Another Pig?

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ellyinexile

ellyinexile

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi,

I'm new to the forum (long time reader first time poster) and wanted to ask a question about introducing a new pig.

Basically one of my piggies (Bowie) died, he had a chest infection when we got him that we weren't aware of and although he recovered it left him with permanent damage to his lung which made him weaker and smaller overall. Our other pig; Harvey, was doing a lot of rubble-strutting and we witnessed him pushing Bowie away from the food bowls, intimidating him out of their house etc.

Bowie started to lose weight so we had two feeding stations but it didn't help so we then separated them during feeding times. Unfortunately, although Bowie ate a bit better when he was alone there must of already been an underlying health issue. He had been to the vet twice since he started losing weight but nothing seemed to help him. He had a course of Baytril and then an anti inflammatory but the vet couldn't find a cause...

We only lost him a few days ago and I'm still so devastated, he was such a little dude, really affectionate and playful. I loved him so so much..

Since he passed Harvey has been alone. He isn't responsible for Bowie being ill don't get me wrong, but he was being very dominant and bullying which didn't help, because of that i wanted to get an opinion of long time piggie owners on whether or not you think getting another pig is a good idea?

I hope I don't sound like I am overreacting, I guess I just can't face watching another of my piggies die :(
Ideally I would like to get another as I don't want Harvey to be alone and I know they thrive better together but I am scared now that a new pig could get bullied

Sorry for blabbering on.....
Any advice would be great

Thanks
Elly
 
Hi Elly. Welcome to the forum. I am very sorry for your loss. You are welcome to post a tribute on the rainbow bridge section.

Guinea pigs are social animals and can get very lonely living alone. I would take your little one to a rescue were he can choose his own friend. This will save you getting a piggy and then finding they do not get on. There is a rescue locater here

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/pages/guinea-pig-rescue-locator/

With guinea pigs one is dominant and what can look like bullying may just be normal behaviour. If you look in this section you can learn more
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/forums/behaviour-and-bonding.21/
 
Hi Ellie!

I am very sorry for your loss!

The safest way to find a suitable companion for Harvey is by dating him under expert supervision at one of our recommended rescues that offers this service; there are several rescues around London that we can recommend.
That way you come home only with a friend if there has been success without any risk of you and Harvey ending up with a mate he is not gettng on with. All the rescues listed have a mandatory quarantine and they only rehome healthy piggies, so you will be in the safest hands possible.

Pushing a piggy off a plate is normal dominance behaviour. If a piggy has an illness that can threaten the survival of the group as a whole, it will be pushed out (if it doesn't go away on its own, which most will do in open space but can't in a cage). If a piggy proves that it can keep up, it will be quite lovingly supported by the group. My guess is that Harvey was a) aware that his friend had a major problem and b) the weight loss is mostly due to that and not Harvey's bullying behaviour. He would be naturally the more dominant partner under the circumstances.
 
Hi,

Thanks for responding quickly and putting my mind at ease.
I live in Northern Ireland so unfortunately none of those shelters are accessible to me. Only one shelter over here (from what I can tell) has guinea pigs and they don't have many. The few they have are a lot older than Harvey, I'm not sure if that makes a difference?

Elly
 
Personality matters more then age. If they would let them meet to see how they get on that would be great.
 
Northern Ireland is much more different. Would you please mind to adjust your location. We are trying to take your local options re. rescues and vets into account when giving advice.

How old is Harvey? An age difference can be of advantage, actually, especially if the boars are hormonally settled adults. if they don't gel, you could look into the possibility of having two boys living alongside each other for mutual stimulation through the bars, but each with his own territory.
 
Wiebke said:
Northern Ireland is much more different. Would you please mind to adjust your location. We are trying to take your local options re. rescues and vets into account when giving advice.

How old is Harvey? An age difference can be of advantage, actually, especially if the boars are hormonally settled adults. if they don't gel, you could look into the possibility of having two boys living alongside each other for mutual stimulation through the bars, but each with his own territory.
Click to expand...

Sorry about the location mix up I sign up via twitter and haven't updated my twitter account in a while. Harvey is just coming up to 6 months so he is still quite young.
 
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