Unexpected loss of guinea pig, need some advice.

[shanny04]

Hi everyone, apologies in advanced if this is not done correctly or seems all over the place. I know I am probably overthinking some things right now so any help is very much appreciated!

On Monday I, very unexpectedly (and extremely traumatically), lost one of my guinea pigs, Blossom, leaving me now with a lone guinea pig, Peach. Obviously, I will be getting Peach a friend but I do have worries and concerns, I have never done a guinea pig bonding and was definitely not expecting to be doing one so soon. I have read and watched videos on bonding guinea pigs before and I do get the general idea on how to do it but my issues are:

• I don’t have space for a quarantine cage
• I also don’t have space for the new piggies to be beside Peach as neighbours
• Money wise, needing to possibly buy all new things; fleece bedding & pee pads for new piggies, new c&c if quarantining, a pen for bonding, all new cage items that aren’t fleece with their scent on it if bonding is successful e.g. log tunnels. Etc
• Having a plan B if bonding fails. As said above, I unfortunately don’t have the space to have two enclosures.
• The cage is a 5x2 which I believe would be too small for 3 girls? So would be a matter of looking for a single female, which is proving difficult. I understand a neutered male is an option but I’m not too sure how she would get on with one, as she did appear to be the bossy one of the two so would need a very chilled and relaxed male that would allow her to be her bossy self.
• Travelling for adoption. I live in Scotland and have only really found a couple of adoption places that seem good. The issue here is, I don’t drive and I do have bad anxiety and public transport can be an issue for my anxiety.

Currently, Peach seems to be ok, still eating some veggies and hay and taking treats but is also more quiet and spending a lot of time in her house. I am monitoring her weight. I am also just making sure she is getting a lot of attention and having her out next to me more but obviously I cannot replace a guinea pig.

Again, thank you for any advice.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi everyone, apologies in advanced if this is not done correctly or seems all over the place. I know I am probably overthinking some things right now so any help is very much appreciated!

On Monday I, very unexpectedly (and extremely traumatically), lost one of my guinea pigs, Blossom, leaving me now with a lone guinea pig, Peach. Obviously, I will be getting Peach a friend but I do have worries and concerns, I have never done a guinea pig bonding and was definitely not expecting to be doing one so soon. I have read and watched videos on bonding guinea pigs before and I do get the general idea on how to do it but my issues are:

• I don’t have space for a quarantine cage
• I also don’t have space for the new piggies to be beside Peach as neighbours
• Money wise, needing to possibly buy all new things; fleece bedding & pee pads for new piggies, new c&c if quarantining, a pen for bonding, all new cage items that aren’t fleece with their scent on it if bonding is successful e.g. log tunnels. Etc
• Having a plan B if bonding fails. As said above, I unfortunately don’t have the space to have two enclosures.
• The cage is a 5x2 which I believe would be too small for 3 girls? So would be a matter of looking for a single female, which is proving difficult. I understand a neutered male is an option but I’m not too sure how she would get on with one, as she did appear to be the bossy one of the two so would need a very chilled and relaxed male that would allow her to be her bossy self.
• Travelling for adoption. I live in Scotland and have only really found a couple of adoption places that seem good. The issue here is, I don’t drive and I do have bad anxiety and public transport can be an issue for my anxiety.

Currently, Peach seems to be ok, still eating some veggies and hay and taking treats but is also more quiet and spending a lot of time in her house. I am monitoring her weight. I am also just making sure she is getting a lot of attention and having her out next to me more but obviously I cannot replace a guinea pig.

Again, thank you for any advice.

Hi and welcome

BIG HUGS

I am ever so sorry about your loss and that it happened in very unhappy circumstances.

Quarantine is just a recommendation, not a must. We recommend to waive it for any sub-teenagers under 4 months anyway because their need of companionship outweighs any quarantining considerations unless the passed piggy was suffering from n infectious disease and the surviving piggy will need to wait for new company.

There are a few points that you need to be aware of in terms of waiving quarantine:
- You will need to treat both piggies together if there is a problem.
I would recommend that you get hold of some F10 disinfectant concentrate because it is very versatile and can be used as antiseptic for inhaling in the most dilute to a ringworm spore resistant deep clean at the strongest - and one bottle literally lasts you for years, so it works out very cheaply. It is always useful to have it at hand. I use mine also for the normal cage clean.

- If you do not have the fall-back option of a second cage, I would strongly recommend to opt for a youngster where acceptance rates are much higher.
We offer a courtesy sexing service for new arrivals in order to prevent any accidents from pairing up mis-sexed guinea pigs. As much as it pains me, a pet shop baby may be a safer bet over a free-ads or breeder one because you have much more customer rights enforcement power and the risk of unwanted problems is generally lower.
The best good welfare standard rescue in Scotland with a mandatory quarantine at the rescue upon arrival and the offer of speed dating at the rescue (meaning that neutered boars - if available - would also be an option for you) is in Ayr but with good traffic links to Glasgow, including being within walking distance of the station.

https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/guinea-pig-forum-recommended-rescues.196734/

- You will still have to conduct any introduction on neutral groung outside the cage. Guinea pigs are territorial, which means that the owner will feel invaded and the invader will feel extremely insecure and defensive when put into that position - that is a prime recipe for over-reactions. The bonding can sometimes take overnight. Giving the piggies the extra time to work out the roughest bit of the leadership/hierarchy dominance outside their home, provided that there is no major aggression/fear-aggression in play, means a much calmer settling down in the cage, apart from the inevitable territorial dominance which is by then often just on the formal side.

