Happy Christmas, Guinea pig just died

[Sausagis]

At least it's not Xmas eve/day 😢 we took her to the vets yesterday and got antibiotics but it wasn't to be. That leaves me with one (slightly confused) 4 (to 5) year old female guinea pig. Do I see how she does alone or do I try and get her a friend? I know I could google but I'm feeling a bit delicate. Just got one child settled and trying not to cry in front of the other.

[MrsMozartMkII]

I'm sorry.

Rest in peace little one.

[twinguineapigs]

You'll have to see if she settles for a bit anyway as most pet shops (decent ones) will not sell you a guinea pig now for collection before xmas, they will let you reserve one.

She really needs a friend, guinea pigs are best in pairs. We have one elderly pig on his own who can't easily be bonded with other pigs so we are fostering guinea pigs so at least he has somebody else in the room who speaks his language. They chatter to each other incessantly but he won't tolerate them near him but boars are more defensive of their space, your sow might get on well with another sow if you can find a rescue place with one.

So sorry for your loss.

[Beamur]

Ah, sorry to hear that.
You could try her with another. Maybe a rescue?
I've a few guinea pigs myself. One of mine gets picked on by the others so she lives by herself but in earshot of the others. Seems happy enough. She's actually much tamer as I give her more attention to make up for it

[whojamaflip]

We had 2 sisters and fully expected the one sister to pine away when we lost the first one. However she went on to live another year quite happily by herself (but became an indoor pig with an outdoor run during the day). To be honest it depends on the individual pig as to whether they can adapt to being on their own.

[Sausagis]

Thanks all. It's going to horrible feeding just one piggie tomorrow 😢

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Aw piggies do pick their moments don't they?

This time last year I had two middle aged hogs ( both nearly 5yo) that we'd bonded . The sow had lived with her cage mate ( also sow) and didn't tolerate our other pigs . It was a heart-in-mouth night when we bonded them .....but they got along nicely (as long as he knew his place )

When he died ( PTS , he was ill just after a Christmas) we kept her on her own because we didn't think she'd accept another piggie .
She lived in the small bedroom, DD took her into her room for company and she died in her sleep in April (after an eye ulcer healed )


Rescues will offer a pig if it is to bond . They know that pigs can die anytime and you need to consider your remaining pig .
Best to give her a few quiet "grieving" days and contact a couple of local Rescues if you go down the re-bonding route . You could get a neutered boar ? Lots of rescues routinely castrate the males (and boars are lovely ) Sows are very good at telling them to S*d Off !

[twinguineapigs]

Rescues round here routinely castrate the males too, it makes it easier to rehome them. We've got two foster boars at the moment who are brothers and are strongly bonded as their mother died when they were 9 days old so they only have each other, I'm hoping they will be able to stay together when we find them a home as we won't be havng them neutered, I'm not sure when they are old enough but they will only be 7-8 weeks old when we look for a home for them.

[Sausagis]

Remaining GP (Sophie) seems really down. She just sits in the corner. Mostly she rallies for food but there was one scary moment she tried ignoring it (she couldn't last though, thank goodness).

Local rescue has no guinea pigs in at the moment (I'm not UK and only have the one option) but a pair of baby girls have been located at a reputable pet shop (they are locally bred, not imported) and I'm going to see them Friday (fingers crossed).

Never mind the kids, I don't think I can take much more of the almost-empty, almost-silent cage.

[twinguineapigs]

Poor Sophie. I hope the guinea pigs on Friday are suitable for her.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Hope the match-up goes well tomorrow .
You do have to give guinea-pigs a grieving time so they miss the cage mate . Did she spend time with the body of the piggie that died ?


When we bonded our boar (he'd had two wives before (GP4 and GP5)but had to side-by-side with GP7 and GP8 because GP8 attacked him ) he'd been living the Boar-Next-Door life for over a year.

He was desperate to move in with GP7 when she was alone after GP8 died . We put them in C&C with a divide and he slept up against the bars . But she had to miss her cagemate of 5 years so it was a week before we bonded them. And they have a lovely Golden Oldie partnership till he died early this year)

You are inviting two new pigs into her domain. So you need everthing neutral.
Neutral space to bond them (we used a paddling pool on the kitchen floor ....yes without water , newspaper big pile of hay and food)
Keep a towel handy in case you need to intercept but let them mosey and get aquainted .

And it goes without saying ...make sure they are sows . Double Double check

Clean her cage with boiling soapy water then wipe with white vinegar and air well .

Good Luck (and yes , pigtures will be expected !)

[Chihaha]

I'm so sorry. I hope the girls on Friday work out and your house is full of chatter and popcorning once more.

[twinguineapigs]

Yes, the pictures are compulsory.
Whilst waiting for them, here are a couple of very little baby pigs - ten day old orphans

[Beamur]

I wouldn't recommend 3 pigs together.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

3 female piggies are a fairly safe option and sadly the OP has to think ahead to the time when her older sow dies ....

Make sure they have plenty of space and hiding spaces .
2 doors in every housie .

2 bottles and keep food bowls apart .

[twinguineapigs]

We had three for years, it worked well most of the time as long as we did what 70isalimit says above. Little squabbles every now and then but nothing major or causing harm.

[Beamur]

Fair enough. I had 3 together from babies, lots of space, multiple food, etc. Had to remove one as it kept getting badly bitten by one of the others. Talking to another GP owner she said she'd never keep 3 together as it often ends in squabbles. 2 yes, 4 yes, but not 3.
You"re going to perpetually add piggies if you want to keep having them and to have companions.

[Sausagis]

Update time... they spent the night in separate cages next to each other and got introduced in neutral territory this morning. Sophie proved the pig part of guinea pig and ignored them in favor of a pile of grass (not entirely surprising knowing her!). Once she was a bit fuller she took to new girl Snowdrop straight away. She wasn't quite so sure of Oreo (who is brown, not black, but hey) - Oreo didn't do herself any favors by going quite over board with some serious, in depth, butt sniffing. (What's with that?). However no proper aggression so I gave the cage a good clean and rearrange and they are all in together. So far so good! But I have everything crossed it lasts 🤞

[Sausagis]

Here we go...

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Ooh they are gorgeous ....and well dine to Sophie nabbing the grass . Start as you mean to go on there Sophie .

I had a piggie called Oreo ( she was Smudge when I got her ) chocolate pointed crested ruby eyed Himalayan ( apparently quite rare according to someone on Gumtree ) Mine was from a local rescue .


Is Sophie a Teddy or Rex? They are lovely big chunky hogs (we had two boars that were Rex and Teddy , the Rex was over 3lb , like a rabbit )



Enjoy your new piggies and hopefully Sophie appreciates them

[Beamur]

That's a nice update!

[Sausagis]

Sophie is a Rex. 3lbs is huge! Sophie got to 2.4lbs but has dropped a little lately.

They've been in together all afternoon, some growling (or at least angry vibrating) has been heard but nothing more dramatic. It was a close run thing when I discovered that green pepper is apparently EVERYONE'S favorite, and of course Sophie eats several times faster than the other 2, so I was desperately chopping up more to try and fend off an argument. I do so hope this all works out.