Teejay
Adult Guinea Pig
My two boars, Pudding & Squeak, are now permanently separated after some pretty serious fighting. We tried everything we could to reintroduce them, but we finally admitted defeat and separated them about 4 weeks ago.
Thankfully, we have a three storey cage, so Squeak has the top two levels while Pud has the bottom level with an attached C&C run during the daytime and overnight, like this:
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Squeak bites and tried to climb the grids of the run, so we can't risk leaving him in there unsupervised!
They do get to see each other and/or interact with each other for a short time most days; Squeak can see Pud when he's in the run attached to the cage and they share an outdoor run in the garden (separated by C&C grids, but they can touch noses).
Of course, this isn't ideal.....Squeak in particular seems very lonely, and he has only just recovered from a pretty serious URI which he contracted the day after he was separated from Pud (the vet thought the stress of fighting/being separated might have triggered this).
I really don't want to end up with a house full of cages, that's why we went for the biggest cage we could fit in, and I really don't want to start 'collecting' piggies.......two, or maybe three at a push, is enough for me.......so my options are as follows:
option one: I could keep them as they currently are, as two solo un-neutered piggies (not ideal, as mentioned above)
option two: I could get them both neutered and get them both a girlfriend (but I know that the current cage isn't anywhere near big enough for two separated pairs of piggies)
option three: I could rehome one of them (un-neutered), get the other neutered and then, eventually, get him a girlfriend or two (and they could have the whole 3-storey cage to themselves)
option four: I could get them both neutered, then, when recovered, rehome one of them and get the other one a girlfriend (as above); I think that being neutered would give the 'rehomed' piggy the best chance of finding a perfect home.
It goes without saying that rehoming either of my boys would break my heart. This is one of the toughest decision I've ever had to make.............I want to do the best for my boys, but I have to think of practical issues as well.
What would you do in my circumstances? Tracey
Thankfully, we have a three storey cage, so Squeak has the top two levels while Pud has the bottom level with an attached C&C run during the daytime and overnight, like this:
Squeak bites and tried to climb the grids of the run, so we can't risk leaving him in there unsupervised!
They do get to see each other and/or interact with each other for a short time most days; Squeak can see Pud when he's in the run attached to the cage and they share an outdoor run in the garden (separated by C&C grids, but they can touch noses).
Of course, this isn't ideal.....Squeak in particular seems very lonely, and he has only just recovered from a pretty serious URI which he contracted the day after he was separated from Pud (the vet thought the stress of fighting/being separated might have triggered this).
I really don't want to end up with a house full of cages, that's why we went for the biggest cage we could fit in, and I really don't want to start 'collecting' piggies.......two, or maybe three at a push, is enough for me.......so my options are as follows:
option one: I could keep them as they currently are, as two solo un-neutered piggies (not ideal, as mentioned above)
option two: I could get them both neutered and get them both a girlfriend (but I know that the current cage isn't anywhere near big enough for two separated pairs of piggies)
option three: I could rehome one of them (un-neutered), get the other neutered and then, eventually, get him a girlfriend or two (and they could have the whole 3-storey cage to themselves)
option four: I could get them both neutered, then, when recovered, rehome one of them and get the other one a girlfriend (as above); I think that being neutered would give the 'rehomed' piggy the best chance of finding a perfect home.
It goes without saying that rehoming either of my boys would break my heart. This is one of the toughest decision I've ever had to make.............I want to do the best for my boys, but I have to think of practical issues as well.
What would you do in my circumstances? Tracey
) but I made the conscious decision to keep the piggies in the living room with us, so we could interact with them and just enjoy watching them. That's why we bought the 3 storey cage they're currently in......it was spacious (good for the piggies!), but didn't take up too much floor space (good for the humans!).