Boars in Stockholm (Kongos diary)

Dear diary!

Daddydude Harry here. Me have a question about balls:

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No, not fatty bummies. Boar ballz. Cherries. Benny is now 5,5 months old and slave starts to think about this. Besides the obvious - sedation and OP - is there any risks? Or health pro's?

Slave is truly unsure because she has had some bad luck with sedation. If one of us would need surgery to save our life she would ofc not hesitate to do it. When thinking about visiting the plum fairy its just because she thinks it would be so much easier to bond Ben with someone when me is not around anymore. Another boar... Well, she had some bad luck there to and nice neighboars and such is a solution but not like having a friend of wife. She would prefer a boar, a good boar bond is just magic and so fun!

Harry - will keep my balls
 
It's a big decision. I think there is an anaesthetic that is safer and it's good to check which anaesthetic the vet is going to use. And also how many neutering operations he has done. Benny's breeder might know of a good vet. But I think you may already have a good vet ❤️
 
I have always said I would never put a piggy under anaesthetic for a neuter. Only a medical procedure.

BUT having said that I have now had piggies have a couple of operations and they been ok afterwards. So maybe it’s not such a big deal after all.

I think you should do what feels right to you. ❤️
 
Truffolo said:
It's a big decision. I think there is an anaesthetic that is safer and it's good to check which anaesthetic the vet is going to use. And also how many neutering operations he has done. Benny's breeder might know of a good vet. But I think you may already have a good vet ❤️
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Bennys breeder lives far away, but we have our vet. We are lucky to have two cavy savy-exotic clinics close. They are both very good, but I prefer one of them because of a special vet. She treated all of my boys when they needed something not related to teeth. She's a specialist on skunks, thats so cool!
We have a dentist too, but he works on the other side of the town. But his knowledge is really worth the trip! Toofies and the art of fixing them is his speciality, and I've learnt so much from him about pigs toofies! He had the honors to work with every one of my toofieboys - Pika, Joey, Kongo and Djingis - and him and Kongo really had a bromance. He was so amazed about Kongos appetite 😂
 
weepweeps said:
I have always said I would never put a piggy under anaesthetic for a neuter. Only a medical procedure.

BUT having said that I have now had piggies have a couple of operations and they been ok afterwards. So maybe it’s not such a big deal after all.

I think you should do what feels right to you. ❤️
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Thats how I feel too, after some terrible experiences of sedation. But I also know after all the times one of my boys needed a OP they woke up feeling fine when the drugs is out of their system.

Benny would be such a bad husboar, though. He's not a gentleman at all!
 
Micah was not a gentleman either 😅
He was a thug with no manners.
We had him neutered so he could live with my 3 girls.
He had been badly bullied and condemned to a single life which is why I took him.
His neutering went well but he developed an abscess a few days later requiring a second surgery. He was fine with the sedation and recovered well.

If Benny does find himself as a husboar one day and is no gentleman he will discover the joys of being pee sprayed by his wife / wives 😅

Go with your heart on making the decision
 
exia said:
Thats how I feel too, after some terrible experiences of sedation. But I also know after all the times one of my boys needed a OP they woke up feeling fine when the drugs is out of their system.

Benny would be such a bad husboar, though. He's not a gentleman at all!
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He’s a man’s man
 
My boys have to live in separate cages and I do wonder if they get lonely when I am out at work. If they were neutered as young pigs when it is easier to heal, they could have wifelets. But they are mature pigs now and not youngsters so it would be too dangerous now. They can see each other, but sharing a cage with a companion must be nice for them ❤️🥰
 
In Austria, it's not allowed to keep guinea pigs on their own. So when boars fall out, it's the usual recommendation to have them both neutered and each bonded with (at least) one girl.
With a vet who has experience in neutering, it's not a big deal. But of course there is always a little risk.
But - except for Pino who is a bit special in his social behaviour - I haven't met a boar yet who wasn't very happy to meet a girl. Bonding is quite easy most of the time and a piggy couple is a sweet way to keep guinea pigs.

