Prepping For New Guinea Pigs. (over Researching?)

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DuckysDoll

DuckysDoll

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Hi there,
I do not have piggy's yet but I have been researching the crap outta them before rescuing a pair. =)
We had a set of boys many, many (14!) years ago. This was before we had internet and were able to read the vast amount of knowledge out there =)
We went in thinking these little boys would be an easy pet for my daughter (with me fully involved of course) but these 2 little guys would fight. Each morning they would be very bloody. As a mom, this frightened me that they would hurt my child so after about 2 weeks of fighting, we ended up having a friend take them as she was experience with piggy's. NOW, I know it was probably because they just did not have enough space.
Fast forward to now.
We are ready to rescue a pair. My husband is building a large wooded cage that will be 2 feet by 4.5 feet and have multiple levels. Though it is expensive to make, it is something we know will work out perfectly for the piggy's and the space in our home =) Now onto why I mentioned over researching LOL... I am admitting that I am a bit nervous about getting boys again (still see they little fellows covered in blood and that scares me) but I am so nervous about getting girls and having them get ovarian cysts =(
I do have 3 kids at home (18, 11 & 4.5) a senior dog who is the sweetest girl and rarely barks, a hand tamed cockatiel with a wonderful personality and a husband who puts up with my love of animals. LOL
The cage should be ready this weekend and we will head to the SPCA next weekend.

If you could give advice to me on which sex to get or if it really IS a 75+ % chance that females will develop the cysts (really the ONLY reason that I fear getting girls because they would be my first choice) I would greatly appreciate it. Anyone have girls that did not get them? I feel confident from reading (and reading and reading) about caring for these little guinea pigs, but I am doubting which sex to get from all the pros and cons I have read. =( Sometimes a simple answer from experienced people helps me much more =)

TIA! This site is truly wonderful!
 
I know you said you would prefer girls but i have all boys and don't know much about sows. I have 4 boars at home in one large two level cage and they get along great. Boys are a bit more messy and smelly sometimes with the whole dominance thing they have and their glands for territory marking, peeing on each other accidentally or boar glue when they get excited. However having said that I don't usually have to do any extra work for my boys than what sows would require. My boys are pretty clean and not overly messy. If you do end up getting boys try rescuing an already bonded pair or see if the SPCA will let you piggy date to see if they get along since boars have a harder time bonding with one another. Good Luck
 
Hi, welcome to the forum.

It is great that you are doing some research first

It is personal choice as to boys or girls. We have only ever had girls and so far out of eight only one has had ovarian cysts. Boys do get impaction often so there are pro's and cons with both. We have always just gone with girls but our friends boys are utterly adorable too... Have a glance through this sticky thread Boars, sows or mixed pairs; babies or adults?

Whichever sex you go for, get two of everything, hideys, food bowls etc.... and get a pair already bonded so there should really be no fallouts

Glad you like the site, hope you will stick around and become an active member of the community. Look forward to hearing about which piggies you go for :)

Lee
 
Yes one reason they might have been fighting so bad could also be that they didn't like each other as piggies are like people, just because they might be brothers or sisters it doesn't mean they want to live together (I have a sister so I totally guess this haha).

I personally got girls as I can add to the herd easier in the future, plus the likelihood of impaction in older boars might have helped lol. I had 2 boys when I was a kid, whilst they got along well and were perfectly sweet I was concerned about the fact that boars can fall out as their hormones change as they grow from babies to adults.

But tbh, either gender could potentially end up being ill in their lives so it's kinda hard to judge which to get based on gender specific illness'. Have you considered what breed to get? For ease I recommend short haired breed as they are the easiest to look after with minimal grooming.

Hope my experience/thoughts help :)
 
sport_billy said:
Hi, welcome to the forum.

It is great that you are doing some research first

It is personal choice as to boys or girls. We have only ever had girls and so far out of eight only one has had ovarian cysts. Boys do get impaction often so there are pro's and cons with both. We have always just gone with girls but our friends boys are utterly adorable too... Have a glance through this sticky thread Boars, sows or mixed pairs; babies or adults?

Whichever sex you go for, get two of everything, hideys, food bowls etc.... and get a pair already bonded so there should really be no fallouts

Glad you like the site, hope you will stick around and become an active member of the community. Look forward to hearing about which piggies you go for :)

Lee
Click to expand...
Thanks so much. Yes, that was the main factor for boars we were not sure on LOL. I mean, I am a mom, so I am use to yucky stuff, but I cringe watching youtube videos of the impactions. Interesting to know about your experience with cysts. What do you do for the one that had them? I have called around today to find a vet locally who treats guinea pigs as my regular vet does not (shocking how few actually deal with piggies!) so I am good there just encase! =) Anyway, thank you for the welcome. I am reading this site daily for prep LOL
 
Cavy Kung-Fu said:
Yes one reason they might have been fighting so bad could also be that they didn't like each other as piggies are like people, just because they might be brothers or sisters it doesn't mean they want to live together (I have a sister so I totally guess this haha).

