Need a new friend for my lonely piggie, what do I get?

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Alison70

Hi, I'm new on here and was looking for some advise please?

We recently lost one of our two male Guinea Pigs, we bought them together 3 years ago and although they had a few little fights they generally got on.

I would like to get another one to keep him company but don't know which sex to buy, he isn't neutered.

I would really appreciate any help.

Alison :{
 
Hiya Alison. You need a little baby boy. Probably about 5 - 8 weeks old. Where abouts are you? There are a few available in rescues at the moment. x
 
Hi Alison, welcome to the forum :) Sorry to hear you lost one of your boys :(

A baby boy would probably be your best bet since he isn't neutered. You could take him to a rescue and let him pick his new friend. If you give us an idea of your location someone will be able to tell you if there is a rescue close to you.
 
Hi Alison!

The best thing you can do is find a reputable rescue within your reach and ask whether you can take your boy there to make his own choice of companion. He may get on well with another non-dominant older boar. Character compatibility is key.

Alternatively, you could try to bond him with a baby boar. Many rescues do have babies from sows that are pregnant when they come into rescue.

Here is a list of rescues. It would help if you could state your area, so that the rescues active on here that are rehoming a bit further afield can contact you if you are in their reach and they have somepig suitable.

I'm from Coventry as well! We have quite a few rescues around that I can recommend:
http://www.freewebs.com/rags-rabbits/guineapigsforrehoming.htm
http://www.rngp.org/index-photo.shtml
http://www.hopperhaven.org.uk/
 
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You can bond adult boars together but they have to choose each other and you need some one experienced to do it for you. You need a dominant boar and one who is not really fussed, which out of the two was your remaining boar? this will help you find his new friend easier.
 
I was in the same situation as you at the beginning of the year. I got myself a baby boy and although it was hairy at first (for unexperienced me - a lot of mounting the baby going on!) they very quickly settled.

Max was always the less dominant of the 2 when we had Chip and it's funny, now Buttons is getting bigger he is usually first down the ramp for food etc, though Max does like to show him he's the big boy at times!

No bloodshed though - and although they maybe are not as closely bonded as Max and Chip were, Max is so much happier with a friend.

Just thought i'd let you know a success story x
 
There are many success stories! If you try and follow the excellent advice here you can minimise the risk of a failed bonding but there are sadly never any guarantees. I just wanted to add that, if you were going to get a baby boar, then I'd make sure that he really is as young as 5-8 weeks for your best chance of it working. I honestly believe (from personal experience) that even being just a couple of weeks older than that can significantly affect your chances of success.

You said that you didn't know which sex to "buy". As this is a pro rescue forum we're naturally going to recommend that you rehome a rescue pig, rather than buying from a breeder or shop, however I can honestly say that I also think your best bet would be to let your pig choose his new companion from a suitable selection at a rescue. Bias aside, good rescues will have lots of experience helping to match up pigs with suitable new companions, both in choosing candidates and doing that initial bonding on their premises.

Good luck!
 
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