Is it ok to keep pigs in separate cages but placed near each other?

[elilee]

I have had 2 pigs living in the same cage. One pig died. I want to get a company to another pig. She is 6 years old and bossy. The cage is not big. Can I get a new pig and put it in a separate cage but near? They will hear each other. Is it enough not to feel lonely?

Also, I am not planning to have more pigs after my old pig dies. I think I can take care of some pig from the rescue, and put it on sale. And if it is sold, I will transfer money to the rescue. Then take another one. So this scheme means that pigs will be changed until my old pig dies. Is this plan ok?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Why do you need to take on a piggy from the rescue and then try to sell it?
I’m not sure if things are different in Australia, but in the Uk when you rehome an animal from a rescue centre they usually remain under the ‘ownership’ of the rescue centre. You cannot sell the animal or pass it on to anybody else. Should you decide you can’t look after the animal anymore its usually in the agreement that you have to return it back to the same rescue centre so it can be bonded with another piggy and suitably rehomed to a properly checked new home .
The piggy you take on from a rescue can live with/alongside your piggy potentially for the rest of your piggy’s life. I don’t quite understand why you think they need to be sold and continually replaced by another piggy for the rest of your piggy’s life.

Some rescue centres in the UK are allowing fostering of piggies for a bereaved companion, not sure if that is something they do in Australia.
You bring home a piggy, bond it with your remaining piggy. Once your piggy dies, you simply return the foster piggy back to the rescue centre thereby ending your cycle piggy.

 

[Popcorns & Wheeks]

I agree. I believe that when you bring a new animal into the family, it is for life. In my opinion, just like any other pet, a piggy is for life and if you cannot take care of the piggy anymore then it should be returned to the rescue centre. I really don't understand why you think they need to be sold and constantly be replaced either.

 

[poggle]

Is it intended as a way of fundraising for the rescue, or helping them by fostering with them? In any case, I personally wouldn't pursue that plan. I feel like I'd be sad if I kept making friends and then they just disappeared.

I'm sorry you lost one of your guys; the end of the piggy cycle can be so hard to navigate as well, on top of everything else. Interaction through the bars of side by side cages is generally considered okay if circumstances mean you can't have them living together. Fingers crossed you can find something like the end of life fostering offered by some places in the UK. All the best

 

[Swissgreys]

I am sure others may disagree with me, but before you even consider taking on another pig, please make sure you can actually offer it a suitable home environment.

You say your current piggy is 6 years old and in a small cage, which up until recently she was sharing with another guinea pig - I would personally prioritise getting her a proper size cage, and them speaking to a rescue about trying to bond her with another pig so they can live together in 1 large cage.

Taking on a rescue piggy who will live on their own, possibly also in a small cage, is not in the best interests of that piggy, and as interaction will be limited, it would be better to improve the living conditions of your current piggy first, and try to find her a live in companion.

You also need to approach the rescue and ask what their conditions of adoption are, as all good rescues will insist on proper size housing, rehoming in a pair (except in very rare circumstances) and make sure you understand that is you ever change your mind that the pig/s are handed back to the them to be rehomed responsibly.
If it were simply a matter of selling unwanted piggies them all rescues would be rich!

 

[elilee]

My biggest cage is 100x50. Two pigs were living there ok, they were mother and daughter and didn't fight. I know that my current pig is bossy, because initially I had more pigs.
From what I see, rescues rehome pigs, and they take money.

 

[Piggies&buns]

My biggest cage is 100x50. Two pigs were living there ok, they were mother and daughter and didn't fight. I know that my current pig is bossy, because initially I had more pigs.
From what I see, rescues rehome pigs, and they take money.

They may have seemed ok in that cage but I'm afraid your cage is not suitable and should not have been used to house any guinea pigs as it doesn’t meet minimum welfare sizing, not even for a single piggy.
The absolutely smallest cage a single or two female piggies should be in is 120x60cm, but it is recommended that a pair of sows have a cage of 150x60cm. Piggies are ground roaming creatures and need a large flat surface.
Therefore, we would strongly advise you to buy a new, bigger cage for your piggy now whether you bond her with a new friend or not.

It is always better for two piggies to be properly bonded and live together in the same appropriately sized cage. Piggies living side by side if their bond has broken down is fine but it should never be the ‘go to’ way of keeping piggies and a reputable rescue centre would not approve deliberately keeping them single, they won’t allow you to sell them and given your cage isn’t big enough for a single piggy, they wouldn’t approve you for adopting and bonding a new piggy with your current cage set up.

Its entirely normal for a piggy to be ‘bossy’ as you say. Having one dominant piggy whether it is in a pair or a herd is simply the way a hierarchy functions. She simply needs a submissive friend to live with.

Cage Size Guide

You misunderstand.
When you adopt an animal from rescue centre, you pay an adoption fee. This goes a little way towards the cost the centre incurred while caring for them. It is not a purchase cost, they are not selling the animal and they will not allow you to sell an animal on.

 

[Princess Dustmop]

There is often an adoption fee ... a fraction of the money it takes for a rescue to care for the animals it rescues and adopts out. It is not a sale ... more like a processing fee.
Every rescue animal that I have gotten, the rescue has had me sign a contract saying that I would return the animal to the rescue if I could no longer keep her. They would not be okay with me selling the animal, regardless of what happens to the money; it's not the money exchange that is the issue in the scenario. Personally, I've only had one guinea pig that I had to give back (mislabelled cage issue that resulted in me having taken home a mixed gender pair (thankfully, too young to be disastrous)). I don't want to distract from your topic with that whole story, but it suffices to say that they did not offer for me to rehome the little boy myself, only for them take one or both piggies back.

If you're looking to foster animals for a rescue, that's another matter, but generally the rescue will handle all of the adoption applications and rehoming procedures. (It's not a sale; the rescue takes applications for adoptions and assesses whether the new home is suitable first, then they start the actual meet and adoption. For piggies, that application goes through pet history and experience and why you're looking to adopt the pet and a picture of the cage and accessories. (They will not adopt out a guinea pig without pictures around here. Larger animals generally involve an actual home check.)

 

[VickiA]

The absolute minimum cage size for 2 sows is 120cm so your 100cm cage is too small for 2 sows. In the U.K. reputable rescues will carry out a home check and your cage would not be approved as suitable living accommodation for 2 sows.

Rescues do not sell pets. That would be a business and not a rescue. Pet shops and breeders do sell pets. Rescues charge an adoption fee. That fee goes towards the vast unseen costs of running a rescue - feeding, housing, bedding, enrichment and paying vets bills for many sick, injured, neglected and unwanted animals.

If you adopt from a rescue it should be with intention of providing a permanent home for the life of the animal. If your circumstances change, then you should seek to surrender the animal back to the rescue. Even small rescues like ours will make room for one of our previously adopted residents to come back if their partner dies.