and living happily with his sister. Shaun, his brother, I have had neutered today so hoping to pair him in several weeks with a rescued female.
Try Max with any other males you have, gently at first. Put them out in runs next to each other. Bring them in for a cuddle and have them next to each other and introduce them gradually. That's just my advice though ... keep us posted how you get on!
 
Hi Goldie

Thank you for your advice. He is absolutely adorable and I just want the best for him.

What age do guinea pigs go through puberty?

Thanks
Jo
 


My experience is that guineas seem to go through puberty around 6 months. Depending upon the pig, depends upon how long it lasts! I have a 2 year old who still thinks he's in puberty! He has more testosterone gong round his body than he knows what to do with! 88)

I also am for trimming long haired piggies. I have 2 & they seem to get very hot when it starts to get warm. They like to be trimmed & feel the wind in their fur, running through the grass! :D Mine aren't show pigs (they have too many scars and war wounds to be entered into a show!), so I'm bothered about them having long, beautiful fur. I'd rather they were comfortable & happy running around causing chaos & preferably not eating everything in site... ? ;) :o
 
we have a long haired German Shepherd dog and she gets too hot in the warm weather, so we clip her really short, she was done only the other week and although she's 8 she now looks and behaves like a pup.

its whats best for them that matters if you don't intend on showing, also it means less time brushing!

Nx
 
Thanks for the tips. Has anyone got any piccies of long hair piggies with short hair cuts to give me an idea how short to go please.

We also have a bichon frise dog that I cut myself and I keep her nice and short in the summer even though we get funny looks from other bichon oweners - she is supposed to have a great big flouncy head, but Lilly doesn't care - and she loves to get as filthy and muddy as our labrador!
 
Here's some pics of my Tiger;

S1030446.jpg


S1030443.jpg


His hair needs a trim here - he wees on it so i have to keep it off the ground really. Plus he has to have baths which he hates!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top