I personally got girls as I can add to the herd easier in the future, plus the likelihood of impaction in older boars might have helped lol. I had 2 boys when I was a kid, whilst they got along well and were perfectly sweet I was concerned about the fact that boars can fall out as their hormones change as they grow from babies to adults.

But tbh, either gender could potentially end up being ill in their lives so it's kinda hard to judge which to get based on gender specific illness'. Have you considered what breed to get? For ease I recommend short haired breed as they are the easiest to look after with minimal grooming.

Hope my experience/thoughts help :)
Click to expand...

Thank you for replying =) We will defiantly get short hair ones =) THOUGH, *I* do love the 'I woke up like this, crazy short hair breed as well! LOL!
 
Where are you thinking of getting your pigs from? Just to throw in there a third option, the one I have, which is a neutered male with a sow! I got them from a rescue and so he had already had his love nuggets confiscated as part of his settlement... I personally think there are pros and cons to each pairing, the main, absolute, total and utter key thing is to get them from somewhere reputable so you can be as sure as possible that you have what you expect, and don't end up with an unexpected pregnancy. It seems all GPs have to do is look at each other and they are having a litter, they really are phenomenal in that way, and in how difficult they can be to tell apart, they are masters of disguise in that sense.

So my suggestion would be to try and find a reputable rescue and take in whichever bonded pair you fall for, they all have their issues to watch for. Oh and think about their age as well. As boars get older (4-12 months I believe but I may be wrong) they hit adolescence and what has appeared a stable friendship can get thrown out by the hormones and a mutual need to establish dominance, and a previously strong pairing can hit the rocks. A pairing when one or both of these have been through the process might be less likely to be problematic.
 
Tigermoth said:
(I have a total of almost 3 weeks experience with piggies, but I have read and read and read the stickies on this site. They really are phenomenal and I strongly recommend you do the same ;) )
Click to expand...

Thank you for the high praise :)
DuckysDoll said:
Thanks so much. Yes, that was the main factor for boars we were not sure on LOL. I mean, I am a mom, so I am use to yucky stuff, but I cringe watching youtube videos of the impactions. Interesting to know about your experience with cysts. What do you do for the one that had them? I have called around today to find a vet locally who treats guinea pigs as my regular vet does not (shocking how few actually deal with piggies!) so I am good there just encase! =) Anyway, thank you for the welcome. I am reading this site daily for prep LOL
Click to expand...


She was treated with hormone injections and it shrunk them. Had to have two injections overall.

Great idea on getting a vet sorted in advance, always helps take stress out of any illnesses
 
I agree with male/female pairings I love my boys and girls. Two of my girls where spayed so couldn't develop Cyst's. I have two young girls who are probably two young for Cyst's. I did have an older girl develop Cyst's but she died of other ailments before any treatment could be given.

Would I question girls because of Cyst's definitely not, there are many other ailments to worry about that both genders can get. I would recommend meeting some piggies and deciding who you bond most with because sex really isn't an issue if they are a bonded pair.
 
I have 2 lovely boys who are great pals with each other. They aren't snuggly with each other but they always like to know where to other is. I got them because the pet shop told me they were from the same litter so they would get on - little did I know that wasn't correct advice so I count myself very lucky that I haven't had any problems. If I get more boys in the future I would definitely get them from a rescue where I could either take my remaining one so they could be properly bonded and I would know they would get on or if starting from scratch I would get a bonded pair from rescue as you then know you shouldn't have any problems. Always a good idea to avoid 2 boys who will hit their hormonal stage at the same time so a baby with an older boy would solve that problem.

Looking forward to hearing what you decide to do.
 
I've had four sows (five if you count the one I had as a child) and have never had an issue with ovarian cysts (at least not to the point that it needed to be treated. I did have some sows that got periodically moody lasting beyond a day or so, which could potentially have been a cyst issue.) All the medical problems I've had have been gender-neutral (teeth, abscesses, and bladder.) I wouldn't let that be your defining choice, as boys have male-specific health issues too (i.e. impaction) with probably about the same frequency as girl-specific issues. I agree with other posts about potentially rescuing a bonded pair who already get along, or simply seeing if there is one or two that feel 'right' to you. I know upon getting my most recent pig, there was a definite feeling of her being 'the right pig' for us!
 
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