1 Of Pair Died - Should We Get 1 Or 2 New Piggies As Company?

Status
Not open for further replies.
H

Hanfleur

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jul 3, 2014
Messages
16
Reaction score
14
Points
0
Hi there,

We are guinea pig novices after having rehomed a pair of 2.5 year old piggies from another family 6 weeks ago. Sadly one of the pair passed away yesterday and we now face the dilemma of what to do for the remaining pig (Dotty).

We don't want to leave her on her own, but I'm worried that if we get one more and then Dotty passes too we'll be left with a lonely pig again! I've found lots of info on how to introduce one new GP to an older one, but not much on introducing two. I think Dotty was definitely the more dominant of the pair but she is very placid. I'm wondering though if we introduced two new piggies at once that she'd find that more threatening than just one? I was hoping this was a situation we wouldn't need to deal with for a few years when we got them, but want to do what's for the best now it has!

Please help!

Thank you in advance! x
 
Also, I've read that you need to house old and new pigs separately for a time before introducing them and letting them live together so I was thinking about getting a double hutch where the ramp can be closed off between the two during this time and then once they've bonded, opening it up so that they have the run of the whole thing. Does this sound like a good idea? Also, how long does it usually take before they can all happily live together? Thank you!
 
Where are you located?

If you are in the UK a rescue can help you find compatible friends for Dotty :)
 
Hi there! Thanks for replying so quickly! We're near Glasgow, but it seems like the local SPCA doesn't have any guinea pigs at the moment so I was thinking of going to Pets at Home?
 
There are other rescues up north that do have piggies :-) try the rescue locator as I'm not over the border I'm not sure whats up there exactly. The big green chain use large rodent mills to stock their stores and often sell missexed, sick or pregnant animals so its very much worth the potential vet bills savings and heartache caused from that by travelling a little further for a rescue :-) There is one in North Shields that I know are good called NEGPR and they are piggy bank and it would be aboslutely worth the journey to there. If you cant find a rescue piggy there are still other options to consider other than the big green chain :-).
 
I've got the same dilemma and have just lost one piggy who was best friends with one of my younger ones. I got all three as a deal as they had bonded with the older one when they were babies. I'm going to wait and see if a rescue can help me out though
 
Thanks for the replies! North Shields is a bit too far for us really and I'm turning up a bit of a blank finding other rescue places in Scotland that are still operating or that have piggies needing homes :( Thanks for the info on Pets at Home - I didn't know that.

What about the issue of whether to get one or two more? And would a 2 tier hutch with the trap door closed to begin with and then later opened be an ok solution to the introduction phase? Sorry for all the questions - just feeling a bit out of my depth as I thought I'd have plenty of time to become a bit more experienced before we needed to be thinking of new piggies!
 
Hi @Hanfleur, Welcome to the forum..

Sorry to hear that you have lost a piggie..

We can highly recommend Hutches rescue run by Joanne as the 2 (Morgan left and Ouzo neutered boar right ) in our avatar are from hutches along with another sow. Joanne will make sure that you come away with a happy bonding, well worth the visit... Also worth considering that when you adopt a piggie or piggies from Joanne you get lifetime support something you won't get from a pet shop or breeder..
Sorry we can't link the website at the moment by if you put your post code into the rescue locator at the top of the main menu it will come up...

If you require any further information please ask..

Lisa & Ali..
 
Hi!

If you can organise a day trip to Hutches, you can take Dotty and let her decide who she wants to get on with! With sows, it can be one sow or neutered boar or a bonded pair of preferably younger sows; the critical point is that they click upon introduction. Age is secondary to liking/character compatibility.

It is well worth going further afield to a good rescue as their piggies have all undergone mandatory quarantine and a pregnancy watch if there was a chance that they were in contact with a boar over 3 weeks old. Dating happens under expert supervision, so you won't end up with a piggy that isn't working out. You will also get rescue support during the whole life of their rehomed piggies.

I have gone down the dating route with bereaved piggies of mine several times and always got a very loving relationship out of it, whatever companion they chose - and I never rued if it was more than an hour's trip each way reaping the benefits of happiness for the piggies and utter peace of mind for myself for years afterwards! ;)
 
Thanks for the advice folks. As much as I really would like to go to Hutches, it's a 2 hr drive each way from us and I'm just not sure it's doable with my 3 under 5s as my husband is away at the moment. I've found a couple of local pet shops that rear their own guinea pigs - would this be an ok compromise? It's a shame because I would have very much liked to go down the rescue route, but only the SPCA centres are near enough for us travel-wise and unfortunately (or fortunately I should say really) they don't have any piggies just now.
 
If you go down that route you will have to quarantine and make sure that any girls you rehome have not been in contact with any boars (inlcuding siblings) over 3 weeks old - and brace yourself about being lied to. You are welcome to have the sex checked on here before the introduction. The risks and responsibilities are all on your side. Some members have had some rather bad experiences/steep learning curve with piggies from independent shop breeders, so it is very much potluck.
 
