One of our piggie pair has died, what to do with the one left behind?

[fudgesmummy]

One of our 3 year old pair of boy guinea pigs died at the weekend. He has left behind a rather sad and lonely looking piggie.
What should we do? Get another couple of younger boys to keep him company or will he be quite happy on his own?
He lives outside and gets adult company several times a day, but it's not like having a fellow piggie to chatter too.

[FernieB]

So sorry for your loss . My original pair of boys were 3 when one of them died. It's a tricky age. I made the decision to adopt a baby boy to go with the remaining one. Don't get a pair of baby boys - 3 boys just won't work. Don't just get a baby boy and hope they'll get on either - your boy needs to pick his new friend. The best option is to phone round rescues and see who has baby boys available. They do appear in rescues fairly frequently due to the number of pregnant females they end up with. A rescue will allow you to bond your boy with a baby.

I did that and then had the baby neutered as soon as he was old enough, so that when my original boy died (which he did in January) I could adopt an older girl to go with him (which I have).

So glad I didn't leave my original boy alone as he lived for another 2 years and even though mine are indoor pigs, it would have been a long lonely time for him.

[Fingalswave]

I would approach a rescue shelter and ask their advice.

In the meantime, can you bring him in to the house?

[fudgesmummy]

Thank you for your replies. I will google our local piggie rescue, and see what they advise.
Can't bring him in I'm afraid as we have 3 cats and they would think he was lunch..........!!!

[mumofthemonsters808]

Oh no, I've just lost my two boys after seven and a half years and I really miss them.I hate to say this but you'll probably find the other one dead within a matter of days. I think mine lasted a week without his brother, when they have only known life together, it's very hard to function alone.

I was heartbroken to find him cuddled up to his dead brother, but I had to remove his body, I put the scent of the deceased on a toy one and put it in his bedroom. At the night he was cuddled upto him, it was so sad, but naturally it had no body heat and even though he was eating and running around, he only lived until the end of the week.Apparently, it's quite common. I hope it's different for yours.

[FernieB]

Definitely try the rescues to see who they have in. When mine were bereaved, they were each alone for about 4 weeks before they were able to collect their new friend. They were fine with extra human attention and treats.