Helping a newly bereaved guinea pig

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claire8234

claire8234

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One of my boars sadly passed away this morning and I am now worried about how it will affect my other boy Daisy

Daisy sat lying next to carrot (the piggy that passed away) all of yesterday as if he was looking after him and after a lot of wheeking earlier to try and find him he is now hiding in his pigloo.

I am in the process of washing all the fleece cage liners and beds and will rearrange the cage later when I am up to it - feel dreadful and very upset 8...

Daisy has been downstairs for the last week because I was caring for Carrot so I will keep him in the living room for now, monitor his eating and weigh him daily. Is there anything else I should be doing for him?

I am devastated at losing Carrot who was only 2 but I know that I need to think about getting a new companion for Daisy.

I have never been in the situation of having to bond a boar with another piggy and have no idea if its something I should do asap or if Daisy will be ok for a bit. There are a couple of rescue centres near me but I don't know what the process is of trying to bond piggies and if its something they do.

I am heartbroken at losing my little Carrot and thinking getting another piggy feels as if I am somehow trying to replace him (which I never could) however I have another boy to think about and he needs companionship too

Any advise appreciated

Claire x
 
Hi Hun,

Did daisy see carrot after he passed? This helps them understand that they are gone and not coming back.... he can then say goodbye to carrot.

Plenty of love, cuddles, fuss and treats for daisy, new toys (paper bags stuffed with hay, toilet roll tube mobiles, things to entertain and distract him, as you said monitor him and weigh him daily, expect him to be quiet for a few days, this is normal, but it is important he eats, if he doesn't and he loses weight, you will need to start syringe feeding him, but i am sure he will be ok.

We never replace our lost ones, but when our loved ones depart, it can give us the opportunity to give a loving caring home for an animal in rescue, a new companion for daisy and sometimes acts as a distraction for us. When you feel ready you should contact the rescues close to you and ask if it would be ok to bring daisy along to chose a new friend, its called boar dating and most rescues offer this service, they will match daisy with a piggy and see how they get on, it may take a few atempts or a few different piggies until he finds a friend he likes, but this way you are guaranteed a stable bond.

Just see how he gets on for the next couple of days.

Big hugs, and cuddles to daisy x
 
Daisy was sitting almost on top of carrot for a long time before I took Carrot out of the cage and held him while he died. Good idea about the toys etc I will try that and he can have some of his favourite veggies etc.

There is an RSPCA branch near me and a couple of GP rescues so will give them a ring tomorrow

xx
 
Ok hun, i know other members have put their bodies in the cage afterwards. Good luck. Hope Daisy is ok x
 
Hi Claire,

I'm sorry for your loss. I am in exactly the same situation at the moment, one of my boars lost his cagemate last weekend. It's the first time I've experienced it too, and it's quite sad to see that my Frankie is quite obviously missing his buddy. He is eating etc, but he seems depressed at the moment.

I have booked Frankie in for boar dating to find him a new companion. Like you, I was gutted to lose my boy, and I didn't want to feel that I was replacing him by considering boar dating. Now I'm thinking about it from the view that I'm not replacing Columbus, rather I'm making sure Frankie is going to be happy and also giving another rescue pig a new home.

In the meantime, like Toffeewoffee suggested to you, I'm giving Frankie lots of attention and distractions. I'd say in the long run it's definitely worth looking into boar dating. There are plenty of rescues that offer the service. In case you haven't seen it here's the link to the Piggy Bank Recommended Rescue Map - http://goo.gl/maps/BrZL8 (hope it works!). It's quite straightforward and Daisy will get to choose his own new friend. If you can travel I think there are quite a few options up your way.

HTH

Take care,

Jo x
 
Sorry to hear of your situation to Murmur, another thing i have just thought of is, a teddy with eyes and small accessories removed sometimes offers comfort to lone piggies. Might be worth a try for you both.

xx
 
I definitely recommend a cuddly toy in the short term too. We have tried this with 2 bereaved pigs, Willow thought the little bunny had come to steal his veggies & was very cross with it so we took it out. However, when Willow died leaving baby Bertie alone, we tried it with Bertie & he loved it, he slept lying on it & cuddled up with it. To be honest, I think he would probably prefer if I took his new cage mate Horation out & put the bunny back in!

I would keep Daisy downstairs with you for now so you can keep an eye on him & he sees people coming & going. I agreed totally about weighing him daily to keep track of whether he is eating ok. Lots of treats & cuddles if he wants it too.

Don't hurry into getting another guinea; do it when it is right for both of you. Daisy may be fine for a bit by himself or you may find he is really pining & would benefit from a friend sooner. You will know. It's not replacing Carrot, just finding more room in your heart for another special guinea :).
 
Thanks for the suggestion guys, I'll definitely try the cuddly stop-gap idea when I get in. Sorry if i've hijacked your thread a little, Claire, I really hope you and Daisy are bearing up ok.

x
 
Thats ok Murmur, sorry to hear you have recently lost your guinea pig too. I will admit I didn't expect to feel as bad as I do. The guinea pigs were bought for my daughter as her first pet (she is six) and I became totally smitten with them!

So far Daisy seems ok. He is a bit quiet but I think that the change in location could partially be the cause of that as he is downstairs in the living room which is a lot noisier than when he was in my daughters room upstairs.

He has had a big bowl of veggies and I will splash out on some timothy western hay tomorrow which he loves and I will definitely find him a teddy bear.

After the weekend I will start to look round for a friend for him

x
 
I am sorry to hear of little carrot ;( I was in your boat back in june/July time. One of my twin boars Rufus became poorly, it ended up being cancer & after weeks of caring for him I had to have him put to sleep. I was heartbroken & really worried for his brother Rodney because they were so close, they were the best of friends totally in love.

I gave him a teddy, but he wasn't interested in it at all. I gave him a lot of attention when I could altho I work during the day.

In August I got him a new man friend, Billy who was 9 months old. Rodney is very lazy & placid while Billy is mad crazy & hectic & their natures really compliment each other & they are getting on great. Billy is dominant, while Rodney is very submissive so you will need a pairing where only one is dominant but rescues etc can help you with this.

Lots of attention & toys, lovely foods as he may start to get picky, and start looking into options regarding a new friend for him. 2 is a great age as he is past his teens, which will help a lot.

It'll be ok x
 
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Ps do a search on here and you will find lots of posts where people have been in the same situation. I'm sure that will help you xx
 
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