Pantalaimon
Junior Guinea Pig
Hi.
This is going to be quite long, as I want to provide as much information on this pig as possible. I am looking for any information on anyone else’s experiences with pigs who have unusual temperaments, if they ever changed, and how it can be managed throughout their lives.
I have had pigs for almost a decade now (10 years in February!), and have had 6 pigs over that time. I have had pigs who are really friendly and laid back, and others who want nothing to do with me or are just really flighty. This pig is something else entirely.
I adopted a young sow (Spider) last December (she was born roughly in June/July 2025). She was very tiny at the time due to coming from a hoarding situation where food was scarce, and her mother is believed to have died from ringworm soon after reaching the rescue (they weren’t certain exactly which of the pigs her mother was, but several sows died of ringworm).
She was originally bonded to another young female, but the rescue contacted me to say they felt it would be best to separate them as there were some issues (I now have a good idea what those issues were). I went to the rescue to pick her up and was handed this tiny little pig (about 600g) who was MANIC. I hadn’t had a baby pig for years, so I thought her constant turning in circles, scratching and biting was just due to her being very young and lively.
Upon bringing her home, everything seemed pretty normal. She was extremely flighty, but seemed to love my boar (Pat) through the divider and would run towards him when scared. As she was so flighty, and they seemed to be very calm, I decided to introduce them after less than a week of living as neighbours. The bonding went well, just the usual rumbling but certainly not the worst I’ve seen.
After a few weeks, she had what appeared to be a very strong heat. Constant rumbling, chasing, fluffing herself up, mounting, chin pushing etc. Again, this isn’t uncommon with young sows during their first year, so I wasn’t worried. Pat is the most incredible pig I’ve ever had, just so calm and tolerant. So he just makes some annoyed squeaks and does his best to continue with his day.
These strong heats kept happening, sometimes for 12+ hours, and keeping me awake throughout the night. She went to the vet, and he said there was nothing he could find wrong with her, but she was too young to have detectable ovarian cysts.
I have had two sows spayed (both very hormonal with ovarian cysts) and the results were incredible both for them, their cagemates and me having to share a room with them! My vet agreed that spaying might help, so that is what was done at the beginning of August this year. By this point she was about 850g, so still small but her body condition score is good so she’s obviously just a little pig.
The spay went well and she recovered rapidly.
The problem is, her behaviour has seemingly got worse…
There is now no pattern to her behaviour. She just seemingly randomly has days where she is a monster. She is also even more of a hazard to handle. I only handle my pigs for health checks, weighing and stuff like that. But she is genuinely a hazard. I can’t handle her without coming out with scratches all over me. She tried to throw herself, and it is all I can do to keep hold of her. I can’t even have any family members help me by holding onto her as they are not as confident/willing to have their flesh shredded.
The thing that has really made this concern me is last week during cage clean/health check day, I reached into the carrier to pick her up for her turn and she went mad. I have never actually been scared to put my hand in a carrier with a guinea pig before, so this was quite a shock.
My concerns are that I am going to be going to uni in the next few years and have to leave my animals with my parents. Also, Pat is aging and will inevitably die in the future. My chances of finding another pig as tolerant as him are virtually nonexistent, so she could end up alone. I doubt she will do well alone as she (ironically) relies heavily on him for reassurance.
Has anyone else had a pig like this? If so, how did you manage them? Did they improve with age? Did they have an underlying health issue? Any information would be great!
Apologies for the incredibly long post.
This is going to be quite long, as I want to provide as much information on this pig as possible. I am looking for any information on anyone else’s experiences with pigs who have unusual temperaments, if they ever changed, and how it can be managed throughout their lives.
I have had pigs for almost a decade now (10 years in February!), and have had 6 pigs over that time. I have had pigs who are really friendly and laid back, and others who want nothing to do with me or are just really flighty. This pig is something else entirely.
I adopted a young sow (Spider) last December (she was born roughly in June/July 2025). She was very tiny at the time due to coming from a hoarding situation where food was scarce, and her mother is believed to have died from ringworm soon after reaching the rescue (they weren’t certain exactly which of the pigs her mother was, but several sows died of ringworm).
She was originally bonded to another young female, but the rescue contacted me to say they felt it would be best to separate them as there were some issues (I now have a good idea what those issues were). I went to the rescue to pick her up and was handed this tiny little pig (about 600g) who was MANIC. I hadn’t had a baby pig for years, so I thought her constant turning in circles, scratching and biting was just due to her being very young and lively.
Upon bringing her home, everything seemed pretty normal. She was extremely flighty, but seemed to love my boar (Pat) through the divider and would run towards him when scared. As she was so flighty, and they seemed to be very calm, I decided to introduce them after less than a week of living as neighbours. The bonding went well, just the usual rumbling but certainly not the worst I’ve seen.
After a few weeks, she had what appeared to be a very strong heat. Constant rumbling, chasing, fluffing herself up, mounting, chin pushing etc. Again, this isn’t uncommon with young sows during their first year, so I wasn’t worried. Pat is the most incredible pig I’ve ever had, just so calm and tolerant. So he just makes some annoyed squeaks and does his best to continue with his day.
These strong heats kept happening, sometimes for 12+ hours, and keeping me awake throughout the night. She went to the vet, and he said there was nothing he could find wrong with her, but she was too young to have detectable ovarian cysts.
I have had two sows spayed (both very hormonal with ovarian cysts) and the results were incredible both for them, their cagemates and me having to share a room with them! My vet agreed that spaying might help, so that is what was done at the beginning of August this year. By this point she was about 850g, so still small but her body condition score is good so she’s obviously just a little pig.
The spay went well and she recovered rapidly.
The problem is, her behaviour has seemingly got worse…
There is now no pattern to her behaviour. She just seemingly randomly has days where she is a monster. She is also even more of a hazard to handle. I only handle my pigs for health checks, weighing and stuff like that. But she is genuinely a hazard. I can’t handle her without coming out with scratches all over me. She tried to throw herself, and it is all I can do to keep hold of her. I can’t even have any family members help me by holding onto her as they are not as confident/willing to have their flesh shredded.
The thing that has really made this concern me is last week during cage clean/health check day, I reached into the carrier to pick her up for her turn and she went mad. I have never actually been scared to put my hand in a carrier with a guinea pig before, so this was quite a shock.
My concerns are that I am going to be going to uni in the next few years and have to leave my animals with my parents. Also, Pat is aging and will inevitably die in the future. My chances of finding another pig as tolerant as him are virtually nonexistent, so she could end up alone. I doubt she will do well alone as she (ironically) relies heavily on him for reassurance.
Has anyone else had a pig like this? If so, how did you manage them? Did they improve with age? Did they have an underlying health issue? Any information would be great!
Apologies for the incredibly long post.
