where to put boris?

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chocdonuty

chocdonuty

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Hello all :D
I currently have 3 guinea pigs, 2 girls and a boy, all un-neutered, Boris, Rosie and Petal,

Rosie was my first piggy and was told guinea pigs live fine on their own but after having her a while and looking into things I got her a companion, Petal. They have lived together for about a year now with rosie being the more dominant one.
About 2 months ago I rescued a male piggy called boris (I chose the name :)) )

The current set up is Rosie and petal in one cage and boris in another, I live in a flat so space is limited and also have a cat so c + c cages are a bit awkward.
Both cages are 120cm x 60 cm both with an upper level

My question is - would it be best for Boris if I got him a friend and if so male or (neutered) female? Or would there be enough room if Boris was neutered and placed with the girls?

I don't want him to be lonely but also don't want any babies or fights over territory!

Any advice would be great! many thanks, michelle.
 
You can have Boris neutered and introduce him 4-6 weeks after the operation. It really pays to look around for an experienced guinea pig vet, as it cuts down a lot on the risks and recovery complications.

A 2x4 grid C&C (ca. 70x140cm) is about the same space as a 2x5 ft (60x150cm) cage which is the minimum recommendation for 3 guinea pigs. With a hay loft, they will have plenty of space. If you could fit in one 2x5 grid cage, that would be even better and would give the trio a palace!

Alternatively, you could try to pair up Boris with a baby boar. The boys can live above the girls if you are short of space - just as long as they can't see the girls! Some people have quite a few C&C cages with mixed groups stacked on top of each other - look for instance at Laura-CCC4's solution!

Sadly, spayed sows are as rare as gold dust as spaying is usually only done for medical reasons. It is a far more invasive and therefore risky and expensive operation.
 
I'm going to be in the same position as you next week as I've rescued a guinea pig from a girl at work, who was going to give it away free on Preloved.

I currently have 2 girls and this will be an un-neutered boy. The girl at work has agreed to pay the costs to have him neutered. I'm hoping that once he's had the op, he will move in with my 2 girls.

I'm going to be creating a 2 x 5 c&c cage (with a 2nd level) for them all to hopefully live in together - if they get along. What I thought was going to be really easy in terms of bonding, I've discovered it might not be so easy after all. But I'm hoping my girls might be more acceptible if they've lived in the same room for a while and recognise each other.

I have 2 cats myself but I'm just going to make the c&c with a lid on it that lifts open - though not sure how I go about this yet but I'll get there somehow.

Let us know how you get on.
 
Yikes! just spoke to the vets and it would cost £50 to be neutered! I think I might be better off getting him a mate, lol!
 
You can create a lid from grids with cable ties and one or cut-to-size steel rod (secured by cable ties again) down the long middle and the front rim in order to stabilise it.

In my experience, introductions of a neutered boar have generally gone a lot better if the boar has spent his recovery period right next to his girls, so they have been able to get used to each other and socialise through the bars.

You can also create a temporary double run from the grids for the cage, so boy and girls can have shared run time with just a division down the middle and learn to socialise before actually meeting. A cheap plastic shower curtain or table cloth makes good makeshift flooring.
 
I've seen someone on the forum join up two cages with some careful cutting and a soil pipe tunnel. Maybe this would be an option? Are your cages side by side? :)
 
It might seem like the neutering is expensive but in the long run getting a second boy guinea pig would be more expensive!

It's up to you what you choose, but if you do get another boy then it'd be best to move their cage away from the girls, even just to the other side of the room might work, or they might fight. But they might not.

I'd get another boy since you already have two big cages, and any excuse to get another guinea pig! Also because neutering always has some risks . . .

But then again he might not get on with another boy, most do I think but some don't. And boy-girl groups are meant to get along really well.
 
That is about the average price for a neuter; it's a one off cost - on the other side you do not have to look for another piggy. It is a lot easier to look after one lot of guinea pigs.

If you prefer to look for a new friend for Boris, I would strongly recommend ringing round all the rescues within your reach and starting with the rescue that allows your to bring Boris to meet as many friends as possible; if you let him chosse who he likes, you are in with a better chance at the two boars making it.

Otherwise, get Boris a baby boar, so that there is no discussion about dominance and hope that they will make it through the stroppy months.
 
If you get him neutered, yes, you have that one payment to pay out......but then they can all (hopefully) share the one cage. If you get him a friend, then you have 2 cages to maintain. Not only is that more time to be spent on them but also more money. So, in the long run you'd be better off spending the £50 to have him neutered.
 
Well after much thought and a visit to the local guinea pig rescue, Boris is going in for the snip tomorrow! The vet I'm using has been highly reccomended by the rescue centre and neuters all of their piggies so i'm not too worried about that side of things plus it's half the price of my usual vets! I hope he's happy when he gets to join the girlies in a few weeks time, lucky boy! :))
 
really glad you chose that option I have all boys and they are all in the same shed and unneutered and a couple of my pairs fell out so then I had to find another cage then another 2 friends etc and it goes on! and if you need to find him a another friend later on if it is easier to find a girl to pair than a boy that he will get on with. good luck withe the snip! x
 
Best of luck with the op!

You'd better stick with the rescue vet in terms of guinea problems - an experienced and knowledgeable vet is worth his weight in gold!
 
Make sure you wait at least 4-6 weeks after the op, hopefully your vet will say the same, but this is the safest way to ensure there is no sperm left :)
 
Trios are ace

Hi
I have two trios of piggies and they all get on great,yes you can get bit of dominance behaviour by the sows ...as they do...but Boris will be sooooooo happy and things will settle.Have him neutered and let him live side by side with the girls for post op convalesence.
Hope it works out
Helen xx>>>xx>>>
 
Good luck for Boris' operation tomorrow. Hope all goes well.
And hope all goes well when he joins the girls. Let us know how he gets on.
 
I'll let you know how he gets on, apparantly the vet is very good and does a very neat job too, lol
I've also had an idea for a bigger cage that I hope will work - I have the room to put both cages side by side along a wall, once boris is ready I can connect the 2 with a large pipe or similar, should be easy to do and should they need to be separated it's not a problem :)
 
Just a little update, Boris did well with his op and was fine afterwards but unfortunatly passed away about an hour ago, Nothing the vet could do apparantly and no obvious reason why. We only had him a couple of months but i feel so sad:(
 
Oh no, that's so terribly sad for you. I'm so sorry, that wasn't the outcome anyone expected.

Goodnight sweet Boris. :rose
 
chocdonuty said:
Just a little update, Boris did well with his op and was fine afterwards but unfortunatly passed away about an hour ago, Nothing the vet could do apparantly and no obvious reason why. We only had him a couple of months but i feel so sad:(
Click to expand...

So sorry for your loss. What an awful shock for you after all the excitement of Boris about to get a couple of girlfriends.
 
Thank you both, it's just so annoying the fact that I thought I was doing the best thing for him and he was only young too, life is so unfair sometimes!
 
chocdonuty said:
Thank you both, it's just so annoying the fact that I thought I was doing the best thing for him and he was only young too, life is so unfair sometimes!
Click to expand...

It is unfair. :(

I would have done the same in your position though, you did your research and it would have been a very happy life for him. Just so sad that he didn't make it. I really am very sorry. Big hugs.
 
BIG HUG

I lost a piggy in March in an operation, and it was a gutting experience. I feel so sorry for you and Boris.
 
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