Advice needed on fostering piggies for my soon-to-be single piggie

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morumotto

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Hey everyone, I'm sorry if this is in the wrong section; wasn't sure if this belonged in the "Bonds" section or the "End of Life" section.

I currently have two piggies: 6yo sow, Oreo, and 4yo boar, Lu. I've noticed lately that Oreo is starting to wind down. She's losing weight pretty steadily, and I think her end is coming sooner than I'd like. I'm planning on having her seen by the vet, but I'm coming to terms with the idea that she may be leaving us soon.

I have decided recently that Oreo and Lu are going to be my last guinea pigs for a while. I have no plans to give up Lu after Oreo passes, but I don't want him living alone, either. I was thinking that, for the rest of Lu's life, I would foster guinea pigs that can live alongside him. My plan was to divide my current cage down the middle and have Lu on one side and the foster piggie on the other. I have a few questions about this setup that I'd like to run past everyone:
  1. Is there any restriction for what piggies I could foster? Does it matter if I foster a girl vs. a boy (as in, would one sex versus the other cause behavioral issues)?
  2. Will there be any problems with Lu potentially having his foster friend rotating out on a regular basis? I'm worried that it may cause Lu distress to meet new piggies through the bars just to have them leave him after a few days, weeks or month. But I imagine that's preferable to being completely alone?
Any other advice you may have, please feel free to share. Thank you!
 
I’m sorry to hear Oreo seems to be declining.

In answer to your questions.

1. No there is no restriction on sex of the new piggy IF the new piggy is to live in a separate cage. They will not be properly bonded and will not be sharing a territory so there are no character match, sex or any other considerations to take into account.
If they were going to be properly bonded and live in the same cage then you would most probably need a sow. Lu may well be unwilling to accept being bonded to a boar going forward given he has spent his life with a sow. Being put back into a bachelor pair could well be seen as a demotion in status. It’s not a given that he would definitely never accept living with a boar, but it is quite a high chance that he wouldn’t, so proper dating would be needed to ensure compatibility.

2. You are right - some side by side company is better than no piggy contact at all.
 
I'm sorry to hear that Oreo seems to be showing her age.

I recently saw here on the forum the idea of adopting a companion guinea from a rescue for a bereaved guinea. The companion guinea is generally a bit younger and remains with the bereaved guinea till he/she heads to rainbow bridge and then goes immediately back to the rescue, to then be adopted into a forever home.

This idea is increasingly common among rescues in Germany. I've made use of it twice. You make sure they bond and put them in the same accommodation, that's just the way it's done here. I'd think that that would be a much better solution for Lu than having different fosters from time to time. But of course I have no idea whether companion guineas for bereaved guineas exist where you are in the US, nor whether there any rescues near you.
 
Mrs Tiggy Winkle said:
I'm sorry to hear that Oreo seems to be showing her age.

I recently saw here on the forum the idea of adopting a companion guinea from a rescue for a bereaved guinea. The companion guinea is generally a bit younger and remains with the bereaved guinea till he/she heads to rainbow bridge and then goes immediately back to the rescue, to then be adopted into a forever home.

This idea is increasingly common among rescues in Germany. I've made use of it twice. You make sure they bond and put them in the same accommodation, that's just the way it's done here. I'd think that that would be a much better solution for Lu than having different fosters from time to time. But of course I have no idea whether companion guineas for bereaved guineas exist where you are in the US, nor whether there any rescues near you.
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Yes you are right but there are two scenarios of ‘fostering’.
The one you have read on the forum for a bereaved piggy (the one that you are referring to here) is if they wanted to give their own piggy a friend to see out their own life and provide a more permanent home for the new piggy before being returned to the rescue once their own piggy had passed away.

However the other type, and what I read to be what the OP means given rotating out in a regular basis was mentioned, is looking to foster piggies who need a temporary home ie to free up space in a rescue (ie if a rescue took in an abandonment case of a large number of piggies and didn’t have space for all of them) or to help rehabilitate a piggy(s) before it’s ready to find its permanent home. In that scenario, the foster piggy(s) and Lu would not be bonded because the foster piggy(s) may already be in a bonded pair and/or only need to be homed for a very short space of time.
For Lu going through bonding with a new friend(s) multiple times and that ‘friend’ only stays for a week or a month would be stressful and thus living in a separate cage for the duration of their temporary stay is the right course of action (and a rescue would probably not allow a foster piggy to be bonded with a resident piggy in any event).
 
