Should we get another guinea pig for our unwell sow?

[Lb1927]

We have a 4 year old female guinea pig who we have had since she was young. She has lived with another guinea pig for this whole time. Friday 8th May we had to get our other sow put down after we discovered she had a large malignant tumour. Since this happened, our current sow has been chewing everything in her cage, throwing around the items in it, and being generally quite noisy. I am an animal welfare student, so I understand that this is likely stress behaviours stemming from loneliness. However, we cannot get another 'permanent' guinea pig. We always said that these two would be our last two, we simply do not have the space or time for any more. I also own a snake, and its becoming increasingly difficult to ensure that both animals scents stay away from each other.

The guinea pig we currently own has ovarian cysts, and looks quite unwell. She was a long haired guinea pig, and her condition has caused her to lose almost all of her hair. She is still eating, drinking, and moving around normally.

We were thinking of if there was a way to 'foster' a guinea pig for her, until she passes, then return it to the rescue? I have also considered if we were to rehome an older rescue who doesn't have long left anyway. Would this work? As I mentioned, there is very limited chance of getting another piggy.

Just looking for a bit of advice. Surrendering her to a rescue wouldn't be an option either as she isn't very friendly towards people, and isn't exactly a looker, so definitely wouldn't be rehomed and would likely just die in rescue rather than finding a new home. We would rather find a way of keeping her happy here.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Some rescue centres will allow this kind of fostering so it would be worth enquiring

Can I ask about her cysts though - what is your plan going forward regarding dealing with them?

 

[Lb1927]

Some rescue centres will allow this kind of fostering so it would be worth enquiring

Can I ask about her cysts though - what is your plan going forward regarding dealing with them?

We will ask around our local rescues.

Regarding the cysts, our vet recommended that we keep her as happy and comfortable as we can for now, and when we can see she is ready to go, we will be putting her down sadly. We don't want to have to put her through any surgeries or anything, and upon vet recommendation, we will be waiting for when she tells us she is ready. This is another reason why we wouldn't want another guinea pig, as her time left is so uncertain.