Oh thank you so much @lisaali! I have just contacted them! I really don't want to do the wrong thing and feeling quite stressed about it all!
 
I am really not an expert but no one yet seems to have answered your double hutch query unless I've missed it (sorry if so). My basic understanding is that side by side is better than one above another for bonding purposes.
 
Hi @Hanfleur :) I enquired with Amanda at Crofthill a few days ago and went to see her yesterday. She has a few pairs of piggies and she has some on their own, and she has some boys just recently neutered. I honestly would recommend you get in touch - if you want to PM me I can send her mobile number :) You're under no obligation to take any of her piggies, and she has her own as pets too. They all have lovely big grounds to be outdoors in and are well looked after. If I had room I'd have been bringing home more than 1 yesterday :D
 
Shes also in Dalry, Ayreshire. So not too far from you :)
 
Thanks @LB14! I found her facebook page so have posted on her wall! Dalry's definitely not too far, so fingers crossed our new furry friends are waiting for us there! :)
 
Superb! I went yesterday all excited lol. Her house is REALLY easy to find too when you hit Dalry.
I wanted to bring home Betsy and her cage mate - two GORGEOUS Abyssinian females. But I only had room for 1 more and didn't want to see them seperated :D Hope you find what you are looking for!
I posted a picture of Minnie on her FB wall btw so you can see how healthy she looks
 
:) I was just looking at the pictures and was thinking Betsy and Bella looked lovely! Feeling excited again instead of horribly stressed out and down about it all! I mainly got our original pair for my twin daughters' benefit, but the wee beasties are really starting to grow on me!
 
Congratulations on your adoption of Minnie btw! She looks like a cracker! x
 
Brilliant @Hanfleur ! I'm confident you'll get on great, and if you don't find exactly what you are looking for, well, there are always other options for rehoming :) My local PAH has just opened and had a few piggies in for rehoming. The one in Drumchapel usually has them in for rehoming too x
 
Glad you are feeling better about it all. Good luck

What's the score with pets at home and their rescue ones? Are these thoroughly checked out before being put up for adoption I wonder
 
You now what? I would like to be really positive but I don't have a clue.

I do know that a PAH opened last week just a few mins from me which is great in the respect it saves me a 50 minute round trip to the nearest one. BUT, they have shifted the animals they had in the adoption centre in the further away one - to the one just beside me.

Last time I was in PAH before this new one opened they had 2 piggies in adoption centre and I wanted to bring them home with me :( One was cowering in a corner and the other was picking on it constant the whole few minutes I was there. According to the info sheet they were brought in together and needed someone with a lot of time to build up their trust in people. So god knows what they lived like before. But I personally think if that was the case they should be somewhere else ie a rescue centre, and with someone already to look after them, instead of just left in the little glass cabinet thing in the HOPE that someone will come along :(
 
LB14 said:
You now what? I would like to be really positive but I don't have a clue.

I do know that a PAH opened last week just a few mins from me which is great in the respect it saves me a 50 minute round trip to the nearest one. BUT, they have shifted the animals they had in the adoption centre in the further away one - to the one just beside me.

Last time I was in PAH before this new one opened they had 2 piggies in adoption centre and I wanted to bring them home with me :( One was cowering in a corner and the other was picking on it constant the whole few minutes I was there. According to the info sheet they were brought in together and needed someone with a lot of time to build up their trust in people. So god knows what they lived like before. But I personally think if that was the case they should be somewhere else ie a rescue centre, and with someone already to look after them, instead of just left in the little glass cabinet thing in the HOPE that someone will come along :(
Click to expand...
I agree. I went into my local one the other night and they had some rescue ones in a glass cage no bigger than maybe around 2ft square. Poor little things. I I could, I'd have and look after the whole lot
 
lisaali said:
We have just heard of another new rescue which is getting some good reviews from a couple of forum members..
@gwinnypiggylove
@LB14
Both have adopted from this rescue recently..
http://crofthillcavyrescue.weebly.com/
Click to expand...
I have heard about this rescue too. It looks like a good place for adopting piggies. I was going to go and get a pair of guinea pigs. But I spotted the two boars I got on gumtree and couldn't resist them. I figured that the piggies in the rescue were safe and the pigs on gumtree might not have been so lucky. Also I was prepared for any vets costs That might arise. Good luck and Let us all know if you adopt Any of the piggies. :luv:
 
Just to see how you got on this morning... :D
 
Thank you! We went, we saw, we came home with 2 new piggies! Forgot to get photos earlier, but we adopted Flora and Fudge! Flora's a wee bit more skittish than Fudge at the moment, but I just had a lovely cuddle with her and she seemed to really settle! Looking forward to the introductions with Dotty :) Thanks so much again for the info on Crofthill. Such a lovely rescue with a lovely owner! x
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top