Boars don't really get it that they have lost their cherries. They still act like before. :cool:
 
Viennese Furbabies said:
In Austria, it's not allowed to keep guinea pigs on their own. So when boars fall out, it's the usual recommendation to have them both neutered and each bonded with (at least) one girl.
With a vet who has experience in neutering, it's not a big deal. But of course there is always a little risk.
But - except for Pino who is a bit special in his social behaviour - I haven't met a boar yet who wasn't very happy to meet a girl. Bonding is quite easy most of the time and a piggy couple is a sweet way to keep guinea pigs.

Boars don't really get it that they have lost their cherries. They still act like before. :cool:
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Does that mean you're not allowed to keep guineas side by side in Austria?

My boars all continued acting like boys even after losing their cherries, just as hormonal.
 
Merab said:
Micah was not a gentleman either 😅
He was a thug with no manners.
We had him neutered so he could live with my 3 girls.
He had been badly bullied and condemned to a single life which is why I took him.
His neutering went well but he developed an abscess a few days later requiring a second surgery. He was fine with the sedation and recovered well.

If Benny does find himself as a husboar one day and is no gentleman he will discover the joys of being pee sprayed by his wife / wives 😅

Go with your heart on making the decision
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Mister Golden Belly would be sooo happy to get pee sprayed! I think pee is one of his biggest interests in this world. He even looks happy when he gets a golden shower from golden Harry.

weepweeps said:
He’s a man’s man
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A hyper man's man!
 
Mrs Tiggy Winkle said:
Does that mean you're not allowed to keep guineas side by side in Austria?

My boars all continued acting like boys even after losing their cherries, just as hormonal.
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I dont know about Austria, but in Sweden its not allowed to have a single Guinea pig. Its okay to let them live in separate cages, but side by side so they can communicate and smell each other. Some are good bonded neighboars, Kongo and Joe for example, and they socialized alot. Kongo had to babywatch Djingis and mess with Harry. Chip and Kongo did not like each other, but when Kongo had an UTI and we were at the vets Chip was stressed without Kongo there. So they do bond, in some kind of way. Kongo was very happy about wreck the divider and steal Chips food too, and Chip knew it and tried to control him. Good luck.
 
Side by side in Germany isn't normal, although it may sometimes be done, idk. But here boys can be neutered early when they're just a few weeks old, that makes bonding boys with each other or even in groups easier. Early neutering isn't done in the UK or Austria, Wiebke and Viennese_Furbabies said, so it makes sense that there's so much side by side in the UK.

It's good guineas can't be kept on their own in Sweden! It's the same in Switzerland, but Germany is not that far along yet, unfortunately. It's interesting that your boys have all bonded in some way through the divider!

@exia sorry
 
Mrs Tiggy Winkle said:
Does that mean you're not allowed to keep guineas side by side in Austria?

My boars all continued acting like boys even after losing their cherries, just as hormonal.
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Yes, that's right. Keeping piggies side by side on their own is not allowed in Austria.

Early neutering is becoming standard in Austria but when you keep boars with girls, I always prefer a boar that's been neutered when older than about 6 months.
 
Mrs Tiggy Winkle said:
Side by side in Germany isn't normal, although it may sometimes be done, idk. But here boys can be neutered early when they're just a few weeks old, that makes bonding boys with each other or even in groups easier. Early neutering isn't done in the UK or Austria, Wiebke and Viennese_Furbabies said, so it makes sense that there's so much side by side in the UK.

It's good guineas can't be kept on their own in Sweden! It's the same in Switzerland, but Germany is not that far along yet, unfortunately. It's interesting that your boys have all bonded in some way through the divider!

@exia sorry
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I think we can neuter boys from around 4 months in Sweden, but I'm not sure to be honest. From my understandings its not a very common procedure, even though I dont think its very rare either?

