Introduxing new pig after brother has died

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Wollem

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Hello, yesterday our little buddy Garfunkel sadly passed away after losing the use of his hind legs. We took him to the vets who reccomend pain killers and not much more.

Garf and his brother Simon had been split up as they would fight for dominance and end up making eachother bleed. Were not sure what to do with Simon as he is now alone, even though they were split up they were still only on the other side of the cage.

Can anyone reccomend if we get Simon a friend and how to introduce a new pig?
 
:wel: To the forum and I am sorry for your loss.

It would definitely be advisable to get Simon a new friend. A successful bond is based on character compatibility and mutual liking - you can’t just go and buy another guinea pig and expect them to get along. The best way to find a new friend is to find a rescue centre who can help find a piggy of a compatible character. Some uk centres offer boar dating, whereby you take your piggy along and they try him with other available piggies until a match is found. The benefit of this is that given the piggies have chosen each other, then it makes for a good chance of a successful relationship. Some don’t offer dating, but may be willing for you to try bonding with another piggy at home with the ability to return the piggy if the bonding fails and enable you to try another. Boars must only be kept in pairs, so don’t get tempted to bring home two boys as it will likely result in failure attempting to bond two pigs with your single.

You may find that if your boy is very dominant with other boys, that it may be better to have him neutered and then following his six week wait to become infertile, bond him with a sow.

In terms of the bonding procedure itself, then this guide explains the process Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?

You also need to ensure the correct cage size for two boys Cage Size Guide
 
Thanks for the help guys, we are looking at places where they can date in our area (doesn't seem to be many)

is there a chance that because simon is older and a big big boy, that a new smaller pig would naturally be the less dominant and would be okay?
 
Wollem said:
Thanks for the help guys, we are looking at places where they can date in our area (doesn't seem to be many)

is there a chance that because simon is older and a big big boy, that a new smaller pig would naturally be the less dominant and would be okay?
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It’s entirely comes down to character - size, age etc has nothing to do with it. My smallest pig is actually the dominant in my boar pairing. There has to be one dominant and one submissive for the relationship to work.
It can be helpful to pair a youngster with an adult as it means they aren’t both going through teen hormones at the same time, but again the correct character is needed - when youngster grows and if he also wants to be dominant, then the relationship will run into problems. More boar pairings make it than not, but bringing home a piggy whose character is unknown has its risks of potential separation down the line.
 
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