Need some advice on lonely guinea pig.

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Cymrusaint

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I have had 2 guinea pigs for three years. I got them at the same time and they've been inseparable ever since. Unfortunately one of them died today, and I've been wondering what is the best thing to do for the remaining one.
I know they don't like to be alone, but I don't want to get another one.
I have two choices. My friend has a couple of guinea pigs and would be willing to take her, but would she be accepted by these two? They are also female.
Or, should I keep her on her own.
I'd be grateful for any advice.
 
When we lost our gorgeous Snowball his mate Cookie looked sad and he was quieter than usual so two weeks later we got him a friend and it was the best thing we did for him-they became best friends straightaway :)

If you can't have another piggy to live with him it woud be best if he went where he would have company as I would imagine he misses his friend very much.
 
Hi! I am sorry for your loss. It is difficult to find a decent solution if you have one older piggy remaining when you do not want to continue with piggies as pets. Generally, piggies are always happier in company, if necessary living alongside others as long as they can interact through bars or mesh.

If you can, please try her first with your friend's piggies. Hopefully, they will get on! You will usually know within half an hour of first contact on neutral ground whether acceptance has happened, but the dominance phase may mean that you may need a full day or more for them to sort each other out before they are fully ready to move in together.
We have tips on how to best stage introductions.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38562

Only if that doesn't work, you can try to get her into a good guinea pig rescue or try to find a good home through the forum.
 
Thanks for the advice. I've got tears in my eyes reading them.
It's not that I'm against having anymore guinae pigs, but my wife is allergic to them. She has put up with it for the past few years because she loves them as much as I do.
You are all saying what I was thinking, it would be best for her, to find her news friends. I'm going to miss her, but she looks so lonely, and I'm sure it will be for the best.
Thanks again for the help.
 
Could you foster a pig for a rescue? This way the cycle doesn't have to go on forever. When your pig passes, you can return the foster.
 
Sadly I found myself in the same position as you this week when my piggy lost his brother who he'd been with all his life.

At first he seemed ok but the last couple of days he has become increasingly subdued and hasn't been eating properly and this morning he wasn't even wheeking. He is normally very vocal!

So I did some ringing round and managed to find him a girly to be his new companion. (He is neutered I should add!) The difference in him was *immediate*! His old spark returned, he's been as vocal as ever and has been scoffing hay and cleared his dish of veggies. She is a lovely little thing and they are absolutely fine together.

Tommy is about 4 1/2 (rescue) and I too thought I didn't want anymore piggles but there was no way I could keep Tommy on his own. Besides which; we do rather love our piggies and can't really imagine life without them anyway.

So I agree with everyone else - if you can find her a good home with friends - then you will be doing the best thing for her. And it sounds a if you won't even have to lose contact with her which is even better!

So sorry you lost a piggy though - I can't quite believe Ronnie is gone..... it was a big shock to us xx
 
Abi_nurse said:
I like this idea too.

x.
Click to expand...

Might be harder than you think to do so in practice though! I wanted to rehome a single sow so I rang lots of rescues today - not one of them had a single sow. Sows in pairs and single boars but no single sows! So you might need to ring round a bit. x

As I didn't feel I had the cage space to make a trio truly happy I ended up rehoming a singleton from Preloved instead.
 
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