Here’s my guinea pigs story: I was doing research and decided to get males. I went into a pet shop and while helping us look for items the worker told us that males shouldn’t be together because they’ll fight and just don’t get along. So I went home that day and searched it up on google and I believed it was true. So finally I found this breeder and we went but when we went he only had males. He has hundreds of guinea pigs but they were all males. I was so excited to get guinea pigs do I didn’t want to wait for his only female to give birth so I just got 2 males. I got a very skittish one and a very jumpy, outgoing one. They are now best friends that love to cuddle, eat together, sleep together, play together. They are inseparable. I’m so glad I got them instead of waiting for females because then I would never get to experience these 2. Now after having them for 6 months I can’t imagine life without them. (I just scrolled up and wow this is long lol)
Make a movie out of it. I have 2 females , both sleep next to each other and same thing. Breeders and petshops sell you the older ones and make a storry if its male of male or female or female,.they will fight. Lets see how they live in the wild. They are both male and females.
Are they still doing well? I'm looking into getting 1 male (this specific male is VERY territorial, and can't be housed with other pigs) and I'm wondering if you have any other concerns I may need to look into
Sarah!! Honestly, your voice + accent makes me so happy. My favorite piggy channel. Your pigs are just way too stinking cute. Lots and lots of love from Texas 🇺🇸
Great video ❤️. We have 1 boar and 4 sows and the boar is definitely the family favourite (although we don't say so in front of the girls 😉 ) He is so super friendly! And not aggressive at all. He's a typical male, he gets out the way and watches the girls bicker from a safe distance in his hidey, his guinea pig equivalent to a 'man shed' 😆
I am so addicted to your videos. As a lover of Guinea Pigs, I have learnt so much from you. I can sense from you, the love, care and compassion itself. You talk about them with such passion unlike anyone else I've seen of RU-vid. Sending support and love from the southern most Caribbean island Trinidad, incredibly close to where Guinea Pigs were originated. Keep up the absolutely great work.
If you are on the fence about getting males or females, then help the boys!! So many of them struggle to get good loving homes. I have had both, choosing my piggies based on personality rather than gender. But the last 10 years I have had mostly males, because they are less skittish and more outgoing - and turn into mini-couch potatoes in no time. Get 2 males from the same litter, that will reduce the risk of males fighting to next to zero - so LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BOYS :-) ... and yes, that is an 80's song :-D
@@SqueakDreams - YAI !!! Thank you for your reply - Wonderfull piggies and I just LOVE the piggie language you created and use for the piggie's comments and conversations in your video - such an awesome idea! Love from Copenhagen, Denmark
Thank you for covering this topic! I'm unfortunately down to one piggy now and am considering having two males at the same time for the first time ever (despite having had 14 piggies so far!), so I've been so curious about this topic. I've noticed the floor time difference with my boy piggy. He's daring and loves floor time so much!
Just to show how much pet stores can mess up: I went to get guinea pigs and was told I had chosen 2 healthy females. In reality, I chose THREE guinea pigs. One of the original 2 was pregnant, and the other might be a boy. They both came to us with ringworm that has gotten better. I’m very happy with my 3 guineas and will be taking them to a vet very soon to get their genders checked.
I have 6 unneutered boars. The only time there was any problems was when I had all 6 together in, admittedly my fault, too small an enclosure for social floor time (they're normally paired up in large 12 square foot hutches). One piggie is more highly-strung and got stressed and decided to take it out on the much larger and dominant piggie he had happily been sharing a hutch with. All piggies have different personalities and I've found once boars have established who is dominant through rumble strutting, etc. they will happily live together. If anything, disagreements are sorted out quicker and with less fuss. There is really no discernable difference between boars and sows (apart from the anatomical ones). I very nearly didn't take them from the rescue centre because I'd listened to the misinformation about them being aggressive and high maintenance, but now I'm happy I adopted them and love my Boyz.
