General Should I buy another male guinea pig.

[molloopsy]

I have 1 male guinea pig. His name is Chino and he is 2. I am considering buying another guinea but I do not want a female in fear of babies.:sad:

Will two males get along? My cage is a two story but only 1 ft 10 in. by 2 ft. I know it is very small but my guinea is let out everyday to run around in a small pen in my living room. He is very healthy. If I get another guinea pig how big should the cage be. i will most likely buy a new one soon.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

No you should not buy another pig but you should adopt your pig a friend from a rescue/shelter.

Before you get another pig though, you need a larger cage. Read our homepage and the Cages forum section to answer your questions.

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Your cage is way too small. Even if he gets floor time daily. It is also a myth that two males will always fight.

Read Guinea Pigs Social Life

 

[lmracing8l]

I personally have had no luck with boars NOT fighting. I have 3 boys, 2 which get along and one didn't so I seperated the one. Then I adopted 3 more boys for the one that was by himself. Mind you I adopted 3 babies and the one by himself is 2 years, I thought this would help them get along. Not even close. The reason I adopted 3 instead of one was because 2 were a bonded pair and the 3rd was from my son's friend that bought a pig at the petstore and she was pregnant which he didn't know and ended up with babies! They had one baby boy and asked me if I would take the boy, so I took him because they didn't want the babies. Now I have the original 2 in a cage, the bonded 2 in a cage, the original one in his own cage because he got along with the 3 I adopted for him for awhile then started fighting. The one I adopted from my son's friend is by himself now because he was the one getting beat up on, which I am nursing wounds now. I really am convinced it is personality of the pig which decides if they get along or not.

 

[akstrohm]

lmracing, it is partly the pigs' personalities. But have a large enough cage, multiples of everything, and hideys with multiple entrances goes a long way. Many boars get along just fine. Dominance issues tend to be more of a problem during puberty, which could have been your case.

 

[dra&pigs]

My boars aren't as close and cuddly as my girls, but they do get along and I think they enjoy each others company, even if Jeter likes to pick fights over food, water, hay, veggies (even though I do have two of everything). As long as their personalities match, and you have big enough cages, and two of all the supplies, you should be good. Please adopt, not buy, the other pig.

 

[Emberlyn]

My boars are completely lovable to eachother. Little Twinkie has followed Tito around from day one, mimicking what he does, and even if I put in two bowls to deter fighting they prefer to eat out of one together. You can have two boars. A pig should not be alone!

Look into creating a C&C cage, with (safe!) cubes and coroplast (from local sign stores). It will be worth your money, and it will make your pigs happy.

Also, adopt, if possible.

 

[lmracing8l]

I have multiple everything and big enough cage, they have one whole room in my house just for them. Still doesn't matter. I am not saying one pig should be by itself.

 

[Paula]

lmracing8l, what size is the cage you had four males living in?

 

[lmracing8l]

The bottom was 5x5 C&C cage with towels and fleece, then they had an upper level which I know doesn't count but just adding to the conversation. The upper level was 2x5 with 1 ramp on each side.

 

[Paula]

Maybe you could try adopting a young male and pairing them instead of having them live in a herd. I know theoretically males can live together in a group, and I know many members have been able to work out a living arrangement with several male pigs, but sometimes two is the magic number. I don't know why, but it might be more successful if you can try pairs. Just a thought. I know how frustrating it can be. I tried to have four males live together at one point and they flat refused to live peacefully with each other. Yet they're perfectly happy in pairs. Boars are bothersome creatures sometimes.

To the OP - two males absolutely can get along. I currently have 7 pairs of males living in complete harmony. So it's totally doable. But like many others have urged, think adoption, and don't buy when there are so many homeless pigs in shelters.

 

[akstrohm]

Then in your case (assuming introductions were done properly, which I'm guessing they were), it was probably more an issue of personalities. I tried to introduce my girls to another girl at one point, and it absolutely would not have worked. So these things can happen with either sex. But many boars do get along just fine with a large cage and multiples of everything.

 

[lmracing8l]

I am not trying to deter the original poster from adopting another pig. I just think they should be aware and have a plan if it happens that they don't get along, because I would not like to see the op get another pig and they don't get along then say "great they don't get along what do I do now" and get rid of the pig instead of having a plan to seperate them.

 

[akstrohm]

Yes, that is a very good point. Your best bet is to go through a rescue so they can find the best match. Or at least try to get a pig of a different age.

 

[molloopsy]

I was finally able to get online... I can get an 8 square foot aquarium for free. Would this be suitable for piggies?

I pretty much live out in the goonies and there isn't a shelter where I can adopt a piggie from without driving for 2 hrs. This isn't an option for me. There is a local family owned petstore near me witch sells guinea pigs. Is it really so terrible to get a pig from here?
Also, is it possible to do a fleece bedding in an aquarium? If not what bedding do you suggest?

 

[guinea12]

I am getting two boars in about a week, and today the owner let them spend the day with me. One is one year old and the other one is 6 months old. The owner got them separately. They get along fine together and even snuggle up next to each other. The only aggression I have seen is when they rumble at each other when they are both trying to go through a tube at the same time.

 

[Onetwo]

Mollopsy-Your cage should be about 2 grids by 5 grids and any upper levels dont count towards the final square footage. They need the space to exercise on their own time not necessarily when you want them too. I have 6 males and have tried many things to get them to get along as well. They are finally in pairs in my huge 2x12 cage. I think if I could do it over I would have male female pairs with the boars fixed. It might be a bit late to fix your male considering he is over 2. You can do more research on this if you like... You could try to find a fixed female (though I have heard that this is very difficult!) or you can try to find a male. But you definately need to get a new cage first. Preferably a Cubes and Coroplast cage! Good luck...

 

[Ly&Pigs]

I was finally able to get online... I can get an 8 square foot aquarium for free. Would this be suitable for piggies?

Absolutely NOT. Aqauriums do not provide proper ventilation and are too small.

I pretty much live out in the goonies and there isn't a shelter where I can adopt a piggie from without driving for 2 hrs. This isn't an option for me. There is a local family owned petstore near me witch sells guinea pigs. Is it really so terrible to get a pig from here?

Yes it is. There is a huge overpopulation of pigs and breeders add to that overpopulation problem by breeding and selling to petstores. Many petstores also do not take care of the pigs properly and you could end up buying a pig that is sick or pregnant. Plus if you buy a pig, you will take a way a home for homeless pig and possibly condemn that pig to die. Where there are petstores and breeders, there will be pigs in need of homes from other sources. Check your local paper, check craigslist and petfinder. But do NOT buy pigs in the petstore.

 

[Allyson]

I was finally able to get online... I can get an 8 square foot aquarium for free. Would this be suitable for piggies?

I pretty much live out in the goonies and there isn't a shelter where I can adopt a piggie from without driving for 2 hrs. This isn't an option for me. There is a local family owned petstore near me witch sells guinea pigs. Is it really so terrible to get a pig from here?
Also, is it possible to do a fleece bedding in an aquarium? If not what bedding do you suggest?

Unfortunately the aquarium will not work, as they need more ventilation than that.

Honestly, 2 hrs drive is not really far at all.. I have done an 8 hr round trip to get piggies before.. have you tried asking the shelter if they will meet you halfway or something?

edit: for some reason Ly's post didn't show up while I posted... so sorry for the already-said info!