Single boar left behind

Raymond92

Raymond92

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hello,
My gorgeous 3 year old boar, Raymond, was sadly put to sleep on Tuesday meaning his friend, Solomon (also 3) has been left behind.
Solomon is very relaxed piggie, loves cuddles with us and had quite a kind temperament to Raymond even though Raymond could be a little irritating to him at times.
Since Raymond has been gone (it’s not even been a week), he is a little more quiet. The first few days it sounded like he was ‘calling for Raymond’ and trying to search for him in the cage but he has settled slightly. We’re giving him cuddles constantly, playing with him and giving him lots of toys and activities to be stimulated by.
We don’t really want him to go the rest of his life on his own because although he’s not too sad on his own I feel like he would miss out on having a little friend to play with and talk to.
We’re of course still very heartbroken about Raymond and a friend for Solomon would not be a replacement. My question is how long should I leave it before we get him a friend? I’m very interested to hear others experiences of bereaved guinea pigs.
I’ve read some brilliant blogs on here for bereaved guinea pigs written by Wiekbe and other forum members (thank you Wiekbe for that).
 
I’m sorry for your loss.

Solomon will be grieving but they come out of the intense period after a few days.
How long you wait depends on how he is doing - generally you look to get a new friend within 1-4 weeks.

The safest way is with the help of a rescue centre. Give some a call and tell them that you are/will shortly be looking for a new companion. Rescues dont always advertise single piggies needing adoption so looking on their websites isnt always helpful, a phone call is best.
 
Hoping Solomon finds a new friend, explain to them that Solomon is a bereaved boar they will do their best I’m sure to match him up
 
I hope that Solomon will soon have a new companion. Most rescues prioritise bereaved piggies. Good luck.
 
I'm sorry you lost your little guy. We've gone through this twice now and have generally found about a month afterward was a good time to start looking. As long as Solomon is still eating and drinking as normal, you have a grace period to begin healing for yourself. We have ours cremated when they pass, so we feel it's okay to begin looking when their ashes have come back home.

I agree with everyone saying to contact rescues. Let them know you have a bereaved male and are looking for another single boar. In my experience, rescues are pretty up front with which of their males are already bonded and which can be adopted as singles.

Most of all, be kind to yourself. Bringing a new pig into your life is never replacing the one who passed. You'll always hold Raymond in your heart. You're doing what's best for Solomon and opening your own heart up to love again. Plus, you're giving love to a stray piggie who needs it. Our hearts are big enough that we hold onto our loved ones forever, but there's always room for new loves to make their own space. Be gentle with yourself. ❤
 
MichelleM said:
I'm sorry you lost your little guy. We've gone through this twice now and have generally found about a month afterward was a good time to start looking. As long as Solomon is still eating and drinking as normal, you have a grace period to begin healing for yourself. We have ours cremated when they pass, so we feel it's okay to begin looking when their ashes have come back home.

I agree with everyone saying to contact rescues. Let them know you have a bereaved male and are looking for another single boar. In my experience, rescues are pretty up front with which of their males are already bonded and which can be adopted as singles.

Most of all, be kind to yourself. Bringing a new pig into your life is never replacing the one who passed. You'll always hold Raymond in your heart. You're doing what's best for Solomon and opening your own heart up to love again. Plus, you're giving love to a stray piggie who needs it. Our hearts are big enough that we hold onto our loved ones forever, but there's always room for new loves to make their own space. Be gentle with yourself. ❤
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Thank you so much - it has been difficult. Solomon has been incredibly sad. He’s been eating and drinking but had just been laying with his head down all day. The only time he perked up was when I gave him cuddles and he wanted to lay on my lap for up to an hour. So we contacted a rescue and took him to visit. She highly recommended (and perhaps others may disagree) that he is paired with a young piggie that’s not territorial. We were told if we tried with an older boar they might end up fighting and ending up with 2 unhappy piggies.
At first she paired him with a 4 week old Abyssinian - I was worried he was just a bit too little so we said no.
Then she paired him with an 8 week old tri-colour short hair that he really liked. The 8 week old was rumblestrutting, trying to be dominant but our Solomon just didn’t care. He liked being in his company so we took him home and now we have welcomed Norbert to our family.
Solomon copes with him really well. Norbert is full of beans, has zoomies, doesn’t stop talking and it doesn’t phase Solomon. But we have noticed that Solomon is out alot more nibbling and exploring and talking to Norbert. Norbert is not a replacement for Ray but I think he might have filled a big gaping hole in Solomon’s heart
 

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Aw, how lovely! I am so glad you have found a new friend for Solomon. It’s so sad when they lose their companion I know how sad Ted was when Bill died suddenly. I bet Solomon has a new spring in his step now 😊
 
Gotta love a happy ending, well done boys. It's great that another piggy has found a home and I love seeing piggies together when they look totally different.
♥️
 
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