Referring to the overlooked boars is the exact reason I got back into piggies. There was a litter of three baby piggies being re-homed and only one little boy. I knew he would either be alone his entire life or simply not find a home. So I bit the bullet and dove head first back into piggies. A few weeks later I adopted an adult male from petco. He had been relinquished by his previous owners, kept alone 😢. They bonded decently easy as Ian was still very young. Barely is definitely the most dominant and bossy pig but Ian knows his place and they get on very well in their 2x6 c&c cage. Always #TeamBoar for me 😜😘
My only boar, Patches, definitely can vouch for the fact that males are more confident, more social, and basically more interested in their owners, lol! I love boys now, and would definitely get a bonded pair.
Super helpful! I've always heard that having a boar and a couple of sows was the easiest constellation for beginners and I plan on getting a boar and two sows once I get my own space. I hope Lyra will be ok
I have three males. A bonded pair and one who is aggressive with the other two. He does well by himself, and he’s still able to see them, smell them, hear them just not physically able to hurt them.
I have four boars, kept in two pairs meaning they’re in two different cages. They get on well in their pairs but have been together since they were young. I rescued the second pair from someone who was unable to look after them, it’s more work having two separate cages and money for liners and houses etc but it’s worth it. Boys can definitely live together in pairs successfully :) they also all have great personalities and are very sociable/enjoy laptime x
I had a male and people do think that females are kinder but OMG he was sooooooo sweet! He loved me so much that he never bit me and never pooped on me but instead he would nudge his head on my arm when he had to poop. And every time I went into the room he would run up by the wall and purr for my attention. I miss him so much, every day, every hour, every minute, every second, and millisecond. Love you nugget
Thank you for mentioning bladder stones, I have a guy who has had 2 ops and every day with him is precious. Boys are so spirited and loving! Both of my guys give kisses and cuddles and love a good old chat, they are the best of friends, both rescued from separate awful environments. Can I add that sperm rods can be a painful issue for boys that prospective piggy parents may need to learn about! All in all, BOYS RULE 😂 xxx
I am a new owner of 2 male Guinea pigs and they were complete strangers to each other but are getting along just fine! I have been binge watching your videos.
Amazing video, thanks for the information. I’m currently trying to convince my parents to get me some guinea pigs and your videos have given me so much helpful and useful information!
Ever since I got my guinea pig this is the number one channel I go to for my advice and here's my subscription 😊 thanks for all your help in your videos
We have 2 boars who are 2 years old… they are healthy and haven’t needed cleaned out down there…. But boys do have scent glands and can spray this gluey stuff on another male… it doesn’t wash off so you have to cut it out… that’s the only difference that I can think of….girls spray pee.. I don’t mind boys… we took them in from a lady that was looking to re-home them about 6 months ago.. they are nice boys but not very tame… they get so excited to see me (or my husband when he comes home from work at 5pm - because he gives them a treat) and run to the side of the cage… they take food from my hand and will occasionally let me pet them quickly… only on the top of head.. and then they run away…. They do pretty well on lap time… as long as I have veggies to give them… if I take them out early in the afternoon they may even nap on my lap after the veggie feast..lol..
I love my two little boars! I wish we could have a herd, or at least another pair of little guys, but I don't want to risk these guys splitting up (they have a serious love-hate relationship lol!)
I have 2 females and two males. The owner of the boys said they were bonded. But after getting them they attacked each other. I had to seperate them and I hate it because I don’t believe any piggy’s should be alone but any males I’ve tried to bind with my guys doesn’t work. These 2 boys HATE any Guinea pig they meet. But are so loving!!
I have two males and they are lovely! One is much more shy than the other, even with me (food source 🤣). The rumbling and humping is insane sometimes 😅 but they are pretty young, not even 1 year old yet. And there's also the 'boar glue'... Sometimes their back hair just get full of it (gross, I know) and I often have to trim it 🤷♀️ They don't smell :) I just love my boys and their different personalities
I have two male skinny pigs who are brothers and I have had them since they were just babies. Right as you said males can get along with each other mine started "arguing" as I call it, LOL! They have their disagreements as brothers do, but they also would not know what to do without each other!
i know this video is pretty dated but i've been binge watching your channel, as i plan on adopting a pair of guinea pigs from a local rescue soon! 🥰 just wanted to say thank you for educating us on your piggies. you're so passionate about them and it's made me just as passionate! i wanted to ask - are your piggies neutered? and do you recommend getting your pigs "fixed" or not?
