Want a Guinea Pig(s) Solo pig- To get a female for him or not :/

[Melissa123]

I have a dilemma. I have tried my boar, Guinea 2 times with 2 different herds and it never works out. The first time he nipped Guinness pretty bad on his face, the second time he nipped Badger and kept pulling tuffs of fur out.

I feel really bad that is has to be a solo pig and I do know he missed the companionship of another pig. I have his cage connected to Guinness and Chewy's; Guinea will sit right by the grids and just stare and I have been noticing this more often than before. He seems happy other than that, but those sad piggy eyes break my heart when he does this. He was along for most of his life and I really want the remaining the best if can be. I was told he was 3+ when I adopted him and that was over a year ago.

If I were to get another pig that would bring my total up to *8* pigs. I am having a ton of mixed emotions when it comes to this. I would really love to hear everyone's thoughts. I'm in between a rock and a hard place. :/

Ps: If I were to get a female I would most likely spay her and leave Guinea the way he is since he is older. I also wouldn't want my other boys having issues with her going into heat every 17 or so days.

 

[Beth Pearson]

Poor guy. Sounds like he needs a friend. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to try a female companion. If it doesn't work out she'll be spayed so she could house with the other hers, right? Not sure how males go, only females here.

 

[clb89]

Can you afford vet bills for eight guinea pigs? How were you doing the introductions? Some one can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe even if she is spayed and is in same room as your other boars there is a huge chance they will fight over her. Even just smelling her scent on you may become problematic.

 

[Melissa123]

[MENTION=26602]clb89[/MENTION], I can afford to add one more pig to my herd. I did the intro in a large neutral space (living room and kitchen) and they spent over 6 hours there before going back to the cage. I cleaned everything in the cage; grids, corro, beds, liners, new chew toys, etc.
I have NOT tried the bath bonding thing yet. I am really considering it. Since I would only try him with Wrigley and Badger I am not sure if this would even work out; I have heard from tons of people that boar trio's normally do not work out. :/
I was under the impression that if a female is spayed then the males won't go completely crazy. I, of course could be wrong, this is why I am asking what everyone's thoughts are.

[MENTION=27956]Beth Pearson[/MENTION], I know that it should only be 1 boar for any amount of females.

 

[Melissa123]

I know that a few place will even do a test run for piggies they adopt out. So, this might be an option for me to do a trail period.

 

[Melissa123]

Anxious to get some replies on this thread. Thanks all!

 

[emttami]

The surgery to spay females is more invasive, and is more commonly reserved for cases when there is a life-threatening problem involving the Guinea Pig's reproductive system. If you want to keep a male and female guinea pig together, neutering the male is the preferred option. I have been told to always try to avoid putting senior Guinea pigs older than 4-5 years old through the stress of surgery unless it's medically absolutely necessary too. I think if you are thinking about neutering yours then now would be the time, I wouldn't wait much longer, if this is your decision. Make sure you find a really good exotic vet! Or (1)you could try to search on the adoption page & you just might come across a female that has already been spayed for adoption??? Or (2) if you are thinking about getting another piggie...I would do baby with senior(baby...meaning 3-6wks of age) this usually works best or at least it has for me ( AND..(3) since you have 8piggies -maybe try putting only one that has an opposite attitude from your senior & try intro's with them to see how it will work. Sometimes a pair is better than a trio especially with boars. Me personally, I would not put a female (spayed or not) in with a herd of boars. I would do a (2) female with (1) neutered boar though. Hope things work out for you.

