Introducing a female guineapig

[Jeslubur]

Hi everyone!

I’m looking for a bit of advice as we’ve had a situation with our boar pigs which has resulted in us having to separate one of them.

We had three boars together and over the past month or so they’ve fallen out. I’ve deduced that they started to get territorial as they have reached the adolescent stage. This has resulted in Pepsi being separated from his brothers.

We have a stacked cage, so at the moment two of them are living upstairs whilst Pepsi is downstairs in the cage on his own.

We are considering getting Pepsi neutered so that we can get a female companion for him as we don’t want him to be on his own forever.

I’m just a bit dubious about doing this incase it upsets his brothers upstairs if they can smelll the female. They already have the odd squabble so don’t want to add any more stress into the mix for them!

Does anyone have any experience of this?

We are also considering getting a new c&c cage for them which is slightly bigger than the one we already have

Thanks so much!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi everyone!

I’m looking for a bit of advice as we’ve had a situation with our boar pigs which has resulted in us having to separate one of them.

We had three boars together and over the past month or so they’ve fallen out. I’ve deduced that they started to get territorial as they have reached the adolescent stage. This has resulted in Pepsi being separated from his brothers.

We have a stacked cage, so at the moment two of them are living upstairs whilst Pepsi is downstairs in the cage on his own.

We are considering getting Pepsi neutered so that we can get a female companion for him as we don’t want him to be on his own forever.

I’m just a bit dubious about doing this incase it upsets his brothers upstairs if they can smelll the female. They already have the odd squabble so don’t want to add any more stress into the mix for them!

Does anyone have any experience of this?

We are also considering getting a new c&c cage for them which is slightly bigger than the one we already have

Thanks so much!

Hi and welcome

Your options depend on your access to good vets or rescues. If you can get to one of our recommended rescues that offers boar dating at the rescue, then allowing Pepsi to decide who he wants to get on with under expert uspervision at the rescue is worth trying. By going rescue you optimise your chances of finding a character compatible friend without having to go through an operation and without coming home with another piggy on spec. You also have the rescue to fall back on in case the bond runs into trouble.

Adding a sow into the room with still another teenage boar couple can be a bit risky as sow pheromones, especially when they come into season, can prove a trigger for more dominance behaviours and fights in an unstable pair.
Ideally you keep them as far apart as possible. While pheromones don't rise, the ensuing hubbub of a strong season underneath them won't escape them and will still cause reactions especially in teenagers as I have experienced myself.

Please also follow our tips from the teenage guide to prevent the shiftover to a larger cage triggering a new hierarchy sort-out with full-on dominance behaviour.

Please take the time to read these very detailed guides here; they will hopefully give you all the information you need to make as informed a decision as possible as after doing your local research.
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths And Facts
When Sows Experience A Strong Season (videos)