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Should I trust the rescue? (Bonding)

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Darlz

New Born Pup
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We recently lost a piggy leaving a single boar (2yrs approx) behind.
We got them from a rescue back in March as a pair. They never seemed to like each other that much, more tolerated each other. The deceased pig was a bit of a bully to his flatmate.
The pigs went back to the rescue for two weeks in summer (holiday board), and when returned the now deceased pig had lost weight and wasn’t himself. I put it down to stress at the time, but I now think whatever happened was the start of his demise.
This rescue is the only place I can find that does bonding as we are looking at getting a second pig again. The thing is because of my suspicious mind, I’m not sure I trust the rescue enough.
I’m not sure we adopted a happy pair to start with, and I’m not sure what happened to my pigs when they were away for one to come back ‘not right’. Am I being unfair?
 
I think all I can say is go with your gut. If you are questioning things and aren’t confident, then whether your assessment is fair or not, in that particular situation, you have to be happy with the decision
 
Is bonding yourself out of the question? Either way good luck with the bonding process!
 
Yes, good look let us all know how you get on. Our recommended rescues usually do bonding. Don’t be put off if you don’t see singles on their websites as they only tend to show couples for adoption. Email and explain you have a bereaved piggie needing bonding
 
Darlz said:
No they're not on the link. There is one on there that is within driving distance, I may give them a ring and ask if they can help, or recommend someone who can.
Thanks guys
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Our recommended good welfare standard rescues have been carefully vetted for all stages of the rescue process. Unfortunately, anybody can call themselves a breeder or a rescue without licensing or welfare supervision - and the results can be unfortunately accordingly. :(

If you want to learn more about how to spot the more obvious pitfalls, then I would recommend to look at this guide here. It may help you to confirm your gut feeling and show you what to look out fo: Rescues (Adoption and Dating), Shops, Breeders or Online? - What to consider when getting guinea pigs

All the best!
 
Darlz said:
Good news, the rescue in the recommended list does do guinea pig bonding.
Just got to do an online adoption request :)
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All the best!

Most rescues in our list actually offer bonding/rescue dating, apart from the RSPCA (only if it involves sows or neutered boars and not in all branches) and the Blue Cross. they are all experienced and you and your piggy will be in good hands.
 
I didn't get anywhere much with the rescue. They don't have any singletons suitable, also he was trying to encourage me to neuter Charlie as it would 'open more opportunities'. I kinda felt that they weren't keen on me being accepted unless he was neutered. So my only option is the rescue we got the piggies from originally, which I was trying to avoid if possible.
I'm not completely opposed to neutering, but as there's a risk with anaesthesia I think I'll only get it done if there's no chance of bonding without.
 
If u think that the rescue can’t be trusted, I say find another rescue not too far away from u. I’m so sry for your loss. Good luck!
 
In a young piggy, neutering with an experienced vet is as safe as it is going to be. Still not a decision to take lightly, any anaesthetic comes with risk, but it would mean his options for finding a new friend are opened up
 
I think he's about 2 and a half years old. I don't know how experienced our vets are with guinea pigs, I would ask about if we were going for neutering. I can't find another rescue near to me unfortunately.
Can un-neutered boars be kept with neutered boars?
Just given Charlie a haircut, he's so much cleaner since Peewee died, Peewee constantly threw pee onto Charlie! I hope when he finds a new bond he chooses a less dysfunctional partner!
 
Darlz said:
I think he's about 2 and a half years old. I don't know how experienced our vets are with guinea pigs, I would ask about if we were going for neutering. I can't find another rescue near to me unfortunately.
Can un-neutered boars be kept with neutered boars?
Just given Charlie a haircut, he's so much cleaner since Peewee died, Peewee constantly threw pee onto Charlie! I hope when he finds a new bond he chooses a less dysfunctional partner!
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Yes, neutered and unneutered boars can live together. Neutering doesn’t change their behaviour, all it does is stop pregnancy.
The only thing is that if a boar has been neutered because he has lived with sows previously, then they are less likely to accept living with a boar (neutered or not) in future ie if you adopted a neutered boar because he had lost his sow wife. Going back to living with a boar after having been with sows is kind of a demotion and a lot of them won’t accept going back to a bachelor life
 
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