Keeping A Guinea Pig Alone

[AtomicCupcake]

Hi everyone, I have just adopted a male guinea pig yesterday
I haven't had guinea pigs in a few years, and at that time had a pair of males.
I realise guinea pigs love company and would benefit from a friend. This little guinea pig I adopted yesterday however was badly bullied by the other guinea pigs in the shop, until he was wounded/injured and had to be separated - hence why he was up for adoption instead of being sold in the store!
Incase you're wondering, Pets at Home now do an adoption scheme where unwanted pets can be brought in, or pets that have been in the store too long get put up for adoption and the money goes to an animal charity!

Anyway... for the meantime I am content to have my guinea pig live alone as he's probably a bit traumatised! His wounds have healed but his little ears are all chewed up from the bullying
At some point I think it would be nice to get him a friend, but was wondering if this is ever a good idea?
A problem I have is that I wouldn't really have the space for 2 separate cages, should an introduction of a friend go really wrong!
I do have a lot of time for him and can give him a lot of attention, but even then, I'm not as good as a guinea pig friend!

Any advice would be great Thanks!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi everyone, I have just adopted a male guinea pig yesterday
I haven't had guinea pigs in a few years, and at that time had a pair of males.
I realise guinea pigs love company and would benefit from a friend. This little guinea pig I adopted yesterday however was badly bullied by the other guinea pigs in the shop, until he was wounded/injured and had to be separated - hence why he was up for adoption instead of being sold in the store!
Incase you're wondering, Pets at Home now do an adoption scheme where unwanted pets can be brought in, or pets that have been in the store too long get put up for adoption and the money goes to an animal charity!

Anyway... for the meantime I am content to have my guinea pig live alone as he's probably a bit traumatised! His wounds have healed but his little ears are all chewed up from the bullying
At some point I think it would be nice to get him a friend, but was wondering if this is ever a good idea?
A problem I have is that I wouldn't really have the space for 2 separate cages, should an introduction of a friend go really wrong!
I do have a lot of time for him and can give him a lot of attention, but even then, I'm not as good as a guinea pig friend!

Any advice would be great Thanks!

Hi and welcome!
We are aware that p@h have an adoption section, but have serious concerns about the lack of home checks and conditions guinea pigs are being rehomed to.

A lot has changed in the last few years in the guinea pig world; you may find our guides at the top of our various Care sections helpful and informative, but you are always welcome to ask any questions you may have.

You can find our recommended rescues locator on the top bar; a good number of them offer boar bonding. If you please added your UK county to your details, we could help you even more with recommendations. Alternatively, you could consider neutering via a good vet with plenty of gp neutering practice (in order to cut down on any risk of post-op complications) and bonding with a sow or two after a full 6 weeks safety wait. provided that initial acceptance happens, cross gender bondings are the most stable of them all.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...cation-and-creating-an-avatar-picture.107444/
Guinea Pig Rescue Centre Locator
Guinea Pig Vet Locator
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/cage-size-guide.120795/

 

[AtomicCupcake]

It is true that they don't home check, although who's to say that just because you're home is nice, the cage is nice etc, that you are going to look after a guinea pig properly? haha
The Pets at Home in my area are very helpful, clean and all of their guinea pigs appear to be in good condition, however I'm never happy about the lack of space the hamsters have! Mostly because if I see a hamster that needs a home in the adoption section I nearly always have to bring it home! Sometimes to keep, or rehome to someone I know would take care of it well.

I had never considered neutering one and have one of each sex, but that does seem a very good idea if they are more likely to get on!
I would be gutted if another male bullied him after all he has been through!

Thank you for your help. I will definitely look into this in the future when I think he's ready for a friend

 

[Wiebke]

It is true that they don't home check, although who's to say that just because you're home is nice, the cage is nice etc, that you are going to look after a guinea pig properly? haha
The Pets at Home in my area are very helpful, clean and all of their guinea pigs appear to be in good condition, however I'm never happy about the lack of space the hamsters have! Mostly because if I see a hamster that needs a home in the adoption section I nearly always have to bring it home! Sometimes to keep, or rehome to someone I know would take care of it well.

I had never considered neutering one and have one of each sex, but that does seem a very good idea if they are more likely to get on!
I would be gutted if another male bullied him after all he has been through!

Thank you for your help. I will definitely look into this in the future when I think he's ready for a friend

Most rescues also prefer to talk to prospective adopters and ideally like to see them interact with pets; some rescues also hold handling and caring courses for them to make sure that any of their guinea pigs have good care; they also never rehome a guinea pig into a single situation. Single incomers are either carefully paired up at the rescue or bonded with single/bereaved pet guinea pigs and a suitable solution is being found for all of them. this requires experience and time, which is something that most shops can't provide.
There is never an absolute guarantee, but risks are being minimised as much as possible by any good rescue. Sadly, the quality of p@h branches varies widely.

 

[biscandmatt]

i think a friend is always a great idea. once he is settled then you could take him dating at a rescue to see who he likes