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Original poster

I think our guinea pig is dying of lonliness

59 replies

GuineaHelp · 30/11/2020 14:50

We had two males guinea pigs, 3.3 yo. One died a couple of weeks ago. Sad The other one has now gone off his food and just seems to have given up.

Apologies to people who are dealing with traumatic life events and I’m going on about a guinea pig, but it does just seem a bit callous to let him fail without trying to address the problem. Also apologies for using Chat for high-traffic.

We’re hoping to adopt another male around the same age. They might not get on I know but it’s worth a try. Been in touch with all of the rescue places; no response.

Does anyone have a 3yo male (or older) they’d like to re-home?

Thanks for reading.

OP posts:
JustAnotherUserinParadise · 30/11/2020 15:00

have you tried pre-loved? people sometimes rehome old pets on there. Otherwise a local RSPCA? Some have small animals.
They can be quite happy alone but often if they've been one of a pair they do go downhill. We had a pair of girls and one died at 5, the other made it to about 7 and seemed totally fine.

Smallinthesmoke · 30/11/2020 15:03

Where are you based?

Bowelagain · 30/11/2020 15:06

We had something similar happen. Our pig was so sad without his mate and I couldn’t find a friend the same age. It’s probably not advised but I went to pets at home and bought a baby boar, I wouldn’t say they were the best of friends but they never had a fight. The older one died a couple of years later and the ‘baby’ is quite content on his own.

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bellagogosdead · 30/11/2020 15:15

You have made me think of my two GPs from 30 odd years ago.Sad
I hope you can find your boy a friend, maybe try in 'small furries' as well?

ATowelAndAPotato · 30/11/2020 15:20

Check for local rescues? they are usually happy to help with finding a new companion.
In the meantime can you move him into a room where he will at least have human company for a few hours? A friend got a slightly smaller cage and had his in the lounge when they were around and then put him back in the larger cage overnight.

AdditionalCharacter · 30/11/2020 15:26

Your poor piggy. I have two inseparable girl GPs, I dread the day one of them goes.
Are you in the NE? There is a fb page called Guinea pigs north east that help with this sort of thing.

TheFairyCaravan · 30/11/2020 15:33

We had this when one of our females died suddenly after surgery. Our remaining one lost 10 percent of her body weight and her fur started to fall out, it was so, so sad. I contacted a rescue local to us and arranged to take her in to see if they had a piggie she’d bond with. Fortunately they did and she became her happy self pretty quickly again.

Have a Google or maybe say where you are roughly because someone might be able to help

Andrew2020 · 30/11/2020 15:42

Guinea pigs ‘pine’ when they lose a friend. I’d be careful about putting another male in, I had two brothers that had to live ‘together, but apart’ as they used to fight. You’d need to introduce them very carefully 😀

Snog · 30/11/2020 15:50

There are charities who will either rehome your guinea pig with another one or alternatively lend you a guinea pig to live with yours until yours dies. This is in recognition that they tend to be unhappy living alone.

FireUnderpants · 30/11/2020 15:53

I've had an elderly/young boar pairing for the past 15+ years. We lost our old one last year, said no more......but lasted a week before I got him a friend. They shouldn't be alone, in one country (I want to say Sweden?) it's illegal to have a single one.

If you can find a male as young as possible the older one will usually accept him. Change the living arrangements round, lots of food to distract and buddie baths have worked for us.

The pecking order might change as the younger one matures but there has only been 1 pairing that didn't work out, and that pig was a character!

Angel2702 · 30/11/2020 15:55

You might need a baby rather than one the same age to avoid fighting.

gingerbreadfox · 30/11/2020 15:59

Try a neutered female if you can to guarantee they get on.
Or look for guinea pig rescues who will do a 'bonding service' where they will take your guinea pig in to spend a night or so with the new one before rehoming to check they get on ok.
Sorry you are going through this and well done in trying to do what is best for your piggie. They get lovely just like us humans do

Bagelsandbrie · 30/11/2020 15:59

We were in this situation and got the remaining one neutered and then got 3 girls! He loved it! We got a big c and c indoor cage and he strutted around with his 3 wives and loved his life until he recently died of old age. Much easier to neuter and put with a girl than to try and match with another boar.

Bagelsandbrie · 30/11/2020 16:00

Pic of them all ....

I think our guinea pig is dying of lonliness
IJustWantSomeBees · 30/11/2020 16:01

To broaden your opportunities of finding him a new cage mate you may consider getting him neutered so he can live with a female. Neutering him would also decrease the chances of him being aggressive/not bonding with a new male.

Santaisironingwrappingpaper · 30/11/2020 16:02

Our rabbit lost her dm at the week end. She is lonely..
No solution op just some furry hugs...

Isadora2007 · 30/11/2020 16:04

We rehomed our lonely piggy for this reason. Someone was asking for a friend for their bereaved Sow... so we gave her up

Bettina500 · 30/11/2020 16:09

Sorry for the loss of your piggy. Please don't try to pair him up with a male of his age as they will likely fight, they need to be properly bonded and putting a strange pig in his territory probably won't end well. Your best bet is a baby male or a female if he's neutered. Neutering at his age can be risky though if you consider that option. The NSPCC can sometimes offer bonding if they have a suitable pig available.
In the meantime make sure he has lots of human company and cuddles. Fresh grass will often tempt a pig that's off its food.

CarrieMoonbeams · 30/11/2020 16:15

We were in the same situation a few years ago OP, although they were 4 yo when we lost the first one Sad.

The remaining piggy was desperately sad for a couple of weeks, but I just wasn't ready to find a replacement straight away because I was heartbroken too. I cried into his fur many times.

I was then on the waiting list for a new pairing. Unfortunately he didn't take to either of the ones the rescue centre tried him with. By that time though, he was starting to look a bit brighter, so we decided to just keep him on his own but give him loads of extra fuss. Time was obviously a healer for him, and he lived for another 2 years happily alone (and spoiled 😍).

Hope you reach a happy solution for your boy too Flowers

thosetalesofunexpected · 30/11/2020 16:16

Hi Op sorry to hear of your loss, hope you find a new friend for your Guinea pig,

I am really surprised baby boars can be brought up as a pets, I thought they were wild life creatures..

ShinyRuby · 30/11/2020 16:25

Oh it's so sad when one dies.
We got a baby for our 4 year old lonely piggy. Local rescues often have them. They were very happy together, no fighting as the baby wasn't seen as threatening by the older one. Good luck in your search.

Lunariagal · 30/11/2020 16:33

Pets at home do get pigs for rehoming which might be worth a try. If you're near Lincoln masons cavies run a rescue, try "passionate guinea pig forum " on Facebook.

missmouse101 · 30/11/2020 16:33

@thosetalesofunexpected, what? The boars that people are referring to are male guinea pigs. Females are sows. Confused

CorianderQueen · 30/11/2020 17:17

Have you checked his teeth at the vet? We thought this was the cause of our pigs death when I was younger but after he died they found there was something wrong with his teeth which made it painful to eat.

Cattenberg · 30/11/2020 17:32

How about adopting two baby boars? That way, when your current guinea-pig dies, hopefully the two youngsters will still have each other.