As a person that meant to have two male piggies but ended up with 4 🙈 They are in pairs and in seperate cages. They were not bonded, but breeder said that in 95% of the times that a boar and a baby is paired togethere they'll get along fine. So our two big boys paired with two little boys and both pair are getting along well. The main thing is to have at least two of everything though, big cage and only on one floor so they won't start arguing over floors og hidies 😉 Our boars are all not neutered due to the fact that I'm scared of doing that procedure since piggies (at least here in Iceland) tend to have a high mortality rate due to the meds they're given in that procedure 😥
I have four boars living together. All have gotten along since meeting. Three were babies introduced to a much older boar. Before the babies, I had a younger piggy with my older boar (sadly passed away) but they got along great, too! A few years back, I had two sows that HATED each other. All pigs are different. Some males are harder to keep/don't get along, some females are like that. Just depends.
A client of mine couldn’t look after her 4 boys anymore, so I took them on. 2 of them started fighting alot, one of them left with scratches and a bloody nose. So they were separated. The other two were doing so well until one of them developed GI from stress of his friend, his friend was also showing dominant behaviour. So now I have 4 separate males instead of 2 pairs and just don’t know where to go from here!!:( HELP!! Do I reintroduce? Do I swap the pairing?!
Just got my first guinea pigs and decided to go with boys without knowing the stigma about them and I can say I definitely love them to death. They aren't a bonded pair but I do have their cages side by side. I am trying to bond them but seeing them teeth chatter at each other and get in each other's face is a bit disheartening/terrifying. I do always separate them before they start to fight but would love advice on how to bond them.
Drats, I accidentally pressed the wrong button - I've corrected it but just wanted to let you know that, if you received a ntoification about a dislike just recently, then it was error. I found your video to be informative and fun. Thank you.
My boy was the sweeeeetteeessssttttt. I was told by the pet store he was a girl, so I was like we’re only getting girls because she’s just to good. Turns out she was a he and I loved that boy, may he Rest In Peace. Edit: He loves to be held, but he was a scardy cat sometimes though, so we let him run the show so he wouldn’t run and hide all the time when he was free to roam.
when iw say younger I got rabbits, my mum was a vet and knew great care! we had them for about 2 years there was a older one runner. female and neutered and she was so kind! and her sister ran away (we live in the countryside) and I was really upset we tried paring her with another one and she didn't like him, a year later we bought another and they clicked together a few months later she got quite old and while happily eating her greens she passed away peacefully they had full roam of the house and garden and they lived happily the male (meadow) passed away later from a mill disease.
As a owners of two boys I think I'd stick to males because for some reason I like them better, and they are little sweethearts.. Especially my first piggy, he's a lover not a fighter.. And my boys get along well.. But I don't think I'll get a third piggy for the cage..
Awh thank you so much, Lyra never showed any signs until she was 6, I thought she would be one of the lucky ones xxx The debate on whether it is worth spaying females at a young age is interesting, with an experienced vet and a flank spay (where they take the ovaries only), this may be a good option for concerned owners.
I don't know if this is normal (after reading the comments) but my two baby male guinea pigs keep on fighting and growing, just being very aggressive and dominant. This, I thought, was completely normal until it got more violent than usual so I tried to separate them just in case of them drawing blood. Well, the tiny little thing bit me. And that did draw blood, so I haven't interacted with them since (only talking to them etc.). I was so shocked because I read that guinea pigs can't bite, and now I don't know if I should still keep them together or add a grown male guinea pig so that the dominance thing would stop. (They came from the same litter, I'm not sure if this is why they are so aggressive towards each other though)
I only have ever had males,the 2 I got in 2020 (a rex x Teddy named Blackjack and a white crested named Gingernut)Both were really sweet boys,Gingernut was a bit cheeky and very sweet,same with Blackjack Blackjack passed in February and Gingernut passed today:(
I have 2 male guinea pigs and they have been living in the same cage their whole life and they fight very much😭 theyr like 10 months old so that explains it. btw I love your videos they help me very much!
