Guinea Pigs

[demonmagus]

Hi, I've noticed that people always say guinea pigs should be in groups, and I've also believed that myself, and basically I want to know do they really have to be in groups? The reason I ask is because there is a male (4 months old) that I want to adopt (don't know if he's still there - I hope so) and I think if I just put him in with another random male there will be a fight. I asked the pet shop lady ( I know, not the best opinion lol) and she did say he would be alright, is this true?

 

[black angel]

Depends on the pigs i think. Its usually ok if theres no female around but I kept our piggie on his own for 4 years and he was fine, got lots of attention and made friends with the dog and the rats when I had them.

Im sure theres lots of piggie experts out there but thought I would say that mine was happy.

 

[cuticom]

Yes guinea pigs ARE herd animals. Although they can survive by themslesv they are never totally happy, to see them chat and interact with other pigs is an absoklutely beautiful thing.

To put them with another male theres a few things involved, ie if both males ahve agressive personalities they'll try to kill each other, and well, its not very pretty.

As theboar you wnat is 4 months old, you could try him with either an adult or another baby, though usually it works out better to have him with an adult.

I ahve a forum the CCCFA, that could join if you wnat to ask some more questions? where all crazily obsessed over there LOL, heres the link
http/cccfa.proboards92.com/index.cgi

 

[black angel]

I tried a young male with an older male and had to seperate them. Luckily I had a spare cage.

Maybe try your local rescue centre and see if theres any males that have been *done*

 

[cuticom]

Not trying to be rude but its really a myth that neutered males wont fight. I've had a few crazily aggressive boys neutrered, and placed with the girls, if I put them together well I'd rather spare myself the $200 vet bill. Neutering dosn't remove the hormone producing glands, all it removes is the testes, the boys don't act any different when they are done or not.

I currently have 4 six month old boars and a 4 year old boar all living together in the same cage, in another cage I have two one year old boars together. It can work

 

[kelp]

I used to have two male guinea pigs, and they were very nice to each other. I loved them very much. Guinea pigs are sooooo cute. It's preferable to get females instead of males. I think two males will be fine with each other. I think the problem occurs when you are introducing females to the males. There should only be one male for a cage with females.

Guinea pigs are very sweet creatures. They are loving and tender. If you are considering getting guinea pigs, check out this website for building your own guinea pig cage that will be large enough for the pigs.
http/www.guineapigcages.com/

 

[halfbloodprincess]

You should bring him in to where ever you are going to get another male, and introduce them to each other. And this way you will see if they get along. We did this for our guinea pig when we got another friend for her. It worked very well.

 

[demonmagus]

oooh that makes sense, but if they do get on I might build two seperate cages - put them close together, (as in side by side) and then after a week let them play together for 'x' minutes. Supervised obviously.


how long should 'x' be?

thanks

 

[fenwoman]

Hi, I've noticed that people always say guinea pigs should be in groups, and I've also believed that myself, and basically I want to know do they really have to be in groups? The reason I ask is because there is a male (4 months old) that I want to adopt (don't know if he's still there - I hope so) and I think if I just put him in with another random male there will be a fight. I asked the pet shop lady ( I know, not the best opinion lol) and she did say he would be alright, is this true?

no. males will fight. You could get them neutered though and that should stop the fighting.

 

[demonmagus]

Hi, fenwoman, I know you are amazing with animals, have you kept guinea pigs before, I'm not questioning your opinion but would letting them get used to each other help, or just build up the aggression. I really don't want to keep him on his own, it just seems harsh to animals who really talk to each other.

 

[grahamsokel]

I have 2 male Guinea pigs here father and son and my sister has 5 females at her house mum and 4 daughters.The males are getting on and neither have been done but i know that there is always a chance they will have a fall out and if they do i will get them both done and then pair them up with a female each.
I have found with chinchillas Having males Castrated makes no difference to them and they can still fight so i think Guinea pigs will be the same

 

[demonmagus]

how much is it on average to have a guinea pig 'relieved' or done or whatever


I never thought about doing that and pairing them up with female, will they harrass the female still?

thanks

 

[cuticom]

LOl yes, I'm sure pancake and Ishtar could do without their "boyfriends".

It can cost upwards of $100 for a boar to be neutered over $200 for a so to be spayed. Look around as some vets well, they say they can do it but actually can't. Callys an example of that the idiot vet left the part of the testes in and now Cally has abcesses at least one a week. My boys were neutered for $66 but that was a special price cos teh vet knows us really well.

 

[black angel]

Its quite a major operation for a boar to go through and some dont take anaesthetic well. One of our pigs was attacked by a rabbit so badly he had to be anaesthetised but sadly died from the anaesthetic.
Only think about this as a last option.
A lone pig isnt as bad as it sounds.

 

[demonmagus]

Its quite a major operation for a boar to go through and some dont take anaesthetic well. One of our pigs was attacked by a rabbit so badly he had to be anaesthetised but sadly died from the anaesthetic.
Only think about this as a last option.
A lone pig isnt as bad as it sounds.

hmmm yes ok, also I know you 're probably gonna shout at me for this but that's quite a bit of money, do you think the slow intro idea could work? (or I could just rescue two females, anyone know of good rescue centres in Sheffield)?