 

[emttami]

definitely let us know what you do decide, I'm anxious to know...I thought really long & hard about getting a female for my lonely boar before I paired him with a baby...after much research, decided against it b/c I had to many boars, etc. but I would love to have a female just to see the differences between sows/boars

 

[Melissa123]

The surgery to spay females is more invasive, and is more commonly reserved for cases when there is a life-threatening problem involving the Guinea Pig's reproductive system. If you want to keep a male and female guinea pig together, neutering the male is the preferred option. I have been told to always try to avoid putting senior Guinea pigs older than 4-5 years old through the stress of surgery unless it's medically absolutely necessary too. I think if you are thinking about neutering yours then now would be the time, I wouldn't wait much longer, if this is your decision. Make sure you find a really good exotic vet! Or (1)you could try to search on the adoption page & you just might come across a female that has already been spayed for adoption??? Or (2) if you are thinking about getting another piggie...I would do baby with senior(baby...meaning 3-6wks of age) this usually works best or at least it has for me ( AND..(3) since you have 8piggies -maybe try putting only one that has an opposite attitude from your senior & try intro's with them to see how it will work. Sometimes a pair is better than a trio especially with boars. Me personally, I would not put a female (spayed or not) in with a herd of boars. I would do a (2) female with (1) neutered boar though. Hope things work out for you.

If I do decide to add a female with Guinea I would be looking for a young one, not older.
I do know that spays are much more invasive then a neuter, but figure a young female could handle it better than an older one. That and they would (hopefully) have more of a chance of bonding.

I honestly do not want to neuter Guinea. If he was younger I would be all for it. Since I am not 100% sure of his age, I don't even want to risk it. But then there would still be an issue of the female going into heat and possibly make my other boys fight over her scent.

I currently have 7 boys, and the others are paired up so I couldn't pair him up with anyone without leaving someone solo. :/ This is my dilemma.
Thanks for the help!

 

[emttami]

yes that was my dilemma too, b/c I had (5) boars & I had tried pairing my aggressive loner boar up with two other boars, which did not work
& he looked so lonely, yet happy at the same time in a cage of his own...lol
I finally opt for getting another boar(baby) things are working out very well for now, hope things work out for you too

 

[Melissa123]

I have spoken to my husband about how I am feeling about this situation. He feels the same way I do apparently and does want to get Guinea a friend! Very glad I spoke with him about this. I think I am going to look around at shelters and websites for a very young boar. I would need a very mellow boy. If only I could clone my Chewy! He is such a sweet, mellow boy!

 

[Melissa123]

I still would love some feedback from you all. Don't be scared, I won't bite. lol

 

[foggycreekcavy]

I personally have had better results with spays than neuters as far as complications go. As long as you have a very experienced exotic vet doing the procedure, the risk is reduced. However, spays around her cost twice as much as neuters. $200 is actually cheap in my area.

I worry that another male will just put you in the same boat as before. A very young male will eventually go through adolescence and want to be dominant, and it sounds like Guinea is a pretty dominant male. Although sometimes if brought up with an older male that young one accepts that the older pig is the dominant one. It depends on his personality.

Some people don't have anything to add. Be patient and if someone has input they will give it.

 

[Melissa123]

I personally have had better results with spays than neuters as far as complications go. As long as you have a very experienced exotic vet doing the procedure, the risk is reduced. However, spays around her cost twice as much as neuters. $200 is actually cheap in my area.

I worry that another male will just put you in the same boat as before. A very young male will eventually go through adolescence and want to be dominant, and it sounds like Guinea is a pretty dominant male. Although sometimes if brought up with an older male that young one accepts that the older pig is the dominant one. It depends on his personality.

Some people don't have anything to add. Be patient and if someone has input they will give it.

Thank you for your input on this! I do realize that most people are not sure what to say on this thread since I've had 100+ views and only a few posts. :/

I talked to my vet and she has done both surgeries quite a bit. I wanted to know that she is comfortable doing this surgery for a female if that's the route we go. She did tell me that it is about the cost of a female cat spay (didn't get the exact amount). I am still thinking about all the pros and cons that each sex will bring. I know that the young boar would eventually go through adolescence, yet another thing that I fear.

If I did choose a female, what would be the best age? Is younger better when it comes to getting her spayed? I have never had sow's; how different are they compared to boars? Also, after a spay would my other boys still have issues with her scent or is this just heat related?

Sorry for so many questions; I just have SO many that need answered before I can decide what to do :/ Thank you!