Sexing Wrong sex and housing issues

[Atlantis]

Hello all,

I'm new user to this forum. I live in Thailand and have 2 cavies and i must say that it has been quite a challenge. Guinea pigs are very rare here, people mostly buy rabbits, and they have very low standards of care, most animals are stuck in cages no bigger that 30x30cms and with a grid bottom so i had to build a cage on my own. A year ago a lady at a market was selling pigs from a surprise litter of her own guinea pigs, this is when i adopted my oldest pig, Elvis. When i got him he was the only male in the litter, so I only got one. I've been wanting to find him a friend but it took me almost a year to find another young boar. Last June we got Dexter from a acquaintance, who is now 3 months old. The owner and i checked the sex and we thought it was a boy.

After quarantine; introductions went well, Elvis did a bit of rumblestrutting for a couple days, Dexter did not seem to care at all; there was no mounting, no aggression, so we thought everything was fine, and so it was for 2 months. I didn't really pay attention to the sexing again, since Elvis was acting like he had another boy in his cage.

However in the last few days Elvis has started rumblestrutting a lot again and chasing Dexter around the cage. I thought it might be because Dexter is getting bigger, but it would not stop, so by precaution i put Dexter in a different cage and checked again the sex, and surprise surprise, it's a girl !

Good news is she doesn't appear pregnant, and she is already a big piggy so even if she is, I'm not too worried about her ability to get through the pregnancy.

But i have a few questions regarding housing:

I do not have the option of putting them in different rooms, we have one living area downstairs that's all open, and there is no way to put one of the cages upstairs because of the heat. So basically i have two options: extending my homemade cage and adding a separation so they can see and interact with each other, or having Elvis on one side of the room, and the girl on the other side. they will still be able to hear each other, and probably smell each other too, so i'm wandering if keeping them close to each other would not at least reduce some of the stress...

Also, is it necessary that i get one more girl for the sow ? I have the option to get one of her sisters who is still with the same lady...

I hope you will be able to provide some answers. I feel bad about the whole situation; but i guess we learn from our mistakes...
Thanks !

 

[lissie]

Hi! Welcome to GPC! I'm Thai, currently living in US. Nice to see someone from Thailand.

I would love to see pictures of your piggies. Also, if you show us pics of your cage, it might be easier for us to give recommendations. What I can think of now is to add a tall acrylic wall between them so they can still see each other, but can't get to each other.

If I were you, I'd wait and see if she's pregnant before getting her a friend.

Are there any cavy savvy vets there who can neuter guinea pigs? You could also get your boy neutered so they can be reunited.

In the mean time, you might want to read this link and be prepared if the sow is pregnant.
https://www.guinealynx.info/reproduction.html

 

[Colorado Cavies]

The other thing you can do instead of getting another pig is just keep one from her litter.

 

[Atlantis]

Where are you from in Thailand ? I live in Chiang Mai, but i'm French. I'm at work now but when i get home i'll add some pics of my piggies and of the cage so you can get an idea... I need a new name for Dexter too, its not a very feminine name lol

Thanks for the link, and yes for sure i will be keeping a girl from the litter if she is pregnant, so i guess i have to wait and see...

 

[lissie]

I'm from Bangkok. Born and raised in Bangkok.

 

[Atlantis]

Hello again,

Sorry i did not have time to post pictures last night. the situation has gotten pretty bad, Elvis was very agitated so i moved the girl upstairs, which is definitely not a long term option because of the heat. If i find a vet that can neuter Elvis, will it stop his behavior ? Will i be able to put them back in the same cage without having Elvis rumble strutting and chasing the girl ?
This is such a difficult situation, it makes me really sad... :sorry:

Thanks for the help...

 

[RodentCuddles]

Sadly, with guinea pigs neutering unlike with cats and dogs does not change their behavior, but you will be able to put him in with the girl

 

[lissie]

If you get him neutered, he will be able to live with the girl. If they have lived together before with no issue, they should probably get along.
You'd have to wait 3 weeks before you can put him back with her.

Info on neutering.
Guinea Pig Neutering, How to Neuter your Guinea Pigs

How are vets there like? Do they have experience with guinea pigs?

 

[Atlantis]

When Elvis was very young he had bad skin issues so i brought him to a vet who had never had a guinea pig brought in before, but still took really good care of him. But i have to go around town to try and find a vet that has a better knowledge and experience with these little guys; but i can't be sure that i'll find one.

They had no issues until i assume the girl went into heat... The odd thing is that they have been together for 2 months and never had any problems, even though it seems that the girl would have been in heat many times before... It's quite a mystery.

Thanks for the help, i hope i'll find a good vet...