Male And Female Guinea Pigs

[lianl]

Hello, my name is lian and about a month ago i got a female guinea pig Dani yesterday i got a male guinea pig and now I'm wondering if i should bring him back and get a female? I really really like him and i have the cage separated so they cant breed, but i don't know what to do. I wanted to get another to keep her company, but i ended up with a male. What are your opinions on letting them play supervised? I let then play yesterday and he humped her head, but i think it was for dominance. Hes still a baby and shes young. My issue is that i don't think it's fair to him when she goes into heat. I know neutering him is an option, but i haven't had experience with males or surgery with guinea pigs...

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome!

Could you please add your country, state or (for the UK) your county to your details? Our advice and recommendations depend to a large extent on what options are realistically available to you to help you work out the best solution for your specific situation. Click on our username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location.

Please do not put your pair together anymore. Making babies takes only seconds, and you won't be fast enough. Boar penises have got two hooks at the tip to help them cling to a moving sow long enough to get the job done. Constant separation is also very disruptive and upsetting for your piggies, as they are thinking in terms of bonding and not in terms of socialising.

 

[lianl]

Hi and welcome!

Could you please add your country, state or (for the UK) your county to your details? Our advice and recommendations depend to a large extent on what options are realistically available to you to help you work out the best solution for your specific situation. Click on our username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location.

Please do not put your pair together anymore. Making babies takes only seconds, and you won't be fast enough. Boar penises have got two hooks at the tip to help them cling to a moving sow long enough to get the job done. Constant separation is also very disruptive and upsetting for your piggies, as they are thinking in terms of bonding and not in terms of socialising.

Hi thank you I'm from the us in utah

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks you for adding your state!

Ok, that takes care of the option of going via a rescue. Sadly, you haven't got any decent rescue any closer than Phoenix, Arizona.

Here is a link to recommended piggy savvy vets in Utah. http://www.guinealynx.info/cabinet/index.php/Veterinarians_Utah
If you can get to one of the recommended vets and have got the funds to pay for a neuter, I would think that it is under the circumstances an option for you that you should seriously consider.
It Is crucial for the success of a neuter, especially in view of the otherwise still rather high risk of especially post operation complications, to find a vet with lots of practice and experience either in guinea pig neuters or small furries operations. You will have to see from which age the vet you have chosen is prepared to neuter and you will have to also factor in a full 6 weeks post op wait until your boy is 100% to go with your girl. I have the unplanned daughter of a supposedly safe over 5 weeks post op boar (not one of mine), so it can really happen. Neutering is not going to be a cheap or a quick solution, but it has the advantage that cross gender bonds are the most stable of them all and that they are often very loving.

I assume that you were meaning to take the boy back to the shop you got him from? To me, that would personally feel very unsatisfactory, as it would feel like abandonment, not knowing whether he will go to somebody who is prepared to look after him well and get him the company he so desperately craves.