Which sex shall I choose?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Briony_S

Briony_S

Senior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
5,074
Reaction score
1,248
Points
970
Location
Preston, Lancashire
As the whole world knows by now George and Tiger are no longer friends. I have managed to build a C&C under my nero 4 just need some correx ....

I want a friend for each of them so they can live in two pairs. I'm not sure george will want one though so will have to see, he may need to be a lone piggie :(

Anyway I am considering getting them neutered and getting them a girlie each. I have a feeling this is my best choice for george as I doubt he will put up with another male as he is very aggressive towards tiger. Tiger I'm not so sure about he may be ok with an older male..... I don't want to go down the route of getting more piggies and them falling out as would have to take them back and it would be heartbreaking for me as I get very attached quickly.

What do others think? They are both about 5/6 months, should I wait until they have stopped being typical teenagers (more risk of falling out with their new friends) or should I get them a friend asap? My boyfriend won't let me have anymore at moment but I am slowly working on him :))

Oh there is a piccy of my frame work for my c&c in the housing section under "nero 4 with stand? "
 
I'm in exactly the same situation. I'm not keen on putting my boys through an op and theres no real promise that they would get on with another guinea after going through all that discomfort so for now they are seperated

I tried to put them together in a totally neutral area (bath tub) to see if they had got over their hormonal brawl but no it ended in a guinea pig flurry! I had to chuck a towel on them to seperate so theres def NO way they are ever going back together

The older one does seem to do all the pouncing so I *may* in the future get the younger pig a baby boar as a pal when hes over his hormonal stage but Id really hate for all this to happen again so I'm very wary!

*sigh* its never easy!

I think some pigs (like my older one) are just best off in their own cage but can still hear/smell other guineas

No real answers there for you but just wanted to say your not alone with hormonal pigs!
 
I dont have boars so cant help but maybe they would need a baby boar each rather than going down the neutering road as I believe it can be quite a horrible op? I'm sure someone more experienced will advise you better :)
 
PiggiePooh said:
I dont have boars so cant help but maybe they would need a baby boar each rather than going down the neutering road as I believe it can be quite a horrible op? I'm sure someone more experienced will advise you better :)
Click to expand...

That is what I did last tiem with george he was only little himself but got him a baby which was fine for quite a while but then the fighting started! Not sure if george could ever be nice to a baby but maybe tiger would?
 
Over the years I have had four boars neutered with no problems whatsoever. It obviously carries a risk but my vet is great. They do a pre-operation check i.e. weight, heart, health check; surgery, then two or three post-operation checks.

In a day or two my boars have been back to normal. Four to six weeks later they have friends to live with forever whether other boars or lady friends.

My only regret is that I never had Joey neutered. He lived with his son, who unfortunately passed away at an early age and then because of Joey's age and poor health, I was unable to have him neutered. He then lived out his days on his own. Hindsight is a wonderful thing ... as they say!

Check out good vets in your area, telephone them and ask them on average how many guinea pigs they neuter, what support do they provide and what is their success record.

Just my opinion.
 
I have a good vet who said he did a job lot of about 25 ish from a rescue and he said they were resilient creatures and responded well to the anisectic. I would defintely trust him with my boys! I think I might just go for it as then i have all the options open to me. I know george would not take on another male and I'd have to see with tiger but he is also quite agreesive to george (but who could blame him).

I have heard that there are a lot of guinea in my local rspca and am going to ring them tomorrow / tuesday and discuss my options, hopefully I could take my boys down to see if maybe they will be ok without the neutering! otherwise I could see about getting them a girlie each. Either way as long as they are happy.....
 
I know neutering widens the options of finding friends because you can include girls but do boys always get on with girls? Or could we still find ourselves with two neutered boys, who still don't like boys (cos I know everyone will say neutering stops babies, not changes temperament) and actually don't get on with girls either? I am looking at options for Roly so would be interested in the answer, possibly of use to Briony too at this stage. x
 
I've had problems with both boars & sows & neutered boar/sow pairings :))

There are no guarantees a boar will take to a sow or vice versa tho usually it does work. I had a sow who wouldn't tolerate a boar anywhere near her including the run & her heckles would come up & she'd chatter; she meant business.

I have Maddie who loved her boar Albie but since he passed away last June i've been unable to successfully integrate her with any other piggy including Toddie who was neutered specially to live with her & because of his inability to live with other boars.

Toddie, what a boar! Bullied his brother in rescue & was separated, he came to me & lived alone but craved company. I took him to choose a baby boar & for a short while they lived happily until Toddie bullied him, he then lived next to Maddie & eventually i had him neutered but Maddie didn't want to share her space with him. However, he's now happy living with Lyric & Lark (sows).

If you do have your boys neutered from personal experience younger sows do usually accept a boar & most boars will accept sows.
Good Luck with what you decide - there are some boars, however old, who will not live with other boars :)
 
Thanks nutmeg I will see what the rescue says! hopefully I can take the boys along and will know for definate then if george gets on with boys. if not then will go down neutering path!
 
Back to the drawing board! Preston don't have any as have knocked down the building they were in. Only one in Blackpool and that is a male all they could say was less than year old so not a baby! Not really suitable.... are there any non RSPCA rescues in lancs / surrounding areas?
 
Bad luck!

It can take a bit of time to find the right companions for your boys.
I've had a very good experience with 3 year old Dizzy having to choose a male companion after two female ones, because there were not ladies to be had.

I wish you *** have more success with other places. Make sure that you have at least a short "road test" with the ladies in question. If they don't react aggressive at first sight, you should be OK!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top