Depression/Cage Mate?

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Hello,
Just yesterday one of my guinea pigs (Serenity) passed away. ='(
She was living with another one (Valentine) which now leaves Valentine alone.
I am afraid Valentine will become depressed as they lived together for over 3 years, before Serenity became ill (I did everything I could once I noticed she was ill, but guinea pigs are known to hide their illness well and she did so). Valentine has also never lived alone except for a couple of weeks. I got her from a pet store a few years ago when she was pregnant and she lived alone for a couple of weeks until she had the babies. As soon as I rehomed her babies (they were both boys), I got Serenity to keep her company. Since Serenity is gone now, I am afraid Valentine will become depressed.

What are the signs of depression and what should I be doing to make sure I will notice if she is depressed or not? Are there ways I can prevent the depression somehow too?

If she does become depressed, would she be able to live with her son? I would get her son neutered of course. There's no guarantee they'd get along though. It would just be easier for me to get them use to each other (since I have not been able to due to the male not being neutered) rather than having to buy another cage and buy/adopt another guinea pig when the cage would only be used for the quarantine period (2-3 weeks is what I've learned). How much does it usually cost to neuter a guinea pig?

Thanks,
Rachael
 
Hi,

I've had this happen three times with pigs being left alone when their cagemate died. It is natural for pigs to mourn their loss, but signs of emotional distress can include not eating, lack of interest etc. For example, one of my boys was the most inquisitive piggy going and after his cagemate died, he was just sitting in the corner of his cage. (My dad had to deal with him as I was away). The piggy (Dave) was always the one who would come running at the sound of a bag of greens, but instead he was just sitting there whenever my dad went in to see him.

Long story short, I sent my dad to go and get Dave a new friend as quickly as possible which meant him buying a baby pig as his new companion. Dave took to the baby straight away, taking care of him.

Personally, I've never done the quarantine thing. As long as a piggy has looked healthy and alert then they've gone straight in to meet their prospective partners! If your piggy is showing signs of being distressed by her loss, then it would be better to get her a friend sooner rather than later and the wait for a newly neutered boy would seem like an eternity. However, the best way to find out accurately what a neuter would cost would be to contact vets directly (preferably piggy savvy ones!). :)
 
Hello Rachael and welcome to the forum, I'm sorry that you've joined under such a sad circumstance.

Finding Valentine a new cagemate is something I would recommend, hopefully there is a shelter/rescue near to you that would allow you to take Valentine 'piggy dating' to choose her new friend. A reputable rescue quarantines all new arrivals before putting them up for adoption so there would be no need for you to do this at your home.

Here guinea pigs come to stay for 3-7 days so that they have time to meet and bond with a new friend, having a at least two nights together to ensure they like each other enough to share their home.

I recommend waiting two weeks before introducing a new cagemate to give your piggy time to understand that their friend is no longer around. If she shows signs of distress at being alone then a introduction sooner could be beneficial. As already mentioned, loss of weight, lack of appetitie, lethargy, mite flare up are signs to watch out for. Any of these can also be a sign of illness so a quick check up with the vet would be wise.

If you give your location there may be a rescue that forum members can recommend.

HTH

Suzy x
 
Hi Rachael

Welcome! I am sorry for your loss.

I have always has great success with finding a rescue where I could take a bereaved piggy of mine to choose her new mate herself. In both cases, it has made for a great, loving relationship, once between two three year old bereaved sows and once with an older lady of mine falling for the charms of 12 months old neutered boar.

Keep an open mind as to the gender (sow or neutered boar) and age - the important thing is mutual liking! Like with us humans, not everypig will gel. With a sow, you will usually know pretty quickly whether they will work out or not.

Not all rescues allow you to bring your own piggy or have suitable candidates in, so it is worth ringing around. If you could give us your area, we might be able to recommend rescues known to us. Otherwise, I would start with the place that has the most promising candidates.
 
MintyAndGarry said:
Hi,

I've had this happen three times with pigs being left alone when their cagemate died. It is natural for pigs to mourn their loss, but signs of emotional distress can include not eating, lack of interest etc. For example, one of my boys was the most inquisitive piggy going and after his cagemate died, he was just sitting in the corner of his cage. (My dad had to deal with him as I was away). The piggy (Dave) was always the one who would come running at the sound of a bag of greens, but instead he was just sitting there whenever my dad went in to see him.

