Lone Guinea Pig

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MyboyDylan

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We lost one of our guinea pigs last week, it was so sad. However now we are left with one guinea pig on his own. We know that we don't want another one, so we can't replace the girl who has died or we'd be in this situation again a few months/years down the line.


So I had an idea to get a smaller cage for indoors and to bring him more into family life. At the moment he is in an outdoor hutch at night and then during the day in a large run. What do you think about this? He would be largely on his own during the day but then have company in the evenings. He's been watching a fair bit of TV with us in the evening! And I thought how lovely it would be if we could keep him and have him with us in the evening.

The other option is to give him away but I'd feel so gutted if I had to do that after losing our other one. Although if the general feeling is that is the best option then obvs that's what I'll do. We are novices as this was our first pair of guineas we've had. Thanks so much for any advice.
 
I’m sorry for your loss.
How old is your piggy?
Piggies a herd animals and do so much better when they have a piggy companion. Your piggy will be grieving but there will come a time within the next couple of weeks when he will be ready for a new friend. Sadly no amount of human contact will ever make up for being with another piggy. Being indoors as he is alone now will help but it’s not really a long term solution for enabling companionship.
I’m assuming he is neutered (you say your other piggy was female).

Death, Dying, Terminal Illness and Grieving: Information and Support for Owners and Their Children
Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities
Companionship
 
He came from the RSPCA so I'm assuming he was.

When you explain it like that it does seem like its the best option. Just quite a sad situation.

Thank you so much for replying 😊
 
I am very sorry you lost your otehr guinea pig. You sound like a very caring and committed owner, and I am sure they had a lovely life with you.

A lot will depend on your current guinea pig really.
Firstly how old are they?
If they are quite young then it isn't really fair to allow them to live alone for many years, when they have already known the joy of companionship.
As much as they interact with us, it will never really replace companionship from their own species.

But certainly in the short term bringing them inside may help them feel less alone. The only issue with that would be that once it starts to get cooler again at night this won't be possible as the continual changes in temperature are not good for them. Towards the end of Summer you would need to make a firm decision about where they will live full time (inside or out) and managing a single piggy outdoors over the Winter will be a lot of work making sure they have heat-pads, etc to keep warm.

If he is quite young then the kindest option really may be to look into finding him another home which will allow him to have a companion.
If you do decide to go this route then please make sure you hand him over to an approved rescue, who will make sure his new placement is properly checked and also offer a full back up in case there are problems later in life.

Whatever happens please be kind to yourself at this difficult time.
 
Some recuses do piggy boarding and often have pigs who are of a similar age so you won’t be in the same situation again.
 
So sorry for your loss. My pig was a lone pig for two years. We just recently got a neutered female. After a few weeks of getting to know each other, he seems so much happier. In the end, they are herd animals and they love their piggy company.
 
Thank you so much all for replying. He went to his new home this afternoon. A colleague of mine unexpectedly lost one of their guineas 3 weeks ago so we had a chat and now they are being introduced slowly this week. I'm really hoping he settlesbut I've told them our door is always open for him to come back if he doesn't. A very sad day all round.But hopefully with a positive outcome.

Thank you so much for your advice x
 
I’m sad for you but making that decision for the happiness of your piggy is an act of love.
I hope he will be happy with a new friend
 
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