Some of you may have read my thread about me wanting to introduce Mary in with my other 2 girls.
However the ‘pet shop’ I got Mary from also has a massive Rex male who is all alone, he was there when I got mary about a month ago but was in with a younger pig who has since been sold. Mary has been there 2 months which means this poor boy must have been there about 3 months so far! The pet shop said Mary is about 8 months old but I have my doubts as she’s huge! So I recon she must be a year at least? I’m gathering he is either Mary’s brother or maybe they use to be a breeding pair? I could be wrong and they may not know each other at all.
So my question is.. you must have gathered I reallllyyy want to give this boy a home.. but he is still entire which would mean me getting him de-sexed, so is there an age limit on de-sexing, would it be risky if he is older than 1? His b*lls are huge, would I be risking his life?
If he can be de-sexed would he settle down enough to go in with Mary? or Is he too old to be done and then forget his manhood? Could it work? Would the smell of a boy upset the other girls?
Sorry for the overload! I just really love and want to give him a home but wouldn’t risk upsetting any of the girls as they of course come first.
Thanks in advance
I'm no expert on neutering boars, so please wait until someone more experienced comes along. It certainly sounds like he needs a good home. I don't believe there's an age for him to be "too old" to neuter, however, as with any surgery, it gets riskier the older they are, but I'm talking more about senior pigs here. If you are to put them together, you need to have separate accomodation for at least 6 weeks post-op, as there's been cases known that sperm is still live before this time and does have still got pregnant even though the boar is neutered. Correct me if I'm wrong but having two females next to a m/f pairing shouldn't cause upsets, I believe it only would if there was a male pair (or more than one boar) next to a female/male pair. As all boars would fight to get the female, despite he female not being in their cage.
It's sounds very possible to do what you're hoping to, so I hope it works out the way you hope
As I understand it, key to a successful neutering is a competent and experienced vet so that is where I would start my enquiries. I wouldn't have expected age to increase the risk of a neutering op anymore than it would increase the risk of any op - if he's fit and well in himself I certainly wouldn't rule it out on age grounds without talking to a vet first. Again, my understanding is that neutering won't change the instincts and passions (!) of a guinea pig, just remove the risk of pregnancy - if you do have him snipped and put him with a sow you can expect to see all the normal boar/sow interactions going on, and that's all OK . Adding one sow into a room with boars is likely to cause problems, but the other way round isn't a situation I've read about being an issue.
Good luck! He sounds like he needs a bit of love, bless him.
(caveat - I've read around a fair bit but I'm also not personally experienced in these things, so please take the advice of more experienced members if it contradicts mine)
My vet told me the of the few boars that havnt woken up after the anasthetic for Neutering, its the bigger older pigs(senior) Its a small percentage, but thats the pattern that he noticed. He also said that the sows seem to do better on anasthetic than boars. Even after spaying. ( this info is from one of the best vets for guinea pigs in the u.k).
Maybe these older boars had underlying problems because of age. I didnt ask.
Anyway my young boar flew through his Neuter trouble free
I don't think that age is necessarily an issue as long as this Rex is nice and healthy have a word with your vet first before you get Rex. Have a read of this thread it may help you to make your decision
I think it’s lovely of you to want to give him a new home, he really needs one. I don’t think he’s too old for the procedure, you’ll need to wait another 6 weeks to introduce him to any females though
I fell for Max on one of the rare occasions I walked past pets at home and was weak and went in. He had been in the adoption section for a while and was labelled as unsuitable to put with other pigs. He had been abandoned after being injured by his cage mate.
I had just lost one of my girls and had room in the herd so I had him neutered. I was worried what I would do if they didn't get on but I had them living right next to each other for a couple of months until Max had his surgery and had waited the 6 weeks. He did have a little infection but it didn't develop into an abscess. When I finally bonded them it was as if they had always been together.
Thank you everyone for all the advice! I really appreciate it, so it does sound like it could work. I would have to keep him in our bedroom in the meantime and I’m not sure how my partner will take having 3 separate cages in the house
I really want to give him a home but I’m going to have to think sensibly and make sure it’s a good idea as the main issue is that we are in the early stages of immigrating here in Australia so we are soon going to be applying and fingers crossed it all goes smoothly! I have a pet sitter for when we pop back to the uk to get everything sorted to bring over. But considering we are not yet residents of Australia yet it’s risky enough having the 3 pigs I’ve rescued! But fingers crossed
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I just really love and want to give him a home but wouldn’t risk upsetting any of the girls as they of course come first.
. Adding one sow into a room with boars is likely to cause problems, but the other way round isn't a situation I've read about being an issue.
