Bonding Travelling often with two boars

equinox96 · Mar 8, 2017

Hi all, I am starting to freak out now. When I decided to adopt my second boar I knew my camping weekends would become a little more complicated but do-able.

We have an RV that is about a 90 minute drive from home and we go there every weekend from end of May to first weekend of September. It has heat and A/C and it has enough room to put a large cage in. I'll probably bring the same stuff (hideys, ziptied C&C grids, waterproof liners) that I use during floor time with us. So that part is pretty much figured out.

Now what is making me freak out is all this talk about fighting males, un-bonding males and so on....

How will I travel with them, what is the best way to bring them there?

They get along pretty good. The older one is more dominant and is about 11 months old. He will rumblestrutt, lie in front of the ramp or hay rack and do a bit of chasing. The baby is about 5 months old and takes nothing seriously so he is definitely not threatened by my big boy. He will jump over him when the ramp is blocked, steal from the boss' mouth, lie next to him, hide behind when afraid and popcorn when being chased and looks for more chasing....

I was thinking separate cat carriers, which I already have and then once I get there make up their cage and plop them in...

Will the separate carriers and the new cage/environment cause problems?

Is there anything I can do, from your experiences that can help?

I don't want to leave them at home with a sitter, I want them with me. I used to bring my hedgehog and we bring our gecko when we're there for longer periods with no problem.

Thanks for any help or advice you can provide

dirah93 · Mar 8, 2017

Like you, I also have two boars ages 2 1/2 years and 9 months. I have my parents that lives in the city about 3 hours away so we visit fairly often (twice a month). We have separate carriers for each of our boars and we give them some hay to sleep and chew on, some pellets, and veggies with some water content so they can stay hydrated when they travel with us.

What I did was I made another C&C cage and left it at my parents' house so that when we visit, they have a place to stay. I also bring extra veggies, hay, water bottles, and pellets that would last me the entire trip. I also bring some syringes and critical care in case they fall ill (thankfully this hasn't happened)

I've been doing this for almost a year with no issues. They don't seem to be stressed out whenever we travel back and forth, but then again my boars are very laid back. Hope this helps!

equinox96 · Mar 8, 2017

@dirah93 So you travel with separate carriers with no issues!?!

Good... that's what I wanted to hear. When you put them back in their cage, either at your parents or at your home, do they act normal?

dirah93 · Mar 8, 2017

That's correct, I always travel with separate carriers! There's no particular reason, I just like to have my boars in separate spaces while we travel. Since the cage at my parents' house is clean with no scent whatsoever, I usually plop them down and I've never witnessed any fighting with the two.

They act completely normal as ever at home and at my parent's house, just eating, pooping, and drinking as they normally do! I forgot to mention that I always have a weight scale when I travel and check their weight. Other than the minor fluctuations, their weight has never decreased or increased substantially. I've had absolutely no issues at all taking them back and forth.

equinox96 · Mar 8, 2017

I really appreciate all your expertise. I really didn't think about emergencies. Being in the woods and probably really far from an exotic vet, I will for sure get some Critical care and check where to closest good exotic vet would be.

I will also put together a little travel kit with scale, CC with syringe, an extra water bottle in case of an accident. I will also bring filtered water from home just in case, we never know.

What you wrote will really helped. Thanks again @dirah93

Now I'm looking forward to all this snow to melt and enjoy an evening by the campfire... wearing shorts

dirah93 · Mar 8, 2017

Glad I can help! I was a bit apprehensive too at the beginning but with proper care and bringing all the necessities with you on your trips, I highly doubt there should be any problems. Bringing filtered water as well as researching good exotic vets nearby sounds like an excellent idea!

I'm sure your boars will be fine, they have a great owner

bpatters · Mar 8, 2017

I would also recommend separate carriers. They won't be apart long enough to upset the bond between them, but they also won't both be cramped in the same small place and get into squabbles.

equinox96 · Mar 9, 2017

bpatters said:
I would also recommend separate carriers. They won't be apart long enough to upset the bond between them, but they also won't both be cramped in the same small place and get into squabbles.

Squabbles.... it's more like a full on fight I was afraid of. I cannot for the life of me imagine them together in the same crate for ANY length of time.

I was thinking of taking a store bought cage and splitting it down the middle with a divider but I'm happy to hear that 2 separate carriers are going to work yay!

Now I'm looking into making my own critical care since it's not that easy to get and it's not like they're going to use it for sure.

Thankyou

dirah93 · Mar 9, 2017

@equinox96 I know that jet.com or petsupplies4less.com sells critical care, but I'm not quite sure if they ship to Quebec. If not, then you can make your own critical care using pellets. Just mash them up and mix with water to create a slurry.

Or, if you don't have enough pellets on hand, use fresh poop from your guinea pigs instead. Sounds gross, I know but it does work in times of an emergency.

equinox96 · Mar 9, 2017

The problems with ordering from the states are Canadian customs fees, shipping costs and the exchange rate which kind of suck atm. If it's something I really need then I don't mind... like fleece from Fabric.com lol

I have found this recipe on a good site that I like. It would be easy to keep all these dried ingredients (◄) separated in little baggies then in a airtight container in case of an emergencie. For the vegetables maybe keeping a jar of baby food in there as well. I already have all of the dried ingredients, I just need to grind them up. Then you just need to open, mix together, add water and voilà!

Here's the recipe:

Pellets (soaked in water and swirled with a hand mixer) ◄
Dried herbs (put into the pellets and swirl it for long time) ◄
Vegetables
Fresh herbs
Powdered quinoa ◄
Instant flakes / oat ◄

Here's the link to the actual site. They have other recipes as well for those who might be interested or in urgent need of Critical Care. They explain very well how, when and how often to use it

https://www.guinea-pig-advisor.com/feeding/force-hand/

As for the poop soup, I have read about it ....

I don't know about your boys, but mine really stink in that department!

Thanks again, I will take a look into those sites as well and add them to my repertoire.

dirah93 · Mar 9, 2017

Baby food is also fine, just make sure it's all natural baby food without added sugars and substitutes.

This recipe looks okay, just make sure that the oats are natural as well and contain no gluten. If the pig is losing lots of weight, some oats should help with that. Although my personal opinion is that simple pellets mixed with water should suffice. Either way, both options are fine.

My boars does as well, but we still have to do everything we can for their well being!

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Bonding Travelling often with two boars

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