Help - white mystery substance sticking to back

[Siikibam]

Look at the sexing guide that was linked earlier. If you’re still unsure then post clear photos and you’ll get help with sexing them. How big is ‘big enough’, if I may ask? If they’re all boars they need more space than that recommended for 3 piggies, a lot more. Do you have three of everything?

 

[Tangle]

OK - you really really need to get to the bottom (pun intended) of whether Tiger is a girl. Either way you could have a challenging situation on your hands:

1). Tiger is a boy. You have 3 boys living together. As has already been said, a trio of boys is a very unstable grouping so you need to read up on teenage piggy boys and make sure you have a plan (that can be implemented urgently) in case there's a big style falling out and injuries are happening. Have a look at the boar guides boars-a-guide-to-successful-companionship and boars-bullying-fighting-fall-outs-and-what-next.

2). Tiger is a girl. Boys living with girls for more than a couple of weeks makes it very likely any girls are pregnant and also means it is very likely that your boys will end up in a fight over her. If she is a girl she needs to be separated BEFORE she has her babies, as sows come back into heat within hours of giving birth. She's already young to be a mum and back to back pregnancies are harder - so if she IS a girl and she IS pregnant you really need to know that so you can plan for the best possible outcome from the situation you're in.

Incidentally, boys will mount boys as a way to establish and maintain dominance so one of the other pigs trying to mount Tiger doesn't automatically mean Tiger is a she.

Have you taken them to a good vet for a check over since you picked them up? They should be able to tell you for sure how many of each sex you have (although they're not infallible either and not all of them are very good with guinea pigs - you can use the Vet Locator linked at the top of the page to try and find someone that is, though

 

[Sophie B]

Great advice already given, can’t really add to it

 

[Wiebke]

We were told they were all boys but we think Tiger is a girl

Please look at our illustrated sexing guide, which shows you exactly what to look out for.
Here is the link: Sexing Guide

Be aware that boars (and sows) mount each other. It is a social interactive mild dominance behaviour. Same sex mounting also happens when one of a pair experiences a strong hormone spike; with boars usually during the teenage months between 4-14 months of age and with sows at the onset of a stong season.

Advice on how to deal with boar glue and other boar problems is in the boar care link I have linked into my last post. Make sure that you read it! It will save you a lot of unnecessary panic!