Sexing First Time Guinea Pig Owner, Bad mistake.

[sosilly451]

I have a problem and I have 0 idea what to do about it. This is my first time owning Guinea pigs, so I'm hoping that someone with more experience could help me out?

Ok;
I wanted Guinea pigs, and I had done my reasearch. I knew that Guinea pig's were hrd animals and you should get atleast 2. And because of breeding and such, you should get 2 of the SAME gender.

Where I live, there was only 2 big options:
Petco or Petsmart.
But, again, I had done my reasearch and knew I should go get one from a rescue. Of course, no rescues near me had Guinea pigs. So I went with another option; to a small farm and feed shop near me. They had a small cage with 2 guinea pigs inside. They let me pet them and told me they were sisters. I was eager, and I bought them.

I'll skip past all the unnecessary parts, but a few weeks after getting them. I could see one getting real fat, and real fast. Some quick reasearch later- She was pregant. And they weren't sister. They were brother AND sister.

SO I got the old Pet store cage from the attic and split them up.

My pig, unfortanatly, had a miscarriage. So it's just them 2.

So now I have 2 cages, 2 water bottles, 2 feed bowls, and 2 seperated pigs and 1 problem. They are constantly whinning and crying to get to eachother, and I wish they could because they are the only ones I have but I dont know what to do.

So here's my question:
Can I put them together, should I get more Guinea pigs, should I just deal with it.
Please! Help me!
And Thank you in advance.

 

[bpatters]

Sorry about your guinea pigs.

You've got a few options. You could have the sow spayed, but that's an invasive surgery, and it's the most expensive. You can have the male neutered, which is a safer surgery, and less expensive. You could rehome one and get another to match the one you keep (turn them over and compare them before you put them together), or you can get two more pigs, one of each sex (again, compare each set), and have two sets of two.

 

[Annews]

I would opt for neutering the male because it sounds like they are quite bonded and that way you won't have to split them up permanently (assuming you have a god vet in your area). After the neuter, the male still has to be separated for about three to four weeks to make sure all sperm have died.

 

[sosilly451]

Yah, I was thinking about doing that. I saw that a local pound had a few male and female guinea pigs, but Im not completly sure if my mom will want to get even more. XD But I was considering that( And making sure to check them beofre buying). I also thought about rehoming one, but I could never do that. I love them both so much.

 

[sosilly451]

Me and my parenst where about to do that, but it sounds like the surgery is really hard+ It seems expensive and we are not the richest of people.

 

[Sparklederp]

Me and my parenst where about to do that, but it sounds like the surgery is really hard+ It seems expensive and we are not the richest of people.

I understand finances being an issue. Caring for 4 guinea pigs instead of 2 will end up being more expensive than a one-time neuter surgery, though. It's more practical to get the boy fixed and keep them together rather than adopting a new same-sex friend for each of them. In my area, neuters run around $100, which is reasonable.

 

[BaconAndEggs]

I understand that you wouldn't want to rehome, but it seems like neutering is the best option. You could get them each a friend, but as you pointed out it would be quite a bit of work to care for four piggies.
In addition, if they want each other that badly it would be mean to rehome them, or they may not want a friend because they want each other.

In conclusion, I honestly think it would be easiest to neuter your boar. Good luck!

 

[sosilly451]

Wow. So many responses. Thank you all!

 

[susan.nickol1]

I just had my boar neutered. We thought we had two females, nope. Lolo had three healthy pups, unfortunately two passed away. Tiny dancer her pup we thought was a female, just turned four weeks was getting very frisky with the other female saphron, so the cage is divided in half till he's old enough to be fixed. Other than be out of it for the night Hammy did very well after his surgery.

 

[sosilly451]

Would it change their personality? Because my boar has quite the personality and he's just amazing and I donht want him to change.

 

[Annews]

No, it won't. My Houdini, Monkey, and Shaggy Dog, who could be characters in a story book because of their adorable, quirky personalities, have not changed one bit. They are just as curious, inquisitive, funny, and fun-loving as before.

 

[EcthalionMCB]

unlike in some other animals neutering does not alter the personality of guinea pigs. which is good for those that have one with a great personality. (I have one who is rather dull, but he was that way before he got neutered)

 

[aqh88]

Neutering is well over $100 here. More like $300. $100 might cover just the anesthesia. Usually a $40 wellness exam is done before any surgery of any animal.

You said you got out a pet store cage? What size cages do you have and can get? There aren't really any cages sold in stores that can house 2 guinea pigs well. The midwest cages can be ok, not ideal, for 2 sows but not 2 boars. Those are pretty much the biggest floor area sold, so you'll need to build cages if you get more pigs. Then there are intros which sometimes don't go well. Not every pig gets along with every pig. They have personalities. You'll have to quarantine the new pigs requiring 4 cages temporarily, spend awhile introing, and hope you don't end up with 3 cages of pigs cause 2 don't get get along. Even worse you could have vet bills from injury. I had 3 boars together just fine for a month and then suddenly the one with a less stable personality turned on the other. While concentrating on treating the deep puncture in his shoulder we missed that the opposite side eye had been scratched until it was infected. He had ongoing medical care for his eye the rest of his life. I'm not saying you should never try to pair up guinea pigs but it's not always so neat and simple to add guinea pigs to a herd. It's something to consider when weighing the benefits and risks of options.

 

[susan.nickol1]

Wow I only paid $55.00 for my boar and the vet he went to specializing in guineas.