Moving My Guinea Pig

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stellap2008

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Hello, I am a teenaged girl with divorced parents. I have been having a really rough time being at my mom’s house on the weekends because she is gone from 3-12 on most weekends. I love my guinea pig, but when I am alone and upset he is always standoffish (it’s just his personality) and even though it isn’t his fault it always makes me very sad. I love my guinea pig to death, but I think I need a cat at my mother’s house as more of an emotional support pet (I struggle with a lot of mental health issues that are hard to deal with alone) the problem is that there is no room in my mother’s house where he can be isolated since I want the cat to be able to come in my room freely, and she won’t let him be in her room. I have two cats at my dad’s house, but the house is much larger and it is just the two of us, so the guinea pig could have his own space with the door shut so neither of our cats could bother him. I want to do this so I can have my new emotional support kitten, while maintaining a strong relationship with my Guinea pig (I’ll see him more now since I live with my dad more) the only thing is that I feel slightly guilty for moving him since he has lived at my mother’s for a year and a half. Am I making a mistake or being cruel to my guinea pig in any way? I really don’t want to hurt him because I love him so much, but I won’t be able to keep staying at my moms on these long and emotionally painful weekends without this cat.
 
I’m sorry to hear this.

Moving house with him will be absolutely fine. Simply ensure you used soiled bedding in the new environment as it will help him realise it’s still his home. Clean his cage after a few days of being at a new environment

The biggest issue you face is that it sounds like he is a single guinea pig. Guinea pigs should never be kept by themselves and they always require the companionship of another Guinea pig. They get lonely and human companionship is never enough as there is no mutual communication.
As he is male he can only have one companion (you can’t keep three or more boars together).

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Piggies&buns said:
I’m sorry to hear this.

Moving house with him will be absolutely fine. Simply ensure you used soiled bedding in the new environment as it will help him realise it’s still his home. Clean his cage after a few days of being at a new environment

The biggest issue you face is that it sounds like he is a single guinea pig. Guinea pigs should never be kept by themselves and they always require the companionship of another Guinea pig. They get lonely and human companionship is never enough as there is no mutual communication.
As he is male he can only have one companion (you can’t keep three or more boars together).

You have been sent a message from the staff team. Please could you open the message by clicking on the envelope icon on the top banner.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately when we got him I told my mother that they are better in pairs but she was not willing to buy two. He is honestly very happy, and I know it is too late to introduce a new one because of the risk of them hurting or eating each other. Also, my father is very generous for taking him in the first place so I don’t want to push him by asking for too much from him.
 
For the sake of correct information, it is never too late for him to have a friend. They can be bonded with a new friend at any age - I have just bonded my 6 year old with a new companion after his previous cagemate passed away.
All it comes down to is character compatibility. If they are compatible they will never hurt each other, they certainly will never eat each other. A single piggy may never show their loneliness - they simply are able to hide it for the sake of survival - but they certainly feel it. What you are saying about his standoffish behaviour is very normal for a guinea pig but even more so for one who is single.
I appreciate your predicament though.

The guide below explains more.
Make sure you are providing a huge amount of enrichment and foraging opportunity in his cage. His social needs depend entirely on you and as you can’t be with him all the time, he needs a lot more stimulation in an attempt to replace a friend

Wiebke

Thread 'Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities'

This guide is an article I have written for Guinea Pig Magazine issues 48 and 49 (January and March 2019).
It is the propriety of GPM and is being shared on here with the magazine's permission.
Guinea Pig Mag

Overview:
Introduction
1 When is a 'single' really a single?
- Bought singles
- Fallen-out and aggressive piggies
- Bereaved guinea pigs
- No interest in other guinea pigs
- Disabled and special needs guinea...
  • Like
 
Piggies&buns said:
For the sake of correct information, it is never too late for him to have a friend. They can be bonded with a new friend at any age - I have just bonded my 6 year old with a new companion after his previous cagemate passed away.
All it comes down to is character compatibility. If they are compatible they will never hurt each other, they certainly will never eat each other. A single piggy may never show their loneliness - they simply are able to hide it for the sake of survival - but they certainly feel it. What you are saying about his standoffish behaviour is very normal for a guinea pig but even more so for one who is single.
I appreciate your predicament though.

The guide below explains more.
Make sure you are providing a huge amount of enrichment and foraging opportunity in his cage. His social needs depend entirely on you and as you can’t be with him all the time, he needs a lot more stimulation in an attempt to replace a friend

Wiebke

Thread 'Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities'

This guide is an article I have written for Guinea Pig Magazine issues 48 and 49 (January and March 2019).
It is the propriety of GPM and is being shared on here with the magazine's permission.
Guinea Pig Mag

Overview:
Introduction
1 When is a 'single' really a single?
- Bought singles
- Fallen-out and aggressive piggies
- Bereaved guinea pigs
- No interest in other guinea pigs
- Disabled and special needs guinea...
  • Like
Click to expand...
Thank you for this article! To help with the loneliness for him I bought him these little squeaky toys a while ago that are about his size and he loves them! They are a pig (like a real pig) and a cow who he plays with a lot!
 
stellap2008 said:
Thank you for this article! To help with the loneliness for him I bought him these little squeaky toys a while ago that are about his size and he loves them! They are a pig (like a real pig) and a cow who he plays with a lot!
Click to expand...

They don’t help with loneliness but they give him something to do if he is actually using them.
Mostly guinea pigs ignore toys
 
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