Please can you give me some advice on guinea pigs as we have just adopted 3 male (brothers) today and i've never had any before. They are 6 months old. I will have to get them neutered asap as they squabble and one has now gone blind in one eye due to this. They share a Hutch in the garden and have a blanket and plastic sheet that goes over the hutch to keep them warm and dry. They were bathed and had their nails clipped before the previous owner has brought them to us. She has brought them a few hrs ago we have handled them and made sure they are happy and well in the hutch and are letting them settle in. So i'm looking for advice on care for them as a book will only tell me so much, please help!?
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Small pets
70isaLimitNotaTarget ·
29/03/2015 20:08
Oh Jings pink
where did you get them (I'm guessing a private seller rather than a Rescue or a Petshop (given their age- Petshops usually turn them out younger)
Who told you to get them neutered, the owner?
And why were they selling/re-homing?
You've got them now, so buckle yourself in 
First off - boars are lovely (my DD wanted boars, we had a few years with boars now we have sows. The sows are gorgeous but boars have character like no other)
They also go through The Terrible Teens (aka The Kevin Years) at about 4-6 months which may well explain the reason why they were rehomed.
And trios of boars are hard work. A duo will live nicely with enough space and distractions. Trios of boys can be done but it's harder.
Don't neuter them unless you want to pair them with females. It doesn't change the fighting tendancies.
The one with the damaged eye? How long ago was this? Has he been looked at by a vet? Treated?
If they keep fighting you will need to re-assess the trio which may well mean taking out the one who is being picked on for his own safety.
Usually with a boar pair there's a dominant boy and a quieter one. If they maintain their Status Quo (not the Pop Group) they will jog along happily. One protects, the other is the protected. There might be the odd fracas (mine certainly did) but it's resolvable in most cases.
You can't put a boar pair in range of a sow but you could have a boar+boar and a neutered boar+sow if they are kept well apart.
A hutch for three guineas would need to be at least 5'x2' but for boars increase that - as much space as you can.
Your hutch has upper/lower levels . You'll find they'll spend most of the time in the sleeping bit for now, the grass might be too damp at the moment.
If you can, get a big rabbit run that folds up for storage. Peg it down with tent pegs to protect them. Lots of tunnels and boxes.
You've jumped in the deep end there pink but we're here to answer all your queries
Bonkey ·
29/03/2015 20:36
Don't have anything else to add but good luck .
From the owner of two boars who whilst loveable are a pain in my backside and must live in separate residences 
sanfairyanne ·
30/03/2015 16:32
you seem to have taken on a lot 
well done tho for doing all this!
i would not rush to separate them if there has been no blood drawn. the eye injury is either hereditary if cataract or more likely from a piece of hay. i cant imagine how a bite to the eye would happen or that they would only damage the eye. do you have antibiotics as well btw?
millimat ·
30/03/2015 16:43
Our vet is just a local one. We've been tonight for a general health check and nail clipping service- it's too traumatic for me to do them as gp3 is far too wriggly! All for free
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Bonkey ·
30/03/2015 17:59
If he is now separate then it will be tricky to add him back (especially with three!), just keep him where they can still sniff and see each other.
Any vet that says neturing pigs sorts out behaviour shouldn't be dealing with guineas! They are treating them like a standard animal but they are exotic pets despite their availability!
Go and have a look on the guinea pig forum if its still going and you will find a list of cavvy savvy vets and more proof on the neutering argument!
However, all that being said - if your boy has his eye out and has to have a op anyway I would go for the snip at the same time so then at least he can have a wifey if you want to go for another pig
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