What To Do With A Single Piggie?

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Alexandra West

Alexandra West

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Hey! Finnian, my beloved piggie acts fine and all but how can I keep away boredom for him? I'm not allowed to get another piggie, so he's all alone. I let him play a lot and hold him to keep him company, but how and I keep him from being bored when I can't entertain him? I tried my hardest to convince my parents to get another pig, but since my mom and brother are allergic, it was a big no. He doesn't seem very interested in chews...
 
Hi,seems you and I are very much in the same boat haha! My first piggy Vinny was alone her whole life which I deeply regret but I was stupid and did little research. School obviously means I couldn't spend 24/7 with her and sadly that's not good enough. If I could turn back the clock I would definitely have got her a friend.

My newest piggy (Vinny was put to sleep in 2015 after turning 3 for meningitis) was bought in Feb 2016. I got him by himself as mum finally agreed I could have another-She didn't want me getting attached like I did if they were only gonna get sick again thankfully what Vinny had is rare. Anyway I was aloud Mo and since that day I've been showing mum how he should have a friend. She's said yes now (just my stepdad to go) but Mo couldn't have a friend earlier on anyway because he had a URI scare and we were advised to wait and see how we went.

In my case,my friends sows that she rescued have had a litter of 3 pups each and she has offered to give me a boar to try with mo. So at least if it didn't work out the baby would just go back home with her. I know it can be frustrating but don't constantly bug your parents. Understand their points and do your own research/digging on ways around them. If they have allergies- is there something you can do when caring for your piggies that could make them a little better? Explain about how guinea pigs need friends and show them how responsible you can be.

Hope this helps and good luck. :)
 
Jesse's pigs said:
Hi,seems you and I are very much in the same boat haha! My first piggy Vinny was alone her whole life which I deeply regret but I was stupid and did little research. School obviously means I couldn't spend 24/7 with her and sadly that's not good enough. If I could turn back the clock I would definitely have got her a friend.

My newest piggy (Vinny was put to sleep in 2015 after turning 3 for meningitis) was bought in Feb 2016. I got him by himself as mum finally agreed I could have another-She didn't want me getting attached like I did if they were only gonna get sick again thankfully what Vinny had is rare. Anyway I was aloud Mo and since that day I've been showing mum how he should have a friend. She's said yes now (just my stepdad to go) but Mo couldn't have a friend earlier on anyway because he had a URI scare and we were advised to wait and see how we went.

In my case,my friends sows that she rescued have had a litter of 3 pups each and she has offered to give me a boar to try with mo. So at least if it didn't work out the baby would just go back home with her. I know it can be frustrating but don't constantly bug your parents. Understand their points and do your own research/digging on ways around them. If they have allergies- is there something you can do when caring for your piggies that could make them a little better? Explain about how guinea pigs need friends and show them how responsible you can be.

Hope this helps and good luck. :)
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I've explained many times that piggies are happier in pairs. Even the vet has told her this. I sweep up his hay that he tosses around everyday, make sure his cage is always clean, and nothing works. They said absolutely no more than one piggie and they won't change their minds (I've been asking since the day I got Finnian basically...)
 
In terms of keeping him entertained on his own you can't go wrong with cardboard boxes filled with hay that he can tunnel through and snuggle into. Perhaps hide some tasty treats in the hay then he can rummage around and encourage his natural foraging instincts.
 
I don't been to offend here but would adding another pig really make any difference to their allergies? Yes there will be more allergens in the air but would it really make much of a difference if they were kept somewhere where your family don't get exposed to them much? If you are keeping Finnian in a public area like your livingroom for eg. You could consider somewhere out of the way from those who are allergic like your bedroom.

Also have you worked out whether they are allergic to the pigs or the hay? If its the hay then my first question becomes very important all of a sudden and you could make a very good argument that adding another guinea pig wouldn't actually make their allergies much worse. Yes with another pig there will be more hay consumed but tbh, I haven't noticed much after going from 1 pig to 2 recently. It's like an extra fill of the hay rack. If it is the hay and you move them to a more private area, every time you refill the hay you can close the door and open the window while you're doing it to minimise how much allergens get into the air. In my opinion, adding another pig won't make a huge difference to a hay allergy. The problem will come if they are allergic to the pigs themselves.

If I'm honest the biggest thing you can do to keep a guinea pig entertained is another pig. :/ Belle wasn't interested in chews either when she was alone. She didn't seem lonely - in fact if I was totally ignorant of their needs I probably would only have gotten her a friend for me not for her. I knew she was bored because she had a habit of bar chewing sometimes and demanded food every time we went near her. Now we have a friend for her you really see the difference!

Could you compromise and foster another pig? This was you can iterate that it is only temporary until they get adopted and if you are lucky and you see a really difference in Finnian so can reiterate to your parents that he's happy with a friend and needs one. Your family might also be paranoid that you will keep adding more and more and more animals that they are allergic to if they let you have another one. So maybe try and convince them otherwise?

Failing a new friend, I would advise getting a big a cage as possible (get one big enough for three if you had the room/money for it). And change round the cage every other day. Try and teach him something to get his brain going and don't feed his food in the same place on the same bowl every day. Move the bowl, scatter feed him, stuff toilet roll tubes, use treat balls, puzzles and veggie kebabs. I know someone who made a washing line to hang veggies off to hang over a cage so the pig had to stretch and stand on top of hideys up to get it. The more you change things and the more you can get Finnian's brain working to get the food the better. Think like a zoo keeper. ;)
 
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