Hi!
I'm new to the forum and a wannabe guinea pig owner.
I have already planned out my cage design, done as much research as I possible (always open to any advice or suggestions!), and have my heart set on three piggies at a local rescue. The problem is, they only stated the gender of one female guinea pig! The other two are a bonded pair. All of them are unfixed and around a year old. Would the pair treat the unbonded female like a third wheel? Also, what would happen if the bonded pair were males? Would they get along if the female was fixed?
Here they are... I'm not sure if you can tell a guinea pig's gender by the way it looks, but any guesses are welcome!
Thank you!
These two are the bonded pair. I believe the closer piggie is named Opallinski and the other is Rosenburg.
This is the female. Her name is S'mores!
Hi and welcome!
You will have to ask the rescue for the gender. My guess is the names sound more like boar names! You always want to speak to a rescue first anyway. They can and are usually willing to tell you more about their piggies personalities and needs. You also want to clear any questions first as to what they are looking for in a home when adopting out theor guinea pigs. Every rescue has their own requirements, so take any suggestions on board that they make; they usually have very good reasons for them.
These piggies rather look like they are from the same intake, so there is most likely a very good reason why they are not looking for a home together as a well bonded trio!
Boars are best kept in pairs and should not live with sows (spayed or not). While spayed sows don't come into season, they are still sows when the chips are down, and that will cause problems, even with the most laid back boys. An unspayed sow should live away from the boys, and that would not be fair on her. She is likely waiting for somebody with single or bereaved sow to find new company. No rescue worth their salt will rehome mixed gender piggies or piggies into a single life.
To be honest, even if the couple were sows, trios in guinea pigs are the constellation most difficult to get right without ending up with some kind of outsider issue sooner or later. Unless the three girls choose each other while still at the rescue to make sure that there is no bullying or ignoring, I would leave best be and just go for the bonded pair.
If you want more piggies in the future, look for another bonded pair of the same sex once yours have settled in well.
Boar pairs can live next to each other without any problems, and sows can either live next to each other or be bonded together. The latter very much depends on the personality constellation - at least with bonding two pairs of sows with ideally one sub-adult pair that cannot challenge for dominance you go into small group dynamics territory The already bonded pairs have each other to turn to, so there is much less of a risk of outsider problems. And if group bonding doesn't work out (which can happen), then at least you have two functioning pairs and are not left with any further headaches.
Boars, sows or mixed pairs; babies or adults?
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These two are the bonded pair. I believe the closer piggie is named Opallinski and the other is Rosenburg.
This is the female. Her name is S'mores! 
