[Gpdd] CARE: separating mummy and baby pig :(

[Lauren Cordeiro]

Helen: I was also faced with a seperation problem when I discovered that one of the two siblings I bought from a petstore (they told me they were all female) had, well, male parts. (I don't shop there anymore). Luckily, I caught this early, and they have been happy and seperated ever since. I never spayed or neutered them, because I have heard it carries serious risks. So they live in two individual cages (with identical everything so they don't get jealous) that are located side-by-side. I let them out when it's time for play, and I watch them carefully. Piglet goes into heat about every 14-15 days. When she is, Pooh Bear is extremely noisy inside his cage, and when I let them out into their fenced-in area he will immediately attempt to smell Piglet's butt and will do nothing else (Piglet does not appear to like this at all; she is always spraying him with pee and running away - although obviously I wouldn't trust either of them to be able to prevent a pregnancy!). I notice this very obvious behavior shift right away. So I let one run around and the other sit in his/her cage, and then switch (although Pooh Bear will purr near Piglet's cage instead of running around). Some people may see this as risky, but I really have developed this into a science, and take many precautions. Until I can find a local vet who has had a lot of experience in GP spaying/neutering, I'll continue doing this. I'm not advocating that you do the same; if you can find a good exotics vet then it might be worth the risk and money to undergo a spay/neuter. Good Luck, whatever your choice.
Lauren, Piglet and Pooh Bear

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