Bereaved piggie

IgglesPiggles

IgglesPiggles

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Hello everyone. My 4 year old girl has lost two cage mates to illness in last 6 months. A reputable local rescue dont do bonding or dating as such but can give me another sow or even have adopters ready in next few days who want a third piggie. I work full-time although have the last 2 weeks of January as leave so would be around to manage a bond in a more relaxed fashion rather than over a weekend and back to being at work Monday with them alone to work it all out. She was quite a dominant character with previous one so I think it would be better to be there watching closely for a week or two if I do decide to take another. I would have gone for a neutered boar but none around at present. Finding it hard to decide which way to go and having a tough time thinking about rehoming her but of course would not have her live alone either. Do you think she will be ok waiting another month? She is quieter than usual, eating (not as much hay) but maintaining weight with slight loss only. I dont want to start all that syringe feeding so might be a risk to leave her without a friend for much longer in case she falls into a depression. What do you think? Any previous experiences with maximum length of time ok to leave piggy alone before new introductions start? Is it ok to leave it 6 weeks post bereavement? I want to do what is best for her. Thank you so much.
 
I'm sorry you've lost 2 piggies in the last 6 months :hug:
Looking After A Bereaved Guinea Pig Whether your remaining sow will be OK for 6 weeks very much depends on her, but it doesn't sound to me as if she is deeply grieving and needing a new friend ASAP. This thread might help with looking after her . My last boar spent several months on his own, twice, whilst I found him new friends. He was fine, though probably rather bored on his own.

Is the rescue you mention one of the forum recommended ones? If not, you could check the list and see if there are any near you that could do dating so you don't have the risk of bringing home a new piggy that doesn't get on with your girl.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/guinea-pig-forum-recommended-rescues.196734/

Also, @Betsy lives in your area, maybe she knows of a rescue that could help you.
 
Thank you @Qualcast&Flymo for tagging me in.

Its very hard when you lose 2 piggies close together @IgglesPiggles , I lost my 2 boys within 5 days of each other a few years ago and that was very hard. Have you tried Mandy's Rescue a Guinea Pig - Dorset | Wimborne? I rescued Misty and Bramble from there and @rp1993 came all the way from London to rescue Panko. They don't do in house bonding but they do help you with the bonding process. At the moment, I believe they do have neutered boars too. Good luck. Let us know how you get on.
 
So sorry for your recent losses, at Betsy has said I got Panko from Mandy Guineapig rescue in Dorset and she likes the pigs to live as neighbours for a few weeks before bonding so if you could make that work get in touch as they have lots of piggies at the moment, and they will of course take the piggie back it it didn’t work out. I bonded my two boys pretty smoothly!
 
Ahh thank you everyone for your advice and opinions. It's great to have others around to talk with when you have these precious little animals in your care. I will look into a few more rescue sites and see what they can offer. Piggie here doing okay so feeling optimistic. Will let you know the outcome.

Merry Chrimble too :yahoo:
 
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