Guinea pigs living on their own..

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mstori

mstori

Adult Guinea Pig
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As most of you know i have a predicament..
My 2 year old rescue boars Stevie and Comanche fell out.. so i got 2 baby boars, Neo and Ash, to pair them with.. these ended up being ill and have just finished their medications, by which time they have bonded.. they follow each other, sleep together etc.. and cry constantly if one is removed.
Now, I really dont want to split them, and the advice I have been given from everyone, suggests the same (the majority say not to)
My OH wont let me get any more :( and I am REALLY worried that Stevie and Comanche will have a shorter lifespan being on their own, from what I have read on-line. I have tried to show my OH these sites, and told him the benefits, but he just says they will be fine, as long as they can hear other piggies.
What is true?
Any help greatly apreciated as this has got me really chewed up 8...
 
several years ago i had two males that fell out,one ended up staying outside in the shed/run beside other guineas and no matter who i put with him he refused to accept them.The other one was a free ranger,he enjoyed going outside and seeing the other guineas but wanted nothing to do with them being in his area of the world,as with the first one he refused to accept another guinea being with him...there would have been no guarantee that your original guineas would have accepted the younger boars,I know it often works ok but there are instances where it doesnt so you end up with the same problem...as long as the two singles are nearby each other,can see and hear each other then i cannot see a problem with them being 'alone'.
Perhaps try to slowly socialise them both together,a long shot once pigs have fell out but you never know.

al.
 
Well Nemo who is the guinea pig in my avatar, will be six in November and has always lived on his own and he seems happy enough. He did live with another baby boar when he was little but he started bullying it and biting it on it's back so I had to seperate them and he's been on his own ever since. Ginger my other male is also on his own which I do feel very sorry for him but I'm not sure he would accept another guinea pig and I have no room for another male if it doesn't work out. He seems okay though and is in a 5ft cage on his own but he has his cage in the shed with 5 young females who he can talk to if he wants. Nemo lives inside due to his age and we also have Iggy inside who lives in the cage below Nemo.
 
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ive tried re-introducing them after a bath etc, and they cuddle up then fall out again :( and ive come to the conclusion it just isnt meant to be. I had all the boys out today in the runs, and the older boys are desperate to be with the babies.. i wondered if they would be able to have supervised run time together?
whats so bad is there are 2 babies near me that need homes, that i fell in love with (and i also have the room for them if it didnt work out)
Thanks for the advice i appreciate it. Did they live long lives alone? x
 
I know - he's the oldest guinea pig I've ever had and he's special because he was born here too - his mum was pregnant when I bought her and I didn't know till the night before she had him. She only had the one piggy but he was massive.:))
 
Yes it was a bit but he was so beautiful when he was born and his mum and two other sows that were in the same cage as her all looked after him, he thought he had three mummies.:))
 
My two reached 6 and rather strangely died within two weeks of each other,nothing 'medically' wrong,old age,good lifestyle etc...Jigsaw the free ranger went first followed by Badger...I think Badger missed jig's daily visits and simply gave up.

al.
 
My to boys ended up fighting and not getting on so we split them up put them in seperate cages but they both still seem really happy and content by being by themselves.
 
Most of our boys are single boys and we have not been able to pair them up. I have two of them in particular who just simply will not accept another pig, so in order to maintain the best we can for them we have them in a large C&C cage with mesh dividers so they can snuggle, communicate, see and smell each other through the mesh and they seem very happy with this, they often lay side by side, but will absolutely not share their own space with anyone!

If the two babies have bonded personally I wouldn't separate them from each other, but I would position them out the immediate vicinity if you can as from our own personal experience when we have had a bonded pair right next to a single boy, the pair have fallen out trying to get into the single boy's area. However, many people do not have this problem, so it would be up to your judgement if you think the bonded pair look like they are falling out situated right next to the singles.
 
mine are all outside now, in 2 storey hutches, next to each other but cant see each other. They chatter away though which is sweet to hear. It doesnt seem to be angry chatting..
I tried the babies, with the older boys very briefly today, (1 baby and 1 older) and whilst stevie and ash loved playing chase each other, comanche and neo didnt seem to get on.. plus the other baby who was left just screamed.. so i have decided not to split them. As soon as I put them back together they ran to each other (i was worried they may smell different) and cuddled up and went to sleep.
Comanche is Alfie from this thread (http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=28027) Layla had them paired when i first went to see the rescues, and my daughter fell in love with these 2, despite me falling in love with a different 2 lol..
I had hoped they may all be able to play in the run together but have decided against this now, since hearing that it could break the babies bond. Its a shame, because Stevie in particular is always trying to get to play with them.. Comanche was the one i expected to, as he loves it when the rabbits come over to his run, and likes to try and play..
Thanks for all the help x
 
I ended up with 3 single boars after a stupid incident early on when I didn't know any better and thought they'd all get on! So added a pair to a single and ended up with a trip to the vets! :(

All 3 of those boars are now paired up but I had to wait until they were adults and then it's taken a few months to get them the right partner (all now with baby boars). I then had another 2 boars who fell out, the more docile one paired ok with an older boar and the other with a baby.

If we get single boars in here, adult ones, they will 9 times out of 10 bond with a baby boar - but then we usually have a few to choose from!

Sophie
x
 
My boar is on his own due to the fact he gets agressive towards another pig (although with a human, he is the most gentle guinea pig i've ever seen) and extremely jealous when i just do as much as hold another guinea pig rolleyes

He seems fine, i have a little teddy in with him which he treats the same as another guinea pig, picks him up by the neck (he's worked out 'teddy' can't walk) and drags him to the hay, dry food and leaves veg after feeding time (usually the bit he doesn't like, but its still sweet!) and then at night takes him into the pigloo with him or buries him in the hay and brings him back out in the morning :)


Rhiannon x
 
boris has been on his own for about 2 months now and as i have recently found out he now prefers it that way,he does want a little more attention than the other guys but apart from that he is quite happy in himself,i have him next to the other cages so he still talks to them and he seems content with that don't worry to much xxxxx
 
Flashie said:
My boar is on his own due to the fact he gets agressive towards another pig (although with a human, he is the most gentle guinea pig i've ever seen) and extremely jealous when i just do as much as hold another guinea pig rolleyes

He seems fine, i have a little teddy in with him which he treats the same as another guinea pig, picks him up by the neck (he's worked out 'teddy' can't walk) and drags him to the hay, dry food and leaves veg after feeding time (usually the bit he doesn't like, but its still sweet!) and then at night takes him into the pigloo with him or buries him in the hay and brings him back out in the morning :)


Rhiannon x
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Aww that is lovely. :)) I've never thought of giving my guinea pigs a teddy.
 
i gave mine a teddy.. comanche did naughties to it :)) then weed on him so much it smelt real bad.. might try that again though, cos i really feel for them...
The babies i had seen, were only 6 weeks old, so that they would be the best age..;(
 
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