New cage mate for adult male...

Little fluffballs

Little fluffballs

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hello!
We have an adult male, Oscar who quite recently lost his two cage mates.
We are going to buy a young male to have with him.
We have a flat (that we live in during the week)and a house(that we live in at the weekend), due to work, so Oscar has two cages.Oscar hardely ever goes to the house anymore.We will buy the new piggie when we’ll be at our house.Should we exceptionally take Oscar there, or should we leave the new one by himself in his cage until we go back to
the flat?Also, should we put them together right away or wait a while?
Thanks 🙂
 
Where do you live? You can check the recommended rescue list (Rescue Locator tab at the top of the page) and see if there is near you. Some of the rescues allow boar dating so your guinea pig can choose a compatible friend himself.
 
Hello and a warm welcome to you. How old is your Oscar?
Is your Oscar neutered? If so could he have a new lady?
 
Hello, he is just over 1 year old.No he isn’t neutered as we have a bad history with guinea pig neutering (the French aren’t very good with guinea pig)
 
When you ‘buy’ a new piggy then they ought to really be quarantined for two weeks prior to introduction to your existing piggy to ensure no illnesses can be spread. Therefore, If you are to do a quarantine, there would be no point in taking Oscar with you.
You do need to be aware that character compatibility and mutual liking is the key to a successful bond so by buying a new piggy (I see that you don’t have access to boar dating) then there is always going to be that chance that they won’t get on. Therefore having a plan b of them both living separately needs to be considered if bonding doesn’t work. Hopefully they will get on fine, but it needs to just be kept in mind. Your piggy isn’t yet adult, he is still within the teenage times for another few months and those hormones still are in play.

Once you are sure the new piggy isn’t ill in any way, then keeping the two of them living in separate cages side by side for a few days so they can get to know each other a little before the actual day of bonding.

I attach below the bonding guide on how to do the introduction when the day comes.

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
 
Ok I’m afraid that I think he’s not the best age for having a new boar companion. He’s at the age when his adult male hormones are still very lively. And that means it’s a bit of a risk introducing another young boar into the mix. In the rescue we tend to neuter boars under 18 months of age and find them a sow wife, as this reduces the risk of bust ups. But I’m not saying that it wouldn’t work. Just that his age increases the risk of problems with another boar.

I’m going to link some helpful guides for you about boars, and also about bondings. If you decide to get a baby boar then please do read the guides on introductions and only introduce on neutral territory.
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths, Facts and Post-op Care
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
 
Little fluffballs said:
Hello!
We have an adult male, Oscar who quite recently lost his two cage mates.
We are going to buy a young male to have with him.
We have a flat (that we live in during the week)and a house(that we live in at the weekend), due to work, so Oscar has two cages.Oscar hardely ever goes to the house anymore.We will buy the new piggie when we’ll be at our house.Should we exceptionally take Oscar there, or should we leave the new one by himself in his cage until we go back to
the flat?Also, should we put them together right away or wait a while?
Thanks 🙂
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome!

If you are within reach of a rescue that offers boar dating/adoption meetings to allow Oscar a say in who he wants to be with, then please consider taking him there. Key to any successful boar bond is mutual liking and character compatibility before anything else. If you are choosing the companion yourself, you always need to have a plan B in case your boys don't take to each other.

Generally with babies under 3-4 months of age, companionship outweighs any other consideration; with older boars it can pay to keep them alongside for a few days with interaction through the bars. The introduction should always be on neutral ground. You can't do it in stages and once started, you have to ride the tiger and see it through; do it on a day where you have all day and if necessary the next morning, too.

Please take the time to read these guides here. They should answer most of your questions and will hopefully guide you through:

This guide will take you through all aspects and stages of the bonding process with its specific bahviours and dynamics. it also contains chapters on boar and baby bonding with videos: Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
This guide here has a chapter devoted to finding a companion for a single boar with the various options being discussed in detail; it also contains links to recommended good standard rescues in several countries; most of them offer boar dating. The guide also contains tips on
territory changes and the dos and don'ts with them: A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

You will hopefully find both guides very helpful!

PS: Could you please add your country to location in your account details (accessed by clicking on your username), so it appears with every post you make. This allows us to tailor any advice to what is relevant and available where you are straight away. Our default is UK based and may not be suitable for your situation. Thank you!
 
Little fluffballs said:
Hi thank you but we live in France 🇫🇷 so there is no such thing...
Click to expand...
Depending on which part of France you live in, Germany has some excellent guinea pig rescues.

Sadly I have the same problem as you when it comes to rescues - such things don't really exist here in Switzerland, however thankfully all of our boars are neutered very early so we have a bit more flexibility when it comes to pairing them.
Switzerland could also be an option for you, as many breeders here will do a bonding for you, and failing that all pet stores sell only neutered boars. Becasue they are neutered prior to sexual maturity you don't get a lot of the hormonal issues normally associated with boars.

Whatever you decide good on you for trying to find a friend for your boy though.
 
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