My 6 year old guinea pig Sundae has not been living a very happy life for awhile now, and the guilt it's gotten to this point has become so unbearable I can hardly get a good night's rest anymore knowing how sad she must be. I apologize in advance if the following information comes off as padding out the question, but I feel it's relevant to understand the circumstances fully.
I took in Sundae and her late sister Honey a few weeks after they were born. The owner had to get rid of all their pigs pretty quick due to a move, and I just so happened to have an immense love of guinea pigs landing me easily in the situation of taking 2 of them in. The circumstances of their births was awfully unfortunate, likely being the result of accidental inbreeding due to a lack of management over their parents. Besides a small extra toe on Sundae however, they were initially thriving despite this, living their life as a normal guinea pig would.
Now, Honey and Sundae hardly had the best lives. Due to being awfully poor, not having alot of space, and this all being so sudden, their cage size while not small, wasn't really super large either. They also hated to be held no matter how much I tried to warm them up to it, even to this day with daily hand feedings Sundae will do everything she can to avoid being held and remains frozen when standing anywhere outside her cage. Regardless, they seemed pretty happy with their lives as they would often play and be generally active and healthy. Unfortunately their terms of birth caught up with them, as while being otherwise healthy they both went blind in one eye. Within a week or two after, Honey suddenly suffered from a seizure, and before I could even really process what was happening, she was gone. I let Sundae see Honey one last time, and prepared myself for what would likely happen very soon to Sundae.
I really wasn't and still am not in the best situation to afford continuing guinea pig care, only taking in Honey and Sundae out of necessity to prevent them from being released into the wild. Sundae was likely not going to last much longer so trying to get her a new friend was out of the question as that one would soon be alone too. After quite a long time however, it has become extremely clear that Sundae isn't going to go through what her sister did. She is a healthy pig, eating regularly and not being picky, moving around the cage, keeping her teeth in check, ect. It's undeniable however that despite her lack of wanting to give up, she is lonely and sad.
As she has now reached her elderly years, I just want to help her be happy again before she goes. I really could never give her up, but I can't really get her a friend either, and she just doesn't want to receive attention from me. Even if you leave her cage wide open, she refuses to leave it to even run around in a more open space. I really don't know what to do because everything I know you are supposed to do to help a solo pig she has no interest in at all. Is there anything I can do that doesn't involve giving her away? Is it even still possible this late into her life to gain her full trust?
I took in Sundae and her late sister Honey a few weeks after they were born. The owner had to get rid of all their pigs pretty quick due to a move, and I just so happened to have an immense love of guinea pigs landing me easily in the situation of taking 2 of them in. The circumstances of their births was awfully unfortunate, likely being the result of accidental inbreeding due to a lack of management over their parents. Besides a small extra toe on Sundae however, they were initially thriving despite this, living their life as a normal guinea pig would.
Now, Honey and Sundae hardly had the best lives. Due to being awfully poor, not having alot of space, and this all being so sudden, their cage size while not small, wasn't really super large either. They also hated to be held no matter how much I tried to warm them up to it, even to this day with daily hand feedings Sundae will do everything she can to avoid being held and remains frozen when standing anywhere outside her cage. Regardless, they seemed pretty happy with their lives as they would often play and be generally active and healthy. Unfortunately their terms of birth caught up with them, as while being otherwise healthy they both went blind in one eye. Within a week or two after, Honey suddenly suffered from a seizure, and before I could even really process what was happening, she was gone. I let Sundae see Honey one last time, and prepared myself for what would likely happen very soon to Sundae.
I really wasn't and still am not in the best situation to afford continuing guinea pig care, only taking in Honey and Sundae out of necessity to prevent them from being released into the wild. Sundae was likely not going to last much longer so trying to get her a new friend was out of the question as that one would soon be alone too. After quite a long time however, it has become extremely clear that Sundae isn't going to go through what her sister did. She is a healthy pig, eating regularly and not being picky, moving around the cage, keeping her teeth in check, ect. It's undeniable however that despite her lack of wanting to give up, she is lonely and sad.
As she has now reached her elderly years, I just want to help her be happy again before she goes. I really could never give her up, but I can't really get her a friend either, and she just doesn't want to receive attention from me. Even if you leave her cage wide open, she refuses to leave it to even run around in a more open space. I really don't know what to do because everything I know you are supposed to do to help a solo pig she has no interest in at all. Is there anything I can do that doesn't involve giving her away? Is it even still possible this late into her life to gain her full trust?