Here is our bonding guide:

Thread 'Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics'

Jan 23, 2019

1 Introduction
2 Pre-bonding
- Quarantine and sexing
- The need for a plan B
- The rule-breaker: Youngsters under 4 months (sub-teenage)
3 Setting up an introduction
- Getting to know each other
- ‘Buddy baths’ – why not
- Setting up a neutral bonding area
- How to start the bonding
4 Acceptance phase: Do we like each other?
- Friendly getting to know...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 7
• Forum: Behaviour, Bonding and Bereavement

• 

Here is our very detailed nd comprehensive step-by-step bonding guide with all the attendant behaviours. It also includes the ca. 2 weeks post-intro group establishment phase which many owners are not aware of.

I hope that this helps you? It is always a stressful time but as long as your remaining piggy is eating and drinking and coping with being alone, then you have a bit more time.

 

[shanny04]

Hi and welcome

BIG HUGS

I am ever so sorry about your loss and that it happened in very unhappy circumstances.

Quarantine is just a recommendation, not a must. We recommend to waive it for any sub-teenagers under 4 months anyway because their need of companionship outweighs any quarantining considerations unless the passed piggy was suffering from n infectious disease and the surviving piggy will need to wait for new company.

There are a few points that you need to be aware of in terms of waiving quarantine:
- You will need to treat both piggies together if there is a problem.
I would recommend that you get hold of some F10 disinfectant concentrate because it is very versatile and can be used as antiseptic for inhaling in the most dilute to a ringworm spore resistant deep clean at the strongest - and one bottle literally lasts you for years, so it works out very cheaply. It is always useful to have it at hand. I use mine also for the normal cage clean.

- If you do not have the fall-back option of a second cage, I would strongly recommend to opt for a youngster where acceptance rates are much higher.
We offer a courtesy sexing service for new arrivals in order to prevent any accidents from pairing up mis-sexed guinea pigs. As much as it pains me, a pet shop baby may be a safer bet over a free-ads or breeder one because you have much more customer rights enforcement power and the risk of unwanted problems is generally lower.
The best good welfare standard rescue in Scotland with a mandatory quarantine at the rescue upon arrival and the offer of speed dating at the rescue (meaning that neutered boars - if available - would also be an option for you) is in Ayr but with good traffic links to Glasgow, including being within walking distance of the station.

https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/guinea-pig-forum-recommended-rescues.196734/

- You will still have to conduct any introduction on neutral groung outside the cage. Guinea pigs are territorial, which means that the owner will feel invaded and the invader will feel extremely insecure and defensive when put into that position - that is a prime recipe for over-reactions. The bonding can sometimes take overnight. Giving the piggies the extra time to work out the roughest bit of the leadership/hierarchy dominance outside their home, provided that there is no major aggression/fear-aggression in play, means a much calmer settling down in the cage, apart from the inevitable territorial dominance which is by then often just on the formal side.

Here is our bonding guide:

Thread 'Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics'

Jan 23, 2019

1 Introduction
2 Pre-bonding
- Quarantine and sexing
- The need for a plan B
- The rule-breaker: Youngsters under 4 months (sub-teenage)
3 Setting up an introduction
- Getting to know each other
- ‘Buddy baths’ – why not
- Setting up a neutral bonding area
- How to start the bonding
4 Acceptance phase: Do we like each other?
- Friendly getting to know...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 7
• Forum: Behaviour, Bonding and Bereavement

• 

Here is our very detailed nd comprehensive step-by-step bonding guide with all the attendant behaviours. It also includes the ca. 2 weeks post-intro group establishment phase which many owners are not aware of.

I hope that this helps you? It is always a stressful time but as long as your remaining piggy is eating and drinking and coping with being alone, then you have a bit more time.

Hi, thanks for your response and sorry for a late reply!

I have had a read of the guides and apologies if I have missed it but if I were to get younger guinea pig/s (under 4 months) do I start the bonding through the bars or just go straight to neutral grounds? and if bonding through the bars, can I do so by splitting the 5x2 cage in half?
Would the younger guinea pig/s need time to settle into a new environment before going straight to bonding?

So far, Peach seems to be doing fine. Eating, drinking, she's even done a couple of popcorns and her weight is consistent so luckily it does give me a bit more time to sort things out

 

[Wiebke]

Hi, thanks for your response and sorry for a late reply!

I have had a read of the guides and apologies if I have missed it but if I were to get younger guinea pig/s (under 4 months) do I start the bonding through the bars or just go straight to neutral grounds? and if bonding through the bars, can I do so by splitting the 5x2 cage in half?
Would the younger guinea pig/s need time to settle into a new environment before going straight to bonding?

So far, Peach seems to be doing fine. Eating, drinking, she's even done a couple of popcorns and her weight is consistent so luckily it does give me a bit more time to sort things out

Under four months olds go straight to the bonding pen to join the adult there. They need that safety net of 'belonging' and having a group identity before anything else. They are not fit to challenge for leadership so there is not that element of rivalry or territory in play that there is with older sow; what they are looking for is being accepted by an older piggy acting as their protector. What you want to do is to have the older piggies in the pen first. You can put them down in a different corner so they can go and do the meeting on their own. With 3-4 months olds you can do up to 30-60 minutes of a divider in the pen so they can get to know each other through the bars.

All the best. Please let us know how you are getting on or whenever you have more questions.

 

[Merab]

So sorry for your loss.
Hope you find a lovely companion for Peach