Help..! Adding a friend to a boar.

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squeakywheeky

You may have read my other posts about why I bought my piggy but i'll explin again.

I was taking my little girl for our regular trip to P@H to see the animals and fish. The only pet I have ever owned is a fish so basically I have no experience of small animals but I saw this little guinea pig (with about 6-8 other guinea pigs and 2 large rabbits :'( all in the same cage) This little piggie had chunks out of both his ears and that hit me hard. They were really young. I went to have a look at the indoor cages, priced up how much it would cost me to buy a piggy and decided there and then I had to take him home.

I was explained to at the time that they were all males in the cage but there had been problems fighting so they would let me purchase 1 pig. Not knowing anything about piggies I thought it would be ok. Now I know he is lonely, he's quiet and although he's gradually getting used to me, human contact is not enough.

So.. now I am at the stage where I am trying to figure out how to go about getting Trek a friend. I fear he is fearful of other guineas because of his bite marks and I feel so out of my depth of how to successfully introduce another piggy.

It won't be till another month or two till I can do this till I can get my large hutch - ideally i'd like to put them in there together so it will be nuetral territory. By them he'll be about 5 months.

I have read about neutering and have decided its not a route I would like to go down. I wouldn't put myself or my child through an operation 'just because I would be easier' for me. Please let me know if you disagree with this opinion, I have a habit of getting 'holier than thou' about things. I just have the opinion that operations are for poorly times (i wont agree to have hubby's or my 'bits' seen to to avoid pregnancy.. yes I am weird 98) )

What options are left for me. I would like to have a rescue piggy but not sure if this is viable.. Please, please, please could you help me. How can i do this successfully. My concerns are for Trek but i'd hate for another piggy to become distressed by him. I am just so out of my depth.
 
I would definitely try to get Trek a friend, perhaps a spayed female or another boar. Introduce them on neutral ground, perhaps on the floor in one of your rooms. If they start to fight do the "towel trick" and through the towel on them to help you separate them. After they've gotten to smell each other, allow them to have some yummy treats and food so that they aren't hungry and grumpy. I'm sure it will help associate yummy food with being happy and being happy with being with the other guinea pig. Does that make sense? If one boar doesn't do it for Trek, try swapping him for another. I'm sure there will be a guinea pig that Trek does get along with and isn't fearful of!
 
Also, I've noticed that with my two sows, when they were housed together in a smaller cage they fought incessantly. If they're in a big enough cage with plenty of food, water, toys, and treats, they should be fine. I'm sure at the pet store the guinea pigs were biting each other because their cage was too small!
 
I wish I could pair up two of my swamp boys,I tried today.they seemed to get on ok on my lap etc ,Ive no idea what to do next as both their partners( baby boys) that were with each of them are ill :(
 
He would definately appreciate a pal. At 5 months this will be a little tricky though. Its hard to say what the best option to do it would be for you, not knowing the nature of Trek or what he might be like when grown. Main thing to remember is if you wnat any pairing to work don't just put them together, take it slow. I have tried to explain all the options/choices and the process for each on my website... Kate has posted the link above.

Summarised...

You could try him with a 4-8 week old piglet- this is almost always sucessful at first but there is a chance that their could be problems as the piglet grows up and they might need to be seperatated. Its fairly rare but has happened to me. :(

You could try him with an older piggy- but this takes much more time and patience and not all boars are compatable.

Well done for trying to find him company though... give me a shout after you have looked over the options etc if you have any questions. :)

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I wish I could pair up two of my swamp boys,I tried today.they seemed to get on ok on my lap etc ,Ive no idea what to do next as both their partners( baby boys) that were with each of them are ill
Click to expand...

It might be best not to try pairing them up just yet if their partners were ill it could be something contageous and you don't want them to get it/give it to each other.

If they are fine in 6 weeks or so you could try introducing them, but thnk carefully about their age, compatability etc. After cuddling them together on your lap the next stage is to introduce them on neuteral ground (so it doesnt smell of either pig, not their cage etc)... have a towel ready to throw over them to confuse them incase you need to split them up fast. There is a page all about it on the Barmy4boars website (link given in above post) under 'options'
 
we dont think its contagious as the two babies got it the same day and they were in sep cages with the other two boys,Hils and I think its lack of calcium as theyre the swamp piglets,so I'm gonna get some calcium into them tomm
the weird thing is we think they have the same dad so maybe its something hereditary seeing as they were bred toegther etc for god knows how long before we got them ( like an inbred thing)
 
Are they babie then? If they are babies and you are confident it is something that is not contagious its best to but them together sooner rather than later as it gets harder to pair them up after 6-8 weeks.
 
Barmy4boars said:
Are they babie then? If they are babies and you are confident it is something that is not contagious its best to but them together sooner rather than later as it gets harder to pair them up after 6-8 weeks.
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ok
we had a boar who was around 6 months maybe at a guess and one that was around 1 year old rescued from keyworth
we also rescued cinnamon who was around 8 weeks maybe who went in with the 6 month boar and they got on great
then one of the girls had Sparkle who went in with the 1 year old,they also got on great,but weirdly enough the two youngest ones are weakish ( Hils and I have consulted various things and think its either hereditary or lack of calcium as no other piggies are suffering from the same thing)
so now we have put the two young babies together inside,the 1 year old and the 6 month old are now alone in their hutches,they lived togther running free at keyworth,it would be nice to put them together for company or something if you get what i mean?
the 1 year old is slightly dominant..but they seem to eat together and stuff when they have floor time
i just dunno :(


sorry if ive lost everyone along the way,lol
 
Ok... sounds like you need to intro them as your would for 2 adults if they are 6months and 1 year old. See the options page on my website for 2 adults.
 
I have hardly slept trying to figure out what to do (Trek was popconing like mad through his new haystack last nite which tightened my bond towards him even further)

Here's my thoughts. He's 3 months now. Do I get a baby boar for him now before he reaches teenage time in his life. Can I get a one the same age as him. What happens if I would to get one of his brothers. Something tells me there may still be the same batch ( >:( sorry to call them that put thats how it feels when you walk in the petshop)

Please don't have a go at me for not rescuing a gp. I so want to do that but my concerns are for my Trek right now. He needs a friend now. I will rescue when I have connfidence in having piggies. After all I can see me having piggies for the rest of my life now (iI alrready have plans for a big chunk of garden which my little girl uses as a play area for my own little rescue centre.I am feeling really guilty right now about not rescuing a lovely piggy and even contemplating buying from a petstore again.

My questions are for my Trek now. Please don't judge me. I'm trying to do what is best in a situation I have found myself in through bl**dy petstores!
 
Barmy4boars said:
Ok... sounds like you need to intro them as your would for 2 adults if they are 6months and 1 year old. See the options page on my website for 2 adults.
Click to expand...

okies ill try that,thanks lotsa ;)
 
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