Just looking to get some advice on my current situation as I am very new to owning guinea pigs. I rescued a male guinea pig about a week ago. His situation was pretty grim - he was kept in a tiny cage with a filthy water bottle and nails so long they started to curl. He is around five years old and has never had a playmate and the previous ‘owner’ said she never handled him. In the past week I’ve made fantastic progress with him and he seems to like sitting on my lap nibbling on some carrot I offer him.
So my question is this - would it be recommended to introduce a new playmate to him or would he simply be incapable of being able to socialise as he has never been given the opportunity?
Hi and welcome!
Please make sure that you have your boy vet checked and quarantined before you let him meet any other piggies. Also make sure that you double check the gender; it is surprising how many owners of single piggies are not aware of the real gender of their piggies. Rescues see that all the time with incoming no longer wanted piggies.
What to check and look out for in new guinea pigs (vet checks, sexing, parasites&illness)
Importance Of Quarantine
If you can get to one, a good standard non-kill rescue with mandatory quarantine/vet care that rehomes only healthy and properly sexed piggies and that offers rescue dating for single/bereaved piggies is the best place to find a friend for your new piggy, as he can decide whether or who he clicks with and wants to be friends with.
It would be great if you please added your country, state/province or UK county to your account details (accessed via clicking on your username on the top bar), so we can help you with recommendations in that area if at all possible. We have members and enquiries from all over the world; being able to see your location with every post you make you allow us tailor any advice to what is relevant and available in terms of climate, rescue/vet access and brands straight away instead of having to keep everything as general as necessary.
If that is not an option, then you need to plan for company in an adjoining cage in case a bonding doesn't come off as a fall-back alternative. Your boy will still have his territory but as long as the can see the neighbour full-body and touch noses with him/them, he gets the full round the clock scent/visual body language/sound interaction and stimulation that these social animals require.
Whether a bonding works out or not depends very much on the personality. Generally guinea pigs that haven't had much human interaction are more open to other guinea pigs than totally human orientated piggies. But you also have to factor in that because they haven't had any cavy interaction and in some cases very little socialisation by others of their kind as youngsters, they can overreact (fear-aggression) or be extremely wary of others because they don't have a handle.
I currently have a two year old ex-single bondable boar and a similar aged dumped but at some point clearly beloved single sow who doesn't want to share her space with another piggy. However, she still profits from having plenty of neighbours living between three cages and is able to visit more cages to say hello through the bars during roaming time. It has been a process of trial and error to work out the best solution for both of them.
You can access bonding advice, rescue and vet recommendations for several countries as well as lots more practical and useful information in our new owners guide collection via this link here:
Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides
well done on rescuing him and providing him with all the love he deserves 
