Depressed Guinea pig?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
May 13, 2010
Messages
535
Reaction score
1
Points
0
Location
Bristol
Basil(who lives on his own due to agression) has reccently been acting all sad, and abit not right! not eating,not drinking, unless forced (handfed) and genrally sluggish, had a look around on the internet and think he could be depressed.

He got all excited when I put him in the same run as Ediiee and her 3 babies had been afew hours before, he was sniffing and scenting and seemed to be licking I'm guessing their scent, and squeeking like crazy! could it have something to do with that?

Since then he has been acting strange!

Any ideas/advice/solutions to help him! xx
 
Any pig that looks depressed, doesn't want to eat or drink should see a vet.

If this behaviour only started AFTER he'd been in the run where girls had been then it could be due to this. However, if he isn't eating & has no interest in anything then i personally would see my vet.
 
Any pig that looks depressed, doesn't want to eat or drink should see a vet.

If this behaviour only started AFTER he'd been in the run where girls had been then it could be due to this. However, if he isn't eating & has no interest in anything then i personally would see my vet.

he will eat if the food is placed infront of him and he will drink if the bottle is put near his mouth, he has done this before, when he has been in the same place as other females, and then was fine in a week or so x
 
Sounds as if he is lonely to me, how old are the babies are they too young to put one of them in with him, that is assuming one is a young boar. Is he the father of the babies?
 
Sounds as if he is lonely to me, how old are the babies are they too young to put one of them in with him, that is assuming one is a young boar. Is he the father of the babies?

their 9 days old, and i havn't sexed them properly but think their all girls :(

and no he's not the father, he has always lived on his own, he fights with any other pigs.

had him out all day, ad he seems to of perked up abit! thin he just likes constant attention !
 
Have him checked by the vet to make sure that there is no physical reason for his lack of appetite.

If there isn't, think about having him neutered so he could live with a female if he has a story of not getting on with other boars.
 
Last edited:
Have him checked by the vet to make sure that there is no physical reason for his lack of appetite.

If there isn't, think about having him neutered so he could live with a female if he has a story of not getting on with other boars.

he has started eating today! ate aload of broccoli today! i have put a teddy in their, and he is lying next to it!

would he not try and mount a famale even if he was nueted or would get get on just fine ? x
 
If you have a rescue near you then you could take him boar dating adn then with a bit of luck he may find someone he doesn't fight with. Failing that have you thought about having him neutered then he could live with a lovely lady x
 
He would still try and mount her, but why is this a problem?

Mounting is not aggressive, it is a way of establishing dominance. Dodge still mounts Cherry when he feels frisky, and they have been bonded a good couple of months now.
 
He would still try and mount her, but why is this a problem?

Mounting is not aggressive, it is a way of establishing dominance. Dodge still mounts Cherry when he feels frisky, and they have been bonded a good couple of months now.

wouldn't he constantly hassel her?x
 
wouldn't he constantly hassel her?x

Dodge did for the first couple of days, then Cherry told him in no uncertain terms to leave her alone (nothing nasty just stood up for herself and chased him off, no blood drawn or anything to worry about) and it all calmed down.

Now he gives it a go when he knows she is in season, but if she says stop it, he gets bored and finds eating hay much more enjoyable and less energetic!

I bonded Bumble and Pixie today and he tried to mount her a few times, but she was too fast for him (she's almost a year younger) so he gave up and had some dinner instead haha! They are both asleep out there now together as if mounting etc has never even occurred to him.

All you can do is try, it depends on the temperament of both pigs, Dodge could easily have been a pest to a more submissive guinea but, to the slight surprise of me and I think LauraLucy her other mummy, as she had been quite submissive in her last herd, she suddenly found her feet and now she definitely wears the trousers in their relationship!
 
I strongly suggest that you have him neutered if you can. That way, he can live with your girls and not be lonely any more :) He probably will hassle her to begin with but it will soon settle down. I have 4 girls and even they mount each other when they are in season. It is only natural.
 
Cavy rescue and retreat is in Bristol, contact Fi and see if she can help pair him up with a male friend if you don't fancy neutering him x
 
I have a Sow that only gets on with boars she lost her neutered hubby a month ago:( I have another neutered boar that lives with two other Sows who will not let her in the trio to make up a foursome.
My other two Sows live together very happily the older Sow whom is frial and old will not let her live with them. So I have a single Sow as healthy as can be at the moment living in the house getting tons of cuddles. My neutered Boar is my only Option for her as a companion but I do not want to split the trio up. I have been looking for an older neutered boar aged 3 year plus for her.
If your boar does not get along with other boars have him done so he can have a wife.
 
Dodge did for the first couple of days, then Cherry told him in no uncertain terms to leave her alone (nothing nasty just stood up for herself and chased him off, no blood drawn or anything to worry about) and it all calmed down.

Now he gives it a go when he knows she is in season, but if she says stop it, he gets bored and finds eating hay much more enjoyable and less energetic!

I bonded Bumble and Pixie today and he tried to mount her a few times, but she was too fast for him (she's almost a year younger) so he gave up and had some dinner instead haha! They are both asleep out there now together as if mounting etc has never even occurred to him.

All you can do is try, it depends on the temperament of both pigs, Dodge could easily have been a pest to a more submissive guinea but, to the slight surprise of me and I think LauraLucy her other mummy, as she had been quite submissive in her last herd, she suddenly found her feet and now she definitely wears the trousers in their relationship!

basil is about 18 months! before we got him, he used to attack other pigs, litrally they had bits of ears missing etc, but since being with me he has calmed down alot! so i duno how he will react now x
 
Cavy rescue and retreat is in Bristol, contact Fi and see if she can help pair him up with a male friend if you don't fancy neutering him x

rescues are funny about rehoming to me as i already have 36 animals, will she let me rehome even with this amount x
 
I ditto what everyone else has said about having him neutered so he can have a girlfriend. I adopted a little boy and had him neutered so that he can join my 2 girls - which hasn't happend yet but meantime I have their cages next to each other and they share floortime together. He still mounts the girls but he gets a telling off from them.......not that he learns from that! :)

Do you have his cage next to the girls/babies so that he can at least speak to them just now?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top