Terry pig is an adult boar. Not that you would know it to look at these harrowing pictures. Though he is handsome he is very very thin, and at this moment extremely ill because his owner failed to intervene and separate him and his pal as he was being badly bullied.

Their owner thought Terry and his cage mate were both girls and their names were Pip and Honey. Honey is now called Terry and has been discovered to be a boar. Pip had been bullying 'Terry' for sometime before they were finally separated. Their owner noticed Terry felt lighter and looked half the size of Pip.  'Terry' wasn't moving much and just wanted cuddles from his owner. She noticed no signs of any other health problems. No dribbling, ears and eyes were ok, and no of hair loss. Though the rescuer found he had thick skin on his hocks from just lying on them and urine scalds to his legs. The front of his back feet were baldish from scuffing as he dragged them behind him. He had a very sore penis which is slowly getting better and a very very sore mouth which is also healing.

Terry's owner had a guinea pig loving relative with guineas of her own. So Terry was taken to see her and given a once over. All seemed fine, but his size and weight really worried the relative. Terry was bathed in Gorgeous Guineas Lavender shampoo to help relax him. Terry weighed just 12 1/2oz! His tummy has shrank as the has not eaten properly for so long. He will not eat by himself and needs vigorous syringe feeding.

His true sex (boar) was also discovered.. just in time before he was introduced to female guinea pigs! Lucky for Terry is being nursed by Wendi at Thistle cavies (well done Wendi) as the relative was wise enough to get him expert help. Please play for Terry's recovery and do not let your pig suffer like this. Separating pigs may be a hassle to you, getting a new cage etc. but the pigs happiness and as Terry's photos c;early show his life are at stake. Weigh your pigs and record their weights regularly. Changes of more than 2oz need investigating. Also observe your boars wherever possible to ensure both are getting a fair share of food.

Terry Pig next to a normal sized pig

BOAR SEPARATION – ANOTHER ANGLE

by Karen Malt

We all know the usual scenario of having to separate boars, which is the hurricane furball which can result in horrific injuries, when this happens, my rule of thumb is separate and keep separated, but there can be extenuating circumstances for a retry at a later date, as will be the case for my two boys below.

There is another reason that you may have to separate your boars, and this is where knowing your pig's personality becomes very important.

I have today had to separate my 4 yr old Rex Joshua and his friend of 8 months old a PEW Rex Meep. I introduced these two when Meep was a baby, I am lucky because Joshua loves the company of other pigs, but it seems that other pigs either don't like him, or bully him as was the case here. Joshua is one of Louise's rescues at Squeaky Pigs, and she tried with every boar she had at the rescue at the time, Josh liked them all, but they did not like him, must be something about his demeanour.

I had been monitoring Joshua and Meep the last 2 weeks because Meep was incessantly mounting him, and head butting him, Joshua does not retaliate with any authority so Meep continued to do this.

Joshua was now spending more and more time hiding away in the nest box, too afraid to come out because Meep blocked the entrance, day or night, laying in wait. This morning this turned into a real fracas which resulted in Joshua being trapped by his leg, after Meep bowled him over on to his back, his leg got wedged between cage wall and his wooden bridge, and Meep still carried on ‘mounting' him. Joshua was absolutely terrified, so today I separated them. I have also seen Joshua go from a noisy and nosey boy to one who was lethargic, depressed and he had begun to lose weight.

There are no guarantees as to how babies are going to grow up, and Meep is a very large chunky 8 month old, as big as Joshua already if not bigger. They now live next door to each other with a divider down the cage, so they can still talk to one another, and they have done this afternoon, peace is restored, and Joshua has done nothing but munch all day.

Make no mistake, bullying and depression can be as serious for your guinea pig than a full blown fight, I think worse, because if you don't pick up on it, your pig may have been denied access to food, preferring to starve rather than face an onslaught of bullying.

Get to know your pig's personality and get to know who is the most dominant out the two, and keep a very close eye on them.

Left & above left: Josh & Meep's new set-up living side by side. See our side by side page for more ideas.