• PLEASE NOTE - the TEAS facebook page has been hacked, take extreme care when visiting the page, for further information visit here

New cage mate for bereaved boar who lived next door to, not with, his brother?

Teddy&Patchy

Teddy&Patchy

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Dec 28, 2017
Messages
5
Reaction score
5
Points
125
Location
Preston
August 2017 we got 2 x 10 week old litter brothers Patchy and Teddy. By December, they had fallen out big time and we successfully separated them (upstairs and downstairs in outdoor hutch) with daily side-by-side interaction in adjacent runs (shared wall). From the safety of the adjacent runs, they would sniff each other, rumble strut, popcorn about showing off to each other, mimic each others behaviour (grazing/sleeping together etc) and would often be found very close together (but pretending to ignore each other, back-to-back!) They were petted daily, next to each other on adjacent knees (too close caused teeth chattering and aggressive behaviour) and during the winter, they were brought insured in adjacent cages where they could see and get up close to each other.

This was all going very well and though some may say not ideal, it worked for us. Until last week - when Patchy unexpectedly and very suddenly passed away :-( We are heartbroken :-( Teddy seems to be handling this ok. He is eating fine. He is a bit quieter in the run but I guess he is used to having his hutch to himself. And there lies the dilemma...

We are considering getting a new boar who will hopefully be Teddy's cage mate. But is this likely to work? Have we burnt our bridges after almost a year of Teddy having one level of the hutch to himself? Does anyone have experience of this situation? We are thinking that the worst case scenario is that we end up with the same situation as Patchy and Teddy - living separately but seeing each other "through the bars" However, we would like to do everything possible to give them a chance to bond and live together. Our idea is to find a young boar (Teddy is now 17m). We do not want to risk a neutering operation so a sow is not an option...

Any advice would be very welcome. Thank you
 
Try and find a spayed sow from a rescue , or do a boar date. The idea is , you arrange for your boar to go to the rescue, and they will keep him there and find a pig he gets on with, and bond them for you. You would have to do this with a spayed sow though too.

Your boar and a spayed sow. Is more likely to work. To be honest your not in a bad situation. You have a good thing coming if you know some decent guinea pig rescues.

Sorry for your loss.

And just to add, neutering isnt very risky if you find a vet that has done alot before and has been successful. I am about to get my boar neutered on friday.
 
Teddy&Patchy said:
August 2017 we got 2 x 10 week old litter brothers Patchy and Teddy. By December, they had fallen out big time and we successfully separated them (upstairs and downstairs in outdoor hutch) with daily side-by-side interaction in adjacent runs (shared wall). From the safety of the adjacent runs, they would sniff each other, rumble strut, popcorn about showing off to each other, mimic each others behaviour (grazing/sleeping together etc) and would often be found very close together (but pretending to ignore each other, back-to-back!) They were petted daily, next to each other on adjacent knees (too close caused teeth chattering and aggressive behaviour) and during the winter, they were brought insured in adjacent cages where they could see and get up close to each other.

This was all going very well and though some may say not ideal, it worked for us. Until last week - when Patchy unexpectedly and very suddenly passed away :-( We are heartbroken :-( Teddy seems to be handling this ok. He is eating fine. He is a bit quieter in the run but I guess he is used to having his hutch to himself. And there lies the dilemma...

We are considering getting a new boar who will hopefully be Teddy's cage mate. But is this likely to work? Have we burnt our bridges after almost a year of Teddy having one level of the hutch to himself? Does anyone have experience of this situation? We are thinking that the worst case scenario is that we end up with the same situation as Patchy and Teddy - living separately but seeing each other "through the bars" However, we would like to do everything possible to give them a chance to bond and live together. Our idea is to find a young boar (Teddy is now 17m). We do not want to risk a neutering operation so a sow is not an option...

Any advice would be very welcome. Thank you
Click to expand...
So sorry that you lost Patchy.
A new friend for Teddy is a great idea.
At 17m neutering in the hands of an experienced vet would be very safe so don't discount it completely.
Spayed sows are very hard to come by but many rescues offer boar dating. That way you are guaranteed a friend for Teddy and the option for the new friend to return to the rescue should the bond break down at a later date.
The rescue will advise you on bonding and have a look at the threads above as well for advice.
 
pig in the city said:
So sorry that you lost Patchy.
A new friend for Teddy is a great idea.
At 17m neutering in the hands of an experienced vet would be very safe so don't discount it completely.
Spayed sows are very hard to come by but many rescues offer boar dating. That way you are guaranteed a friend for Teddy and the option for the new friend to return to the rescue should the bond break down at a later date.
The rescue will advise you on bonding and have a look at the threads above as well for advice.
Click to expand...
Didnt know about spayed sows being hard to find. Thinking about it properly though, i see why
 
Thank you both for your replies. I have been trying to find a nearby guinea pig rescue. We are in Preston, Lancashire. The nearest I found was an hour's drive away in Cheshire - would we be able to bring a companion home the same day or would we need to leave Teddy there to bond? Would it not be very stressful for Teddy to be introduced to another guinea pig in such a strange environment? Would he behave normally? Sorry - so many questions! And is he likely to want a cage mate after being in a bachelor/next door neighbor type relationship with Patchy for nearly a year?
 
Update: we took Teddy boar dating today. Unfortunately, he was having none of it and his dates had to be removed for their own safety :-( However, we returned home with a very handsome single boar called Cookie, who will be living side-by-side with Teddy, in the same arrangement he had with his brother Patchy (who died last week). A huge thank you to Irene at Cavy Haven in Winsford, who has enabled us to oIMG_20181020_172842210.jpgIMG_20181020_172313749.jpgffer Cookie the loving home he deserves. Highly recommended.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top