Storm1974
Junior Guinea Pig
Herbert (Brambles' next door neighbour) sadly died the early hours of this morning, and it has left poor Bramble all on his own, yet again, after losing his brother seven months earlier. Then we got Herbert and they didn't get on, but happily lived side by side (Despite Brambles' almost constant rumbling at him through the bars!) until yesterday. 
When Brambles' brother died, I didn't waste any time looking for another friend for Bramble, despite our deep grief, because we couldn't bare Bramble being on his own. So it was just one whole week until Herbert moved in and Bramble had company, although they didn't get on at all during intros (But I think that was partly our fault because we messed up a bit!) and then had to live separately.
Anyway, so now despite our grief yet again after ONLY just losing our beautiful Herbert, we have to think about Brambles' welfare and try not to keep him alone for longer than necessary! The dilemma we have is, we don't want to get just one other pig, because if that other pig dies after just a few months again, then Bramble will be left alone again! So we would really like to get a pair of boars who could live next door to Bramble like Herbert did. But the big problem is, the cage Herbert lived happily in, is only big enough for one boar or two sows, and we can't really fit a bigger cage in to our living room as it's small and already crowded. The cage Bramble is in, on his own, is a massive Ferplast 200, and the cage Herbert had is a Ferplast 160, and we can't get another of the Ferplast 200 cages into our living room, mainly because both cages are on our dining table, with the ends of the cage overlapping, and the Ferplast 200 would also be difficult to move to clean cages out etc. It would basically be a logistical nightmare having two of them in here! We did think about putting Bramble in the 160 and then the two new boars would go in his old 200 cage, but I'm not sure he would be happy with that, because it's all he's been in since he came here last August, as a baby (with his brother). So it wouldn't really be fair to expect him to downsize, would it?
He does love to run around that cage, from end to end!
The other option, of course, is to get Bramble spayed and get him a couple of sows, but we don't want to risk the op (With the dangers of putting him under anesthetic) and also, he would then have to be on his own for 6 weeks, to make sure all the sperm was out of him before we could introduce him to some sows, and we don't want him being on his own for so long!
Any suggestions please?
Please don't think I'm being callous asking for advice about getting other pigs, so SOON after Herbert has died, we really are very upset about the loss of our beautiful boy and I'm sitting here in tears typing this, but we need to start setting the wheels in motion, for Brambles' sake.
When Brambles' brother died, I didn't waste any time looking for another friend for Bramble, despite our deep grief, because we couldn't bare Bramble being on his own. So it was just one whole week until Herbert moved in and Bramble had company, although they didn't get on at all during intros (But I think that was partly our fault because we messed up a bit!) and then had to live separately.
Anyway, so now despite our grief yet again after ONLY just losing our beautiful Herbert, we have to think about Brambles' welfare and try not to keep him alone for longer than necessary! The dilemma we have is, we don't want to get just one other pig, because if that other pig dies after just a few months again, then Bramble will be left alone again! So we would really like to get a pair of boars who could live next door to Bramble like Herbert did. But the big problem is, the cage Herbert lived happily in, is only big enough for one boar or two sows, and we can't really fit a bigger cage in to our living room as it's small and already crowded. The cage Bramble is in, on his own, is a massive Ferplast 200, and the cage Herbert had is a Ferplast 160, and we can't get another of the Ferplast 200 cages into our living room, mainly because both cages are on our dining table, with the ends of the cage overlapping, and the Ferplast 200 would also be difficult to move to clean cages out etc. It would basically be a logistical nightmare having two of them in here! We did think about putting Bramble in the 160 and then the two new boars would go in his old 200 cage, but I'm not sure he would be happy with that, because it's all he's been in since he came here last August, as a baby (with his brother). So it wouldn't really be fair to expect him to downsize, would it?
He does love to run around that cage, from end to end!The other option, of course, is to get Bramble spayed and get him a couple of sows, but we don't want to risk the op (With the dangers of putting him under anesthetic) and also, he would then have to be on his own for 6 weeks, to make sure all the sperm was out of him before we could introduce him to some sows, and we don't want him being on his own for so long!
Any suggestions please?
Please don't think I'm being callous asking for advice about getting other pigs, so SOON after Herbert has died, we really are very upset about the loss of our beautiful boy and I'm sitting here in tears typing this, but we need to start setting the wheels in motion, for Brambles' sake.
.Good on you for looking at getting a friend for Brambles so soon he certainly is one lucky piggy and very lucky to have a wonderful owner like you
. remember to Go easy on yourself as you grieve it is hard i under stand but we will help you get through this awful and awkward stage of being a guinea pig owner losing a piggy is horrible but when they cross the rainbow bridge we truly know that they are in a world of fresh grass and carrots that never stop growing. Even if we lose a piggy we love, we sometimes think they are gone forever but remember they will always find a place in our hearts
. Good luck and I hope you find a perfect match for Brambles.
It really made me upset, I did film some of it on my phone, so will see if I can upload it!
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So it often keeps me awake at night until we've settled on a name once and for all. 
who will soon be coming to live with us.....Hopefully for a long time! 