I’ve rescued five male guinea pigs at different times and they were almost a year old and they got along they slept next to each other but I did have to have a divider in between all of them yeah they could still touch each other and they absolutely fell in love with each other.
Regarding the topic of impaction, I think it should be clarified that it is not the anus that gets impacted. Boars have a "pocket" just above the anus. As they get older the skin loosens (there are no muscles here) and the pockets can fill with sebum, loose skin cells etc and can also collect the odd poop, bedding, hay etc. This can form into a large mass which is where the impaction term comes from. If checked regularly, the pocket can be easily cleaned out with a cotton bud, and if the mass of stuff is a bit too solid, can be loosed with olive oil or similar before cleaning. The term for this is Boar Cleaning. If you want to know more, look up "Saskia from the LA Guinea Pig Rescue" on You Tube she has some fantastic (if a little yucky!) videos.
I am so happy that you mentioned that pet stores can misidentify sexes, because that happened to me . I thought I was getting 2 girls, but got 1 each. I didn't know until it was to late and we had babies.
I have a fun story today 3/9/22 my Guinea pig had a baby and I did not know they where girls and boy I got them a pet smart and I was gonna clean the cage today and omg 😱 there was a baby there but one did not make it made me so sad 😭 but I took dad out and let mom in the cage after looking at the u know seeing ho was girl ho was boy the baby is so cute looks just like daddy
Hey Sarah! Great video and very informational I've had my girls for three or four months now and I found that I only have a few hidies.. a box a pyramid and they have their little hay box that they go into but I found that I feed them veggies in the morning and sit and talk to them when they have their veggies so they get used to me and they eventually may stop acting like a couple of little scaredy cats I think it's working pretty good I'm sitting here talking to you right now and they're having their veggies and so they're used to my voice and used to me having my coffee and sitting here and talking with them but it's good to know that the females are much more skittish in the males are.
Hey I love your videos. We have 2 boars who are 8 month old brothers and we are having issues with the dominant one really becoming a bully. We’re considering whether we need to get them both neutered to try and settle them down. Personally we have found bonding with them quite hard but these are our first piggies so don’t know what a female would be like. Love seeing how adorable yours are!
as long a blood isn’t drawn keep trying to bond them and remember to never add them both to the same cage until they are fully bonded. Also I wouldn’t get them nurtured as there is a high chance of things going wrong and it being fatal so maybe try looking at videos on how to bond males. Scotty’s animals has many videos on male bonding so I would definitely recommend his channel
Boar cleaning is necessary it’s more important on boars who aren’t neutered Because there’s a lot more nasty stuff && neutered boats are cleaner but it’s important I try to do boar cleanings every week but sometimes I’m unable to do it every single week also male pigs have more grease on their grease glands I have boars but I originally planned && wanted to get sows it all depends on the personality
Thanks Sarah- really balanced and helpful advice there. I haven’t had a boar as all females here but I will definitely get one one in the future I hope- Pedro is such a lovely chap-he really would persuade anyone about to get piggies that boars are great!! xx
I have 2 female piggies but I love both boys and girls. I would love to have a newtered male to add to my girls but I don't know where to get a newtered male. I've heard that the surgery is risky for them so I don't want to be responsible for getting a male, having it newtered and then die because of it. I have a vet for my girls but I'm not sure on how they feel about it. It would truly break my heart if anything would happen to the little guy. Plus I'm limited on space for a bigger cage for more, unfortunately. My girls are the first ones that I ever had. If I would have found out sooner how adorable they are as family members I would have gotten them sooner. I am currently 65 years young.... so I don't know how much time I have to be able to have and care for them properly. Hopefully, I can have at least a couple more in my lifetime. Mean while I am loving and enjoying my girls. They are very loved and spoiled. That's the way it should be. ☺️💖 Great video by the way. Lots of good information.