Long story short, I sent my dad to go and get Dave a new friend as quickly as possible which meant him buying a baby pig as his new companion. Dave took to the baby straight away, taking care of him.

Personally, I've never done the quarantine thing. As long as a piggy has looked healthy and alert then they've gone straight in to meet their prospective partners! If your piggy is showing signs of being distressed by her loss, then it would be better to get her a friend sooner rather than later and the wait for a newly neutered boy would seem like an eternity. However, the best way to find out accurately what a neuter would cost would be to contact vets directly (preferably piggy savvy ones!). :)
Click to expand...

So far, Valentine has been eating her hay and vitamin c tablets. I'm not sure if she's been eating her regular food though. I haven't seen here eating it and it also seems like the level of food isn't going down (it's kept in a feeder, so I have to open the top to see).

As far as the quarantine goes, I would feel more comfortable if I introduced the piggies first before putting the new cagemate in.

Suzygpr said:
Hello Rachael and welcome to the forum, I'm sorry that you've joined under such a sad circumstance.

Finding Valentine a new cagemate is something I would recommend, hopefully there is a shelter/rescue near to you that would allow you to take Valentine 'piggy dating' to choose her new friend. A reputable rescue quarantines all new arrivals before putting them up for adoption so there would be no need for you to do this at your home.

Here guinea pigs come to stay for 3-7 days so that they have time to meet and bond with a new friend, having a at least two nights together to ensure they like each other enough to share their home.

I recommend waiting two weeks before introducing a new cagemate to give your piggy time to understand that their friend is no longer around. If she shows signs of distress at being alone then a introduction sooner could be beneficial. As already mentioned, loss of weight, lack of appetitie, lethargy, mite flare up are signs to watch out for. Any of these can also be a sign of illness so a quick check up with the vet would be wise.

If you give your location there may be a rescue that forum members can recommend.

HTH

Suzy x
Click to expand...

Thank you, I will likely look into a Guinea Pig shelter/rescue to see if they will allow me to bring Valentine in to meet with some other Guinea Pigs.

If she doesn't get depressed, would it still be necessary to get her a cagemate? I know they are social animals and are happier in pairs, but I am faced with a difficult situation as my mother is refusing finding her another cagemate unless she becomes depressed. I'm about to go to college and my mother will be looking after Valentine and her cagemate if she gets one. Unfortunately, if I don't neauter Valentine's son, I will have to rehome him, because my mother has only agreed to take care of one cage.

Well, I am not actually located in the UK. I live in the US, but I found this forum and thought it would be very helpful. I live in Upstate New York.
Wiebke said:
Hi Rachael

Welcome! I am sorry for your loss.

I have always has great success with finding a rescue where I could take a bereaved piggy of mine to choose her new mate herself. In both cases, it has made for a great, loving relationship, once between two three year old bereaved sows and once with an older lady of mine falling for the charms of 12 months old neutered boar.

Keep an open mind as to the gender (sow or neutered boar) and age - the important thing is mutual liking! Like with us humans, not everypig will gel. With a sow, you will usually know pretty quickly whether they will work out or not.

Not all rescues allow you to bring your own piggy or have suitable candidates in, so it is worth ringing around. If you could give us your area, we might be able to recommend rescues known to us. Otherwise, I would start with the place that has the most promising candidates.
Click to expand...

I will certainly try to find a rescue that will allow me to do that. I live in Upstate New York. As said above, I thought this forum would be very helpful, so I joined even though it is UK based.


Thank you all very much.
 
Sorry about your loss

I havent really been in your postion though one of my piggies died the other seemed ok. And happy enough too live alone [though we got another cause we felt bad] but i wouldnt put her son though being netured [excuse my spelling] try taking her to a rescue and i think you will have to get another cage if * dont neture her son.
:)
 
If you find that you are struggling to get near a rescue (they are sadly far and few in between in the US), you are usually best served with trying to introduce a baby piggy.

If you decide to get a piggy off a freeads site like Craigs list lacking access to a rescue and not wanting to go to a shop, please be aware that pets on there can be in a very bad state and you will need 3 weeks quarantaine to make sure that they don't carry anything over.

Sadly, many places are not careful/ignorant and you can quite likely end up with a pregnant girl. It happens over here a lot, too! :(

Best of luck!
 
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