Piggies&buns said:
Yes you are right but there are two scenarios of ‘fostering’.
The one you have read on the forum for a bereaved piggy (the one that you are referring to here) is if they wanted to give their own piggy a friend to see out their own life and provide a more permanent home for the new piggy before being returned to the rescue once their own piggy had passed away.

However the other type, and what I read to be what the OP means given rotating out in a regular basis was mentioned, is looking to foster piggies who need a temporary home ie to free up space in a rescue (ie if a rescue took in an abandonment case of a large number of piggies and didn’t have space for all of them) or to help rehabilitate a piggy(s) before it’s ready to find its permanent home. In that scenario, the foster piggy(s) and Lu would not be bonded because the foster piggy(s) may already be in a bonded pair and/or only need to be homed for a very short space of time.
For Lu going through bonding with a new friend(s) multiple times and that ‘friend’ only stays for a week or a month would be stressful and thus living in a separate cage for the duration of their temporary stay is the right course of action (and a rescue would probably not allow a foster piggy to be bonded with a resident piggy in any event).
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OK, I understand, thank you for your information. I didn't know about fostering guineas the way you explain 'the other type'. I agree in that situation trying to bond Lu with new friends multiple times would be very stressful for him.
 
Piggies&buns said:
Yes you are right but there are two scenarios of ‘fostering’.
The one you have read on the forum for a bereaved piggy (the one that you are referring to here) is if they wanted to give their own piggy a friend to see out their own life and provide a more permanent home for the new piggy before being returned to the rescue once their own piggy had passed away.

However the other type, and what I read to be what the OP means given rotating out in a regular basis was mentioned, is looking to foster piggies who need a temporary home ie to free up space in a rescue (ie if a rescue took in an abandonment case of a large number of piggies and didn’t have space for all of them) or to help rehabilitate a piggy(s) before it’s ready to find its permanent home. In that scenario, the foster piggy(s) and Lu would not be bonded because the foster piggy(s) may already be in a bonded pair and/or only need to be homed for a very short space of time.
For Lu going through bonding with a new friend(s) multiple times and that ‘friend’ only stays for a week or a month would be stressful and thus living in a separate cage for the duration of their temporary stay is the right course of action (and a rescue would probably not allow a foster piggy to be bonded with a resident piggy in any event).
Click to expand...

Yes, you are correct, I am looking at the temporary foster home solution in which the foster piggies would not be bonded with Lu. I just want to clarify that my ideal setup of dividing my current, large C&C cage in half is separation enough? Or do they need to be in two completely different cages?

And thank you both for your condolences. I'm sad to see her decline, she has been the sweetest piggie I have ever known (great lap piggie, loves to be pet, gives kisses on your hands and face, purrs and pancakes when petted), but I feel contented that she has had a long fulfilling life! I almost feel more sorry for Lu because he is absolutely fond of her.
 
morumotto said:
Yes, you are correct, I am looking at the temporary foster home solution in which the foster piggies would not be bonded with Lu. I just want to clarify that my ideal setup of dividing my current, large C&C cage in half is separation enough? Or do they need to be in two completely different cages?

And thank you both for your condolences. I'm sad to see her decline, she has been the sweetest piggie I have ever known (great lap piggie, loves to be pet, gives kisses on your hands and face, purrs and pancakes when petted), but I feel contented that she has had a long fulfilling life! I almost feel more sorry for Lu because he is absolutely fond of her.
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It’s a wonderful thing to be able to do.
A divided c&c is and should be fine (unless there is a specific reason a particular foster piggy would need to be kept entirely separate).
Of course you need to comply with size requirements: Lu having a minimum of a 2x3, but ideally he will have a 2x4. A single foster having the same, 2x3 but ideally a 2x4; or a foster bonded pair having a 2x4.

She certainly does sound to have had a lovely life.
It has so sad when you see them declining but I also try to consider it a pleasure to be able to care for them in their old age.
 
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