Replacing dead Guinea Pig advice - Radley and others any ideas - very sad children!

[Bugsy2]

One of our Guinea Pigs died this morning and it has been a very sad & traumatic day. The poor little Guinea Pig was dropped by my daughter on Thursday, a very short fall onto carpet but obviously enough to completely traumatise it. The vet said she couldn't see anything specific wrong, but it has taken 3 days to slowly fade away, despite feeding it with a little syringe and keeping it wrapped in warm towels. Very big sad sigh.
So now I am left with one lonely boar guinea pig & I don't know what to do. If I get another boar they will fight, a female & they will breed. Was wondering if I could maybe get a little rabbit - do they get on? I've heard that Guinea Pigs pine on their own? Please help.

[tamum]

Oh, poor you. My plan when we get to this point is to have our remaining male neutered and get a female as company. Rabbits can bully guinea pigs quite badly, apparently.

[colditz]

I think guinea pigs and rabbits get on well, get a female because my mum once caught the school rabbit (male) trying to bugger my guinea pig, who was not amused and was squeaking frantically for rescue!

[tamum]

Ours had been bitten by the rabbit they were sharing with before we bought them, and we have two books that both say you shouldn't house them together. I guess it's the luck of the draw.

[Flossam]

Aww, Colditz! I have two GP's and I can just imagine the squeeks! Bless.

[tamum]

Incidentally, I've found this site really useful.

[Bugsy2]

Thank you all. Only just managed to get sobbing ds off to sleep - we did full burial in the garden and I think ds has spent most of the day crying.
So, conflicting views on rabbits. I'm going to check out Tamums website. The remaining boar is quite a cocky little chap, so maybe a small female rabbit would work - and no attempts at bonking bums with that either (I hope!).

[Pixel]

I had two guinea pigs that were brothers and one sadly died. I got the remaining one another boar for company and they were fine together straight away. My friend has done the same lots of times with no problems.

The one time I tried getting a rabbit for company it was a disaster and I had to separate them when the rabbit tried to kill the guinea pig. Mind you, it was a very aggressive rabbit and attacked everyone, including next door's spaniel.

[catj]

I used to breed guinea pigs and I have successfully introduced a younger boar to an existing pet. I used to make sure they were on neutral ground if possible-I suggest thoroughly cleaning the cage before putting them together. Another tip is to put a tiny bit of Vicks on their bums (where their tails would be!) as it confuses them enough scent wise to let them get used to each other. I do know that people keep rabbits and GP's together but a kick from a rabbit can do serious damage & IME females are very hormonal and more aggressive at times than males. Guinea pigs are also very social and communicate vocally. Hope this helps

[mszebra]

You could get your remaining boar neutered and then it wouldn't matter whether you kept it with another boar or a female.

[Radley]

Ideally, it would be safer to introduce another boar gradually to the existing one, on neutral territory, such as the living room floor, with towels, another ideal place would be the bath, put towels on the bottom and let them get used to each other.

When you feel that they can be put in cage together make sure that you clean the cage from top to bottom in a white vinegar and water solution, this will put them both in neutral territory.

I wouldn't advise putting vicks on the bums as this could burn and the smell could be too strong, what you could try is a buddy bath, wash them both together in the same sink with some quinea pig shampoo, that way, all their scents will be removed.

Don't under any circumstances put a rabbit in with the boar, rabbits are very powerful with their back legs and could easily kill or maim your pig.

At the minute your pig will need extra cuddles and lap time, try feeding him some apple, celery or fresh parsley whilst on your knee.

I would also advise against getting your existing boar neutered, the reason being, many vets are not used to exotics and therefore the neutering could be fatal, your pig may seem ok for a short while and the die suddenly.

If you need any more help, you have my msn addy.

[Pixel]

Yes mine were introduced on neutral ground. I took my gp to a breeder and he put him in a box with another one to make sure they got on before I took them both home. Also thoroughly cleaned the cage.

[Bugsy2]

Thank you all so much, I really do appreciate your advice. I'm going to get another boar guinea pig and will follow the tips on here. I like the idea of an intro on neutral territory and the guinea bath. We have been giving the lone boar lots of attention, ds has been very sweet with him today as he has been really upset by the death of the other one.
I will also be ensuring that dd is never in a situation where she can drop another guinea pig. I was at work when it happened and I feel so awful that a tiny pet died because of careless handling.

[Radley]

Hey

Don't feel bad, how do you know that the piggie died because he was dropped, he could have been ill already and that was the icing on the cake. try not to blame yourself hun.

[Gemtubbs]

How did you get on finding the guinea pig a new friend?