Oddly enough my boldest pig in my herd is a sow lol. Shes super friendly and curious and adventurous. My boar is way more timid, but he is more bold than the other two girls in the herd lol. Also i disagree that boars are more messy lol. I have my boar separated rn waiting to be cleared after neuter and he is basically perfect with the litter box and the girls absolutely arent lol
I just had to separate my two male pigs): I tried to give them space and plenty of hides, they just didn’t like each other. The previous owner neglected to tell me they fight each other and I didn’t notice until I got them home and checked them out.
I tried to convince my dad to get me a guinea pig but he says he doesn’t want to because the way they look make him uncomfortable :( anyways you think I can convince him?
I had male guinea pig like 9 years and before he died he couldn't poop, I didn't know it's because of his age :( he died one month ago and today my friend bought me girl guinea pig two months old and I'm kinda scared 😌
In my experience I prefer male guinea pigs because they get used to me faster than females they are more fearful and run away from me but males always like me
Thank you 😄 and yes you definitely can, I actually prefer to as I feel its more natural for them and is higher in fibre and vitamins, especially compared to watery veg like lettuces and cucumber 😊
@@SqueakDreams Thanks so much you are a huge help! I’ve commented on 2 videos this week, and you’ve responded to both! I really love how you care so much about your channel and subscribers! Thanks again, bye!
Avoid buttercups and daisies. Daisies aren't as unsafe as buttercups so a few won't hurt, but best to be careful. Dandelions are fine but are a diuretic (make your piggies wee a lot). Also make sure the grass is well washed as slugs and snails can spread heartworm and lungworm (a good reason to not leave dog toys outside too).
my sister has a boar about 8 yrs old while he does run to the front of the cage he seems to do this for anyone who may have food but when you try to pet him he runs does not like being touched at all which makes me sad i just want to love on him n cuddle him but he wants no part of it lol unless theres food
Same with my boys. The most outgoing one only comes out for food and the other one is starting to come for food still, they both just don’t want me to hold them at all.
I've never been so undecided in my life on what to get. The boar cleaning I recently learned about vs ovarian cysts 😭 For beginners, but researching for months, would you have a suggestion on how to decide.
My female Guinea pig keeps chasing my chases my baby Guinea pig and I don’t understand why I put them in a bigger cage together and they have two food bowls two waters and a lot of hay I don’t understand what’s going on
can someone tell me why my 2 males fight all the time? they mount eachother which i know is a dominant thing. but i’ve had them for over a year already. shouldn’t they already decided who’s the boss of the cage?
New piggy mom here we just got 1 male piggy then heard he need another then boom I have 3 now I been bonding them in the bath room they been getting along well nicely just humping lol makes me laugh every time and I made sure all 3 of them are males
I kinda want to get a 3rd male and i’ve done all my research on it. 1 of my males are 9 months and pretty dominant the other is 7 months and not that dominant. I’ve been thinking that maybe I could get a 3-5 month old male so they could bond well but i’m not sure if it’s the best idea so do you have any tips on how to have a good bonding process?
@@person39 right now they don’t live all together the older by a week lives in his own cage and then to 2 baby boys live in the same but I been giving them play dates so far they been getting along well together I’m gonna try because they are getting along to live in the upgraded cage I just got then at night take the older one out one in his own cage by the other one till I know for sure it will be all well
wait, so the impaction only happens to unneutered boars? if i were to neuter the guinea pig, he wouldn't have this problem? i'm thinking about getting guinea pigs, and this is one of the reasons i want to get females
i have a question tho, i was wondering if neutralizing piggies at an early age is gonna prevent most of the health problems? Or you shouldn't neutralize them so early in their lives?