Joe and Chip always had a bromance too. When Bob passed and I bonded them to live together was so easy. They knew each other four years back, and just seemed happy they finally could hump each other! Bob was Joes wife and Chip was his mistress.
Bob and Pikachu did not like each other at all. It was very bad blood and that was my biggest reason to let Chip move in. Pikachu needed a friend, and Joe was a nice neighboar but suddenly Beelzebub came running and picked a fight with Pika. Its very interesting to watch how different their bonds can be. When Bob passed and me and Joe came back from the vets, Chip started to chirp. Something was very wrong! Back then we had a stacked c&c, Joe and Bob lived on the upper floor with no direct contact. Chip noticed anyway.

So, I really think they create a bond with every pig in the same household. Maybe they are not friends but they are still the same specie, talk the same language and get somekind of social security.
 
Mrs Tiggy Winkle said:
Does that mean you're not allowed to keep guineas side by side in Austria?

My boars all continued acting like boys even after losing their cherries, just as hormonal.
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I would love for Ben to become more like Miss Bernadette after popping them cherries! Harry would be very pleased.
 
exia said:
I think we can neuter boys from around 4 months in Sweden, but I'm not sure to be honest. From my understandings its not a very common procedure, even though I dont think its very rare either?

Joe and Chip always had a bromance too. When Bob passed and I bonded them to live together was so easy. They knew each other four years back, and just seemed happy they finally could hump each other! Bob was Joes wife and Chip was his mistress.
Bob and Pikachu did not like each other at all. It was very bad blood and that was my biggest reason to let Chip move in. Pikachu needed a friend, and Joe was a nice neighboar but suddenly Beelzebub came running and picked a fight with Pika. Its very interesting to watch how different their bonds can be. When Bob passed and me and Joe came back from the vets, Chip started to chirp. Something was very wrong! Back then we had a stacked c&c, Joe and Bob lived on the upper floor with no direct contact. Chip noticed anyway.

So, I really think they create a bond with every pig in the same household. Maybe they are not friends but they are still the same specie, talk the same language and get somekind of social security.
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BEELZEBUB?!? Isn't that the Devil? No wonder he picked a fight with Pika. 😉

That's all interesting! I've never had C&C, far less stacked. In Germany people tend to have what they call Landschaften (landscapes) or I call palaces - great wide wooden affairs with Plexiglas sides and sometimes a long, low ramp to an upper floor.

When I still had 2 groups, I had them in separate rooms: a husboar with 2 ladies in my living room and 2 neutered boys in my bedroom. Both groups must have known the other existed. When husboar Snowy died, everything fell apart. His one lady Emily 'lost the plot' and attacked every guinea in sight except the other lady Suzie who she completely ignored tho they'd been living together with Snowy seemingly quite happily. They'd even lived together for a number of years before being given to a rescue from which I adopted them. I actually had to give Emily to a different rescue eventually, though I'd had her for several years by then. Suzie got on very well immediately with one of the neutered boars, Woolly, love at first sight for both of them. But I suppose they'd known each other already by smell and sound. They just went right to each other, and joined each other in a hidey, and that was it. Bonded. My other neutered boar also had to go to a rescue. After that I only ever had one group.
 
Viennese Furbabies said:
Yes, that's right. Keeping piggies side by side on their own is not allowed in Austria.

Early neutering is becoming standard in Austria but when you keep boars with girls, I always prefer a boar that's been neutered when older than about 6 months.
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Oops, I misremembered and misquoted you upthread saying early neutering isn't allowed in Austria. I stand corrected! It is allowed. It's just in the UK then that the vets won't do it.

Since it's against the law to keep piggies on their own in Switzerland and Austria, I have to wonder why Germany is so behind the times? A rescue won't let you adopt a single piggy unless you have a suitable singleton at home, like recently bereaved. But pet shops and backyard 'breeders' don't care in the main. Oh well, can only hope Germany catches up sometime.
 
Mrs Tiggy Winkle said:
BEELZEBUB?!? Isn't that the Devil? No wonder he picked a fight with Pika. 😉

That's all interesting! I've never had C&C, far less stacked. In Germany people tend to have what they call Landschaften (landscapes) or I call palaces - great wide wooden affairs with Plexiglas sides and sometimes a long, low ramp to an upper floor.

