Bonding Might get another guinea pig which gender?

[legslovesdonnie]

So I'm probably gonna get another guinea pig in a few months. Should I get a spayed female or another male? Do you have any tips for bonding and or controlling smell (he is litter box trained and I clean the litter box every day, but my mom still says it smells)?
Thanks,
Legs (my nickname therefore legslovesdonnie)

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[Catahoula]

You could add another boar, but with neither of them neutered you'd probably end up with some boar stink that won't solve your current issue with the smell.

If it is possible for you to get your male neutered then you would probably have the best luck with a female. **Note - a neuter surgery is much less invasive then a spay surgery.

 

[legslovesdonnie]

How much would it cost? Are any of yours spayed and is it really dangerous?

 

[pinky]

I wouldn't spay a female unless it's needed for medical reasons like ovarian cysts or tumors. It's invasive and much more risky than neutering. The cost of neutering varies greatly by area and vet so I'd call around if you're considering going that route. Just make sure you have an exotic vet with a proven track record of successful guinea pig neutering.

 

[2Julia112]

I recommend getting a sow and having your boar neutered, it's much cheaper and less risky to get a boar neutered than getting a sow spayed. Plus, not all boars 'get along' so getting a female is a good idea. Make sure your male is neutered and you will have less 'stink' and no unwanted piggy babies (afterall, there are so many unwanted piggies already :sad

Thanks,
Julia

(P.S. Adopt, don't go to a pet store because they are mills & they mis-sex guinea pigs often)

 

[legslovesdonnie]

I always adopt (besides my hamsters I didn't know about rescues for rodents then). How is it less invasive? just wondering

 

[ellisa]

There is no guarantee that a neutered boar and a sow will get along either. Every pig is different. Spaying is much more invasive because the vet needs to cut through the sows abdomen to get to her uterus. With neutering, the vet just needs to remove the testicles. I would adopt another boar.

https://www.cavyspirit.com/neutering.htm#3NeutervSpay

 

[legslovesdonnie]

oh ok. so i'm guessing the nuetering costs less

 

[lissie]

You could find a rescue that would let you take your boar in to choose his own friend. That way, nobody has to go through a surgery. Some might even have spayed sows (harder to find).

Boars can get along. I have 2 pairs of boars that live together peacefully. One of them even cry and run around searching when I take his buddy out of the cage.

 

[legslovesdonnie]

that's what I was going to do look for an already spayed female, or ask Rose (owner of Critter Corral the shelter Donnie is from) if I could bring Donnie to pick a friend, would it say if they were spayed on petfinder or should I email the shelter and ask?

 

[foggycreekcavy]

It usually states on Petfinder if it's spayed or neutered. Wouldn't hurt to send Rose an email, though, and ask for her advice, and if she has any that she feels are compatible.

Neutering is usually about half the cost of spaying. Spays around my area are $200, neuters $80 to $100.

I find that male/female pairs seem to get along the best, but usually like to find a compatible male before deciding to neuter.

 

[Catahoula]

How much would it cost? Are any of yours spayed and is it really dangerous?

The rescue I adopted from neuters all of its boars. I have one neutered boar and he lives very happily with 2 unaltered sows.

I don't know how much a neuter costs, but if the rescue does it for all their boars I would think that it's not too dangerous.

 

[legslovesdonnie]

You might have a point. LOL! Maybe they just do it so no missexed pigs are placed in the boy cage

 

[foggycreekcavy]

Rescues neuter and spay mostly because once adopted you can't know for sure if someone will put them with the opposite gender. And for some pigs this will be fatal.

 

[legslovesdonnie]

Also the smell is majorly important, if I can't cut it down I can't get another piggy. I would get an already spayed female or another boar. Do you know of any fresheners I could spray in the room that won't harm Donnie?