I have a female guinea pig who has been with me for 7 years now. And I now know that guinea pigs require another one to maintain happiness. I honestly did not know about this when I first got her, I was only a child. But now that I'm older I realize my mistake and I feel horrible about it. She's a light-hearted lovable guinea pig who is a shy and a bit skittish and despite her being alone, she has only had a minor health issue once in her life. And I do spend a lot of time with her (even though lot's of people say spending time isn't the same as another pig). The question is, is it too late for a partner? She's really old, and I know how long guinea pigs live. Will she be able to tolerate a spunkier young pig? Or will she be stressed out? If we were to adopt another pig, I would want to adopt a shelter one, who is probably close to an adult. If anyone could help with this, please let me know.
Too late for another pig?
- Thread starter skitzy
- Start date
Hi and welcome
It is great that you want to make your old lady happy! Sadly word that guinea pigs are a social species is only slowly spreading (although social media are helping). Please do not feel guilty; you are obviously a very loving and caring owner!
However, companionship at this stage is a tricky one. Unless you can rescue date and test your girl with some suitable older piggies to allow her to decide whether she wants to interact with other piggies or not (and with who), I would strongly recommend to either consider adopting a young couple as next door neighbours in a separate adjoining cage if you'd rather continue with guinea pigs or to leave it be if you would prefer to stop after your girl has passed away.
Please take the time to read this link below; you should find it very helpful as it discusses various aspects, potential problems and various options for single piggies in a range of situations. Company for single piggies, especially older ones is not quite as straight forward as getting a companion from somewhere and expecting them to get on.
Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities
Since your options depend in most cases what is realistically available and doable where you are (access to good standard rescues with mandatory quarantine, vet care and pregnancy watch and access to good vets varies widely across the world), we find it helpful in working out with you which is the best way for you specifically if you please added your country, state/province or UK county to location in your account details (via clicking on your username on the top bar). This makes it appear with every post you make and allows us tailor any advice instead of having to keep it as general as possible since we have members and enquiries from all around the globe. Thank you!