Temporarily lonely piggy

[Lynith]

Thursday ish we will be getting 3 Peruvian sows. They aren't old enough for us to get them yet. So I went to the pet store to kinda play with piggies kinda like an expectant mother might look at the maternity ward.

However, I made a mistake. I bonded with one of the pigs instantly. I asked the store owner to hold the piggie up, and it nuzzled up by my neck and kinda flopped on my shoulder like a furry parrot. As I pet it, it started making happy sounds and had zero interest in moving from that spot. Oh, I screwed up big time... Because this little lover was male. But he had already adopted me. There was no turning back.

I will neuter him and put him in with the girls, but he's only 320g and they need to be 700+. However, right now... Only for a week or so, he's alone. And he isn't happy. At least when he isn't being held.

I'm sure he will be fine once he's able to integrate with the girls but what can I do in the meantime to make him happier? I modded a critter nation to be horizontal on the floor and he has about a 5'x4' pen outside the cage. I'm playing soothing music quietly.

It sounds cruel but should I get one of his cage mates to keep him company for the next week or do you think that's overkill and mean to the "rental pig"?

Thanks.

 

[Wiebke]

Thursday ish we will be getting 3 Peruvian sows. They aren't old enough for us to get them yet. So I went to the pet store to kinda play with piggies kinda like an expectant mother might look at the maternity ward.

However, I made a mistake. I bonded with one of the pigs instantly. I asked the store owner to hold the piggie up, and it nuzzled up by my neck and kinda flopped on my shoulder like a furry parrot. As I pet it, it started making happy sounds and had zero interest in moving from that spot. Oh, I screwed up big time... Because this little lover was male. But he had already adopted me. There was no turning back.

I will neuter him and put him in with the girls, but he's only 320g and they need to be 700+. However, right now... Only for a week or so, he's alone. And he isn't happy. At least when he isn't being held.

I'm sure he will be fine once he's able to integrate with the girls but what can I do in the meantime to make him happier? I modded a critter nation to be horizontal on the floor and he has about a 5'x4' pen outside the cage. I'm playing soothing music quietly.

It sounds cruel but should I get one of his cage mates to keep him company for the next week or do you think that's overkill and mean to the "rental pig"?

Thanks.

Hi and welcome

While your little boy is really only a baby at this moment and desperate for company, please don't get a companion just for a few months that you then get rid of - that would be most unfair to the companion. He is no less a pet that fully depends on you and trusts you and will feel betrayed than the piggy you have just brought home.
Plan to keep both boys, to have them both neutered when they are old enough. If they are happy and well matched, they can stay together but if they get into trouble as teenagers (which is the age when they are old enough to be neutered), then you can split them up and if necessary bond one boy with a couple of your girls and the other boy with the sow that is a bit of an outsider in the trio (there often is).
This way gives you the most options and flexibility but is taking the need for companionship into account at all times. And you are not betraying any of your pets!
However, the one option you do NOT have is a single group with all boys and girls together - that is a recipe for disaster as soon as the girls come into season! While you won't love your second boy in the way you will do your first, as a good owner you are bound to fall for him, too; just in a very different way.
PS: More boar pairs than not actually make it to adulthood together but neutering is not the worst idea, so you can split them up if necessary or bond a bereaved boy with your sows.

Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides
What to check and look out for in new guinea pigs (vet checks, sexing, parasites&illness)

Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths And Facts
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
Boars: A guide to successful companionship.
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

 

[Lynith]

Hi and welcome

While your little boy is really only a baby at this moment and desperate for company, please don't get a companion just for a few months that you then get rid of - that would be most unfair to the companion. He is no less a pet that fully depends on you and trusts you and will feel betrayed than the piggy you have just brought home.
Plan to keep both boys, to have them both neutered when they are old enough. If they are happy and well matched, they can stay together but if they get into trouble as teenagers (which is the age when they are old enough to be neutered), then you can split them up and if necessary bond one boy with a couple of your girls and the other boy with the sow that is a bit of an outsider in the trio (there often is).
This way gives you the most options and flexibility but is taking the need for companionship into account at all times. And you are not betraying any of your pets!
However, the one option you do NOT have is a single group with all boys and girls together - that is a recipe for disaster as soon as the girls come into season! While you won't love your second boy in the way you will do your first, as a good owner you are bound to fall for him, too; just in a very different way.
PS: More boar pairs than not actually make it to adulthood together but neutering is not the worst idea, so you can split them up if necessary or bond a bereaved boy with your sows.

Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides
What to check and look out for in new guinea pigs (vet checks, sexing, parasites&illness)

Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths And Facts
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
Boars: A guide to successful companionship.
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

Yeah I was against the idea of getting him a temporary companion. I was just brainstorming.

