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Want a Guinea Pig(s) Males vs Females

Never.Like.Ever

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I'm new here so sorry if this is a bit awkward. ^-^ I'm hoping to get a couple piggys but I'm trying to decide whether to get males or females. I was wondering what are the general pros and cons of both genders?
 

prettynyguen

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I've had both male and female pairs, and loved both equally. The only real difference I've found is that some of my males had an active grease gland that needed to be cleaned. I've read that females tend to get along better in a larger herd (three or more). Right now I have two male bonded pairs (four guinea pigs in two cages), but I would love to have a female herd in the future as well. have fun with your new pets :)
 

Guinepig

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I have three boars. (One of which is sitting with me at my computer) Only piglet my biggest piggie has an active grease gland. (Speaking of which I was cleaninh his grease gland a few days ago he bit me. I think I scared him when I said ow. I also think I scarred him for lifelol)
 

Never.Like.Ever

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Also another question I have (can i ask another question here or do i have to make a new post?) is that if I got skinny pigs (I LOVE skinny pigs) is there anything extra I would have to do to take care of them properly?
 

LoveMyHerd

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Well, a Skinny Pigs' skin is much more sensitive than a normal guinea pig's, so their skin should be treated with more care and gentleness than your average cavy. Other than that, a Skinny needs to eat just a wee bit more to contain body heat. I'm not quite sure about anything else, because I've personally never owned one. A good person to ask would be @nakedwheekers, seeing as she has Skinnies. Another good person would be [MENTION=13820]bpatters[/MENTION].
 

Guineas Galore

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I own both male and female guinea pigs.
I find the males have a stronger scent, but are much more placid.
Girls have a weaker scent and I find they have more personality.
It could just be my piggies though.
 

mizzpiggie

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I've only ever had boys, but I will say that the whole "cleaning the anal sac" thing is not as bad as I thought it was going to be. The first time was weird because I wasn't quite sure how my boys would take the invasion of privacy, but they tolerated it quite well and stopped squirming after the first few seconds. If you can get past the gross factor, it really just becomes part of the routine. GREAT video here on how to do it - makes much more sense than just reading about it.

I kept rats for years and at least for them the boys were always the lovey ones, while the girls were a little less interested in bonding with me. I read on another website that this was the same with guineas, that girls tended to bond with one another more than their people, but I've never had girl piggies so I would defer to the lovely lady owners here. ;)
 

nakedwheekers

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Also another question I have (can i ask another question here or do i have to make a new post?) is that if I got skinny pigs (I LOVE skinny pigs) is there anything extra I would have to do to take care of them properly?

I saw that I was tagged in this, so I'll do my best to help out. :) Skinnies eat quite a bit more than a "hairy" pig. They need to burn the calories to stay warm. My vet suggested 1/4 of pellets a day for two pigs, and my pigs easily eat 1/2 a cup. I've never seen one spec of a leftover veggie or hay either. They scarf up everything. As a result, they also poop quite a bit more. I find that sweeping the cage is a twice a day job, and often fills my little mini dust pan with my two boars. Sigh. They also LOVE to snuggle in things, and so mine have lots of fleece pillows and sleeping bags around for snuggle time.

As for their skin, it's fairly low maintenance, more low maintenance than a long-haired pig, I would think. About every other week, I give them a rub down with coconut oil. That's it. They don't need bathed because they don't really get dirty, and soap would probably dry them out more than be a good thing. I use fleece bedding to make sure they don't have anything that could aggravate their skin. Even cleaning out anal sacs is easier because they don't get hair stuck up there... just poo and a little hay. I buy the softer second cut hay (or orchard grass sometimes) because they are more prone to getting their eyes poked because they don't have as much hair around their eyes to protect them. And I just make sure they have lots of ways to stay warm. If you are comfortable in a T-shirt, then so are they. :)

And get them checked out by a knowledgeable vet, because they do have a very small disposition to eye problems (early blindness mostly). But it's probably no more common than in normal piggies.

Hope that helped!

As for the boy/vs girl issue: I have two boars. They do stink a little more, if they are dragging their butt on things. I just make sure to not give them brand new fleece very often, and they don't do it much. I wash the new cage liners with the old ones once to get the smell on them, and they barely mark at all anymore. Cleaning out anal sacs in not a perk, but not a real deterrent either. I think boars are more fun, because they have a lot of personality. Females seem very laid back.
 

LuvCavysLuvCats

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I have a Princess and a Diva for two guinea pigs haha my girls are FULL of sass and personality.

One of my girls is lazier, Miss Maybelline. She is very fluffy and very fat. However the amount of attitude she has is hilarious. She tries so hard to be boss pig but my Princess Penelope doesn't like to be bossed around.

My Penelope is very very active, always doing zoomies. Hehe. She is also braver and more curious than Maybelline. Penelope LOVES to cuddle with her momma, she'll stand up and peak over the cage to stare at me, letting me know it's cuddle time. Lol

Honestly? The gender doesn't determine if the piggie is going to have a big personality or a calm or a shy one, at all... That's found equally in both males and females. It just depends on the piggie and also to some degree how much effort you put into taming them. ;)

As far as smell, I've heard boars can smell more... but that doesn't mean girls don't smell either. Just make sure you do a full cage clean, at least every week, sweep up the poos twice a day and also buying/making pee pads is a really good idea. You do this and I think no matter the gender its going to smell about the same at the end of that week. Maybe boys are a teeny bit more smelly but I dont think thats a reason to say no to them. Then there is the anal and grease gland that needs to be cleaned for boys... but as others have said I imagine that just becomes part of the routine and you kinda just get used to it. It doesn't take long to do.

Really there's not enough of a difference to say one is better than the other... It just depends on you and what you prefer. But also since there isn't a big difference between the genders, I'd just check out the guinea pig rescues and humane society's near you, and just whatever piggies you feel a connection with, those are the ones you should get. :)
 

Rywen

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I have a male female pair (not skinnies), both are neutered/spayed. They both have a lot of personality, but the male is more of a cuddle bug. The female is very skittish, she's friendlier than when I adopted her but progress is slow.
 

pigmommy89

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In my experience with most species, males are more cuddly, females are more active and skittish. Of course there are always exceptions.
 

LuvCavysLuvCats

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Oh and boars tend to need more space than sows, so it also depends on how much room you have.
 

Never.Like.Ever

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Really there's not enough of a difference to say one is better than the other... It just depends on you and what you prefer. But also since there isn't a big difference between the genders, I'd just check out the guinea pig rescues and humane society's near you, and just whatever piggies you feel a connection with, those are the ones you should get. :)

I was checking out a few animal shelters in my area and one of the has a couple skinny pigs!! :D Yay! I hoping to adopt them but i have to talk to the parents first :)
 
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