I'm Not Sure What Friend To Get For My Older Male Pig! Please Leave Some Advice

[NuggetThePig]

I have a 6 year old male guinea pig who isn't neutered. He had a brother who he has been with since birth, he had to be put down recently Nugget (My current piggy) is still active and healthy. He is living alone at the moment and I would like to get him a friend, as I know guinea pigs are far better off with a friend to chat to. I have no idea how he would react to a new guinea pig so I want to make sure I get it right. I was thinking a young (less than a year old) male neutered guinea pig? I am not sure at all really and I'm asking to see if anybody has any advice on what type of friend to get him.. If anybody has any suggestions I would be so thankful! -Edit: Forgot to mention we are building an indoor cage for him at the moment

 

[Jesse's pigs]

Are you near a rescue? I know that rescues (here in England anyway) offer boar dating. They do say that a younger boar is most likely to bond to an older though in the hormone years they could fight. Rescues sometimes have other boars who have also lost a friend and are looking for another. So sorry on the loss of your piggy.

 

[CarnivalPiggy]

to the forum!

I'm sorry to hear about your piggy, rest in peace. Neutering guinea pigs doesn't make a difference in heir personality/attitude unfortunately, so you can get an intact boar as long you know for sure it's a boy. Is there a good rescue nearby? There is a rescue locator at the top of the page.

 

[Lady Kelly]

If you can find a rescue for boar dating and are happy to allow your piggy to pick his own friend then you are more likely to find a stable pairing. If the other piggy is young and healthy but not neutered you could always get him neutered yourself with a good cavy savvy vet which would open up the pairing possibilities in the future when needed (but I will warn you that when you start adding sows you can't stop )

 

[NuggetThePig]

If you can find a rescue for boar dating and are happy to allow your piggy to pick his own friend then you are more likely to find a stable pairing. If the other piggy is young and healthy but not neutered you could always get him neutered yourself with a good cavy savvy vet which would open up the pairing possibilities in the future when needed (but I will warn you that when you start adding sows you can't stop )

Thank you so much for the advice! I'll look at my local rescues and my nearest RSPCA and haha!

 

[NuggetThePig]

to the forum!

I'm sorry to hear about your piggy, rest in peace. Neutering guinea pigs doesn't make a difference in heir personality/attitude unfortunately, so you can get an intact boar as long you know for sure it's a boy. Is there a good rescue nearby? There is a rescue locator at the top of the page.

Thank you so much x And yes! I am fairly local to a couple of small (Good) Shelters and I have a RSPCA near me too! Thank you for the advice

 

[NuggetThePig]

Are you near a rescue? I know that rescues (here in England anyway) offer boar dating. They do say that a younger boar is most likely to bond to an older though in the hormone years they could fight. Rescues sometimes have other boars who have also lost a friend and are looking for another. So sorry on the loss of your piggy.

Thank you for the advice I am near some rescues so I'll for sure go and look to see if they do that! and thank you x

 

[Wiebke]

I have a 6 year old male guinea pig who isn't neutered. He had a brother who he has been with since birth, he had to be put down recently Nugget (My current piggy) is still active and healthy. He is living alone at the moment and I would like to get him a friend, as I know guinea pigs are far better off with a friend to chat to. I have no idea how he would react to a new guinea pig so I want to make sure I get it right. I was thinking a young (less than a year old) male neutered guinea pig? I am not sure at all really and I'm asking to see if anybody has any advice on what type of friend to get him.. If anybody has any suggestions I would be so thankful! -Edit: Forgot to mention we are building an indoor cage for him at the moment

Hi! I am very sorry for your loss!
Looking After A Bereaved Guinea Pig

Any options very much depend on where you are; especially if you have access to a good standard rescue that offers boar dating under expert supervision at the rescue, so you come home with a new friend only of acceptance has happened. Age is much less an issue than mutual liking and character compatibility. However, piggy savvy rescues where you are in safe hands can be far and few in between; they are not evenly distributed across the world.

Could you please add your country, state/province or UK county, so we can help you better with local recommendations or viable alternatives. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. This makes it appear underneath your username in every post you make. Thank you!

 

[NuggetThePig]

Hi! I am very sorry for your loss!
Looking After A Bereaved Guinea Pig

Any options very much depend on where you are; especially if you have access to a good standard rescue that offers boar dating under expert supervision at the rescue, so you come home with a new friend only of acceptance has happened. Age is much less an issue than mutual liking and character compatibility. However, piggy savvy rescues where you are in safe hands can be far and few in between; they are not evenly distributed across the world.

Could you please add your country, state/province or UK county, so we can help you better with local recommendations or viable alternatives. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. This makes it appear underneath your username in every post you make. Thank you!

Hey! Sorry I didn't reply quickly! I added my location and I have been looking into the boar dating and I'm near a few rescues, two of them being the rspca. Thank you for the advice! x

 

[NuggetThePig]

What are the chances! My local blue cross recently took in 3 boars! Two who are 4 months old and one 6 year old in the same position as my piggy (Losing his brother). Would the 6 year old have any chance at all of bonding with my older pig? Or would it be better to introduce the younger pig?

 

[Wiebke]

What are the chances! My local blue cross recently took in 3 boars! Two who are 4 months old and one 6 year old in the same position as my piggy (Losing his brother). Would the 6 year old have any chance at all of bonding with my older pig? Or would it be better to introduce the younger pig?

Older boars are no longer as testosterone driven, so they are often easier to bond. It is mostly a matter of whether they like each other/are not both dominant ones in their previous pairings. If you have to adopt on spec, you can always consider keeping two older boars next to each other with interaction through the bars for mutual company and stimulation.

Unfortunately the Blue Cross does not offer boar dating at the rescue to my knowledge, nor do most RSPCA branches.
You can find more recommended rescues via our rescue locator on the top bar.

 

[NuggetThePig]

Older boars are no longer as testosterone driven, so they are often easier to bond. It is mostly a matter of whether they like each other/are not both dominant ones in their previous pairings. If you have to adopt on spec, you can always consider keeping two older boars next to each other with interaction through the bars for mutual company and stimulation.

Unfortunately the Blue Cross does not offer boar dating at the rescue to my knowledge, nor do most RSPCA branches.
You can find more recommended rescues via our rescue locator on the top bar.

Thank you so much! I'll keep that in mind and look at some other rescues near me