I had 2 guinea pigs who shared the same cage, but unfortunately one of them passed away, he was only 9 months old. so now i have buzz who is nearly 10 months old now, so he's still fairly young and i don't know if him being alone is the best thing for him.
He's made his cage how he likes it, so i think he would be very territorial about having another pig in the cage with him.
At our local pet shop they have an adoption centre where a man has brought in 2 male piggies that are about 18 months old, i was thinking of adopting them as company for buzz.
is it ok to keep them in a cage opposite buzz so that they can speak and see each other through the bars? the man at the pet shop said i can start to bond them so that they have play time together on the grass and indoors, which is fine but I'm just not sure whats best for buzz.
He's also sitting by the bars just looking out most of the time for one of us to come in and out of the shed, we get him out as much as possible and were always out speaking to him and cuddling him but i don't think this is enough for him.
can anyone help?
thanks! steph x
Hi and welcome!
I am very sorry for your loss! You are welcome to post a tribute to your lost boy in our Rainbow Bridge section anytime it feels right for you.
Could you please add your country, state or (for the UK) your county to your details? We have got members from all over the world. Especially when it comes to bonding options, your local possibilities (and hence our recommendations) are key to what might be best for you and your boy. Please click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location.
Living alongside is a possibility. However, you would need to quarantine your newcomers first, as they come from a place that is not conducting a mandatory quarantine of 2-3 weeks. If you want to go for that option, you should ideally push the cages next to each other, so your bereaved boy has got constant stimulation through the bars.
Bonding in the longer term depends entirely on the character combination. You need to have at least two laid back and submissive boys to have a chance. Trios fail more often than not as they are the combination that is most prone to a 2+1 outsider issue, whether it is one boar waging war on the others or two ganging up on one. Many people find that living alongside is rather unsatisfactory in the long run.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/importance-of-quarantine.108034/
There are two other options, which however depend on your local access:
- boar dating at a good standard piggy savvy rescue that offers this service. This will mean that the initial bonding happens at the rescue under expert supervision and you only come home with a new, already healthy and quarantined mate if there is mutual liking/character compatibility (which is the key to any successful piggy bond). You also have the rescue to fall back on if the boys run into trouble along the way.
- neutering, so your boy could live with a sow or two. This option relies on access to either a general vet with lots of practice in guinea pig neutering or a small animal specialist with experience in small furries operations; it is absolutely vital that you find a good vet, as otherwise the risk of major post op complications can be very high, at worst even ending in fatality. Depending on your country, operation costs can be very high (especially in the US, Canada and Australia).
You also have to factor in a full 6 weeks post operation wait until your boy would be ready to bond with a sow or two. I have the daughter of a supposedly safe over 5 weeks post op boar (not one of mine) living with me and have since heard of other cases. it can really happen that late!
However, the advantage is that cross gender bondings are the most stable of them all, provided that initial acceptance has happened.
We have got a UK recommended rescues and vet locator on the top bar, but can provide a link for rescues and vets in other countries if wished.