Still, he will be happy when his girls come around. I think just extra TLC in the meantime is all he will need. I heard a stuffed animal helps some.

 

[Wiebke]

Yeah I was against the idea of getting him a temporary companion. I was just brainstorming.

Still, he will be happy when his girls come around. I think just extra TLC in the meantime is all he will need. I heard a stuffed animal helps some.

Please take the time to read these guides here and be aware that he won't be able to live with any sows for several months yet. Because he is still so small, you will also have to baby proof any C&C grids; they can become a death trap for a baby trying to wiggle through.

The guides tell you what you can do to help your little baby with lots of tips:
Settling in & Human Interaction Guides

 

[Pawz]

I’d just like to highlight in case it was missed anywhere, but you will be not be able to place him with the ladies right after neutering. He will need a 6 week post op quarantine period to make certain he is absolutely seedless before he can join his girlfriends.

 

[Lynith]

I’d just like to highlight in case it was missed anywhere, but you will be not be able to place him with the ladies right after neutering. He will need a 6 week post op quarantine period to make certain he is absolutely seedless before he can join his girlfriends.

Yep. Vet also said so. Worth it.

However.... Will the presence of the ladies be enough to curb his loneliness even if he can't interact?

 

[Wiebke]

Yep. Vet also said so. Worth it.

However.... Will the presence of the ladies be enough to curb his loneliness even if he can't interact?

As long as he has full sight of the body and can tough noses, it is enough - guinea pig communication is very complex. It consists of sounds (audio), body language (visual) and scent marking/wafted pheromones. The more all senses are involved and the more complete any communication is the better as your boy is currently in his formative months and desperately relies on guidance and interaction from and with other guinea pigs. Normally he would be socialised by his group elders, siblings and other boars at this age.

 

[cavylover2002]

Hello and congrats on your new male piggy and your 2 new additions...sounds exciting!
I really can't add to any other helpful advice, but it looks like your single ladies will be having a husboar lol.

 

[Lynith]

As long as he has full sight of the body and can tough noses, it is enough - guinea pig communication is very complex. It consists of sounds (audio), body language (visual) and scent marking/wafted pheromones. The more all senses are involved and the more complete any communication is the better as your boy is currently in his formative months and desperately relies on guidance and interaction from and with other guinea pigs. Normally he would be socialised by his group elders, siblings and other boars at this age.

I didn't see him with an older boar at the store. But one of the ladies is older. Two are even younger than him.

 

[Wiebke]

I didn't see him with an older boar at the store. But one of the ladies is older. Two are even younger than him.

Have you got a decend rescue with quarantine/vet care near you that offers rescue dating? However, you'll end up with the same dilemma as a temporary same age companion from the shop. No boar over 3 weeks is safe to be with sows, as they start making babies as soon as they are weaned from 3-5 weeks onwards long before their testicles start descending at ca. 4 months of age. There are a very few rescues with spayed sows, but the operation is even more expensive and invasive than a boar neuter, so spayed sows are even rarer.

Please read the tips in the links above, as they contain piggy whispering tips which help you to communicate with your boy in ways that he will instinctively understand and how you can invite him to be a member of your own group and belong.

How long until your girls are ready for rehoming?

 

[Lynith]

Have you got a decend rescue with quarantine/vet care near you that offers rescue dating? However, you'll end up with the same dilemma as a temporary same age companion from the shop. No boar over 3 weeks is safe to be with sows, as they start making babies as soon as they are weaned from 3-5 weeks onwards long before their testicles start descending at ca. 4 months of age. There are a very few rescues with spayed sows, but the operation is even more expensive and invasive than a boar neuter, so spayed sows are even rarer.

Please read the tips in the links above, as they contain piggy whispering tips which help you to communicate with your boy in ways that he will instinctively understand and how you can invite him to be a member of your own group and belong.

How long until your girls are ready for rehoming?

The girls (Blossom, Buttercup, and Bubbles btw) will be here Thursday. Turns out my little boy (Professor) has an upper respiratory infection so he will be quarantined anyway. And by "quarantined" I mean super special spa treatment. Maybe that's why he's so snuggly. He loves hiding on our shoulders inside our hoodies.

Good thing we have plenty of large extra cages from our old Lionhead Rabbits.

 

[Wiebke]

The girls (Blossom, Buttercup, and Bubbles btw) will be here Thursday. Turns out my little boy (Professor) has an upper respiratory infection so he will be quarantined anyway. And by "quarantined" I mean super special spa treatment. Maybe that's why he's so snuggly. He loves hiding on our shoulders inside our hoodies.

Good thing we have plenty of large extra cages from our old Lionhead Rabbits.

All the best! URIs are unfortunately one of the things that can easily come with bought piggies.