Single Guinea Pig

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Vanlyra

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Hiya

Hopefully someone can give me some advice on my new addition. Mr Pickles is 4 months old and I picked him up from the adoption/rehoming corner of the pet shop on Friday. Apparently he had been brought back twice because he was aggressive towards other piggies (both of his ears are chewed so clearly he's been in trouble). They recommended that he wasn't suitable for homing with his own kind which suited me fine as I don't really want more than one. The question is, is it cruel to keep him on his own for the rest of his life without any contact with other piggies?

He is a sweet little thing, really tame and seems to like playing with the children. At the moment he is an indoor piggie. I am not new to keeping them and had 3 guinea pigs together in the past so know a bit about them.

Thanking you for your advice.
 
To be honest, yes. He could live for 8 years, that's a long time to be on his own. No matter how much human interaction you give him it's just not the same. Guinea pigs, especially such young ones, need the company of other piggies. Mentally they don't do well on their own, they're just not wired that way... they're herd animals by nature so a companion really is needed.

Its not uncommon to get bad advice from pet shops.. It's extremely unlikely that he won't get on with any other guinea pig, it's just a case of finding one he gets on with. Where abouts are you (I'm assuming UK) as there are rescues who offer boar dating to find him his perfect friend. :)
 
Hi

Thanks for the reply, I am in Bristol. I think I'll let him settle in for a bit and then get him a friend when spring starts so that they can enjoy being outside and more space. Do you think it would be ok to have a neutered male or do they spay female piggies?
 
You wouldn't need to have a boar neutered to go in with him. Either another male or if you get your piggy neutered he could have a sow in with him. Or you may even find a spayed sow in a rescue, just depends what they have.

You may find he'd settle in much faster/easier with a companion. Usually they get their confidence from having other piggies aound them.

Do you have any pictures of him? :drool:
 
Hello, welcome to the forum.

It's a tricky one, really tricky especially if he is aggressive, which he may or may not be - you never know from experience of pet shops and word of mouth. If it does turn out he doesn't like company of his own kid then it is not the end of the world. We had a single piggy for a year after her sister died and she had medical issues which meant she had to remain lone piggy and she was absolutely fine with it, very happy and content. However this is not always the case for all pigs...

One option may be once he has settled to try and boar date at a local rescue, some rescues offer this service - this way you can try out relationships before you take a piggy home. Otherwise just going in blind you may end up with two single piggies if the bonding doesn't work. Here is a link to our Recommended Rescue list, it may be worth ringing around those local to you and explaining the situation to see if they can help Guinea Pig Rescue Centre Locator Could you add your location to your profile also it helps us tailor any advice to your location

Welcome to the forum once again, it would be fab to see some photos of your piggy once he has settled

Lee
 
Vanlyra said:
He came with the name Branston Pickle but we thought we'd show him some respect owing to shady past :box:
Click to expand...

very right too :) You never now he could have links to the piggy mafia!
 
Gorgeous boy.I would boar date him.He would live-tweet company.You can't be with him 24/7.
 
He looks like a lovable rogue! <3 Bless him, hope you find him a friend he can settle happily with ☺
 
He looks fantastic. To be honest, my Captan Jack was labelled as not getting on with other pigs, well that didn't stop me. First lady that came across his path, he took to and treats her very well. They are incredibly close and really moan if one is taken out of their hutch without the other.

Mowgli who came from TEAS was a difficult one, he had tried to make friends with other pigs but he just didn't find the right ones. He however is much better and took huge liking to Marmalade which sealed the deal. He's still a ruffian but he's also an interesting character and doesn't give his bestie Millie too much hassle.
 
I'd agree with others in trying a play date at a rescue, if that's not doable would it be possible to get another boar with the option of having a separate cage setup IF they don't get on? My boar cagemates weren't compatible when they matured but had side by side cages and loved to 'chat' and nosey in on what each other were doing even though there was NO WAY they could physically live together without the 'alpha' getting aggressive and causing real harm to the other. Maybe look at getting a boar from a rescue who has lived with many others, may be more sociable, laid back and unfazed by any potential probs.
 
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