When I still had 2 groups, I had them in separate rooms: a husboar with 2 ladies in my living room and 2 neutered boys in my bedroom. Both groups must have known the other existed. When husboar Snowy died, everything fell apart. His one lady Emily 'lost the plot' and attacked every guinea in sight except the other lady Suzie who she completely ignored tho they'd been living together with Snowy seemingly quite happily. They'd even lived together for a number of years before being given to a rescue from which I adopted them. I actually had to give Emily to a different rescue eventually, though I'd had her for several years by then. Suzie got on very well immediately with one of the neutered boars, Woolly, love at first sight for both of them. But I suppose they'd known each other already by smell and sound. They just went right to each other, and joined each other in a hidey, and that was it. Bonded. My other neutered boar also had to go to a rescue. After that I only ever had one group.
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We wanted to build a landscape/palace, but we didn't have enough space with two pairs of boars. The stacked c&c was a great solution for us! We still use it, we changed the coroplast and added a loft for Ben and Harry, so it was really worth every penny. It has had many sizes and shapes through the year.

Bob was such a troublemaker in his teens. We used to call him "Belsebob" and by accident it was the name I gave to the insurancecompany too... Poor boy. After the teens he became such a funny character though. He was such a happy soul!

I think they do alot of communication we dont hear or can read.
Its fascinating to hear two pods living in different rooms still be affected by the loss the of one. They had a big pod, with their places in it. Snowy sounds like the police, keeping everyone and the peace in place!
 
Mrs Tiggy Winkle said:
Oops, I misremembered and misquoted you upthread saying early neutering isn't allowed in Austria. I stand corrected! It is allowed. It's just in the UK then that the vets won't do it.

Since it's against the law to keep piggies on their own in Switzerland and Austria, I have to wonder why Germany is so behind the times? A rescue won't let you adopt a single piggy unless you have a suitable singleton at home, like recently bereaved. But pet shops and backyard 'breeders' don't care in the main. Oh well, can only hope Germany catches up sometime.
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And I was sure Sweden took after Germany when it came to things like this. We usually do what Germany does. Sad to hear they are behind Sweden, because we are very much behind with animal protection. Hence: we know better! Our laws should be written with fresh knowledge as a ground.

Our biggest zoo chain stopped selling animals 10-15 years ago. 5-10 years ago even fishes. They have also been better with selling good products and to give better information about small animals. If I cross the street and visit a smaller chain, I can buy myself a guinea pig and have a very big sortiment to chose from! It'so so easy to do wrong when the store gives you and sells you bad things. This same store claimed I needed to buy mineral and salt stones a couple of years ago... The other store does a great job to educate hobby owners like myself and to give the animals a better worth, and the smaller chain just ruins it.

The smaller chain does not care to control in any way why I want to buy a single pig. Thats how we got Joe. He was lonely and broke my heart. I was honest about not having another pig yet, but of course I will get him a friend. They truly didn't care.
 
exia said:
I think they do alot of communication we dont hear or can read.
Its fascinating to hear two pods living in different rooms still be affected by the loss the of one. They had a big pod, with their places in it. Snowy sounds like the police, keeping everyone and the peace in place!
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I can tell me and Benny looked at some orca-documenteries last weeks 😂 I'm very fascinated about this beautiful animal and their social intelligence too. Just like Guinea pigs they adapt to their environment but it affects their health alot, especially their mental. Orcas should never live alone, and tries their best to create bonds in captivity just like pigs. Just like pigs - its not in their nature to live to boars and stuff - they tend to stay with their family in the wild. They also speak different dialects and dont always understand each other. Captivity really is cruelty because I dont think these animals can be domestic like pigs or dogs. But Yeah, I think the social actings for both species reminds about each other. When we had boar couples I called them my pod we ith licences to kill 😁
 
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"We will stop selling animals in our store!

You're still welcome for advices about care and diet. We will still sell accessories and enrichment.

We refer to a breeder or Smådjurschansen"

Saw this today walking by the smaller zoo chain! So good to see. Smådjurschansen is the same organization I adopted Kongo from (and where Harrys previous family found him). I had to go in and look, they still sell less good products though... But hey, this is a very good start!
 
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