I think our guinea pig is dying of lonliness

[GuineaHelp]

We had two males guinea pigs, 3.3 yo. One died a couple of weeks ago. 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.

They shouldn't be alone, in one country (I want to say Sweden?) it's illegal to have a single one

It's in Switzerland 🙂. They also have a series of other animal rights legislation in place
"For example, dog owners have to take a class that instructs them how to properly care for their pups, their variety of needs and how to handle behavioral situations when they arise before they’re allowed to adopt."
"Fishermen are also required to take a course on humane fishing before they’re allowed to start angling."

Well Done Switzerland! 😊😎 Why can't we have legislation like this in Britain?! 🙄

@Cattenberg

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

Three boars is a hard combination to make work. It would be better getting him neutered and then finding a pair of females.

I definitely recommend local rescues. They can send him on some dates to find him a friend.

Thank you very much everyone - been doing school run & cooking now but will come back.

small I am in fact in the NE. I contacted them but they haven’t replied. Back in a bit. X

An older sow may work and if babies happened it wouldn't be the end of the world as the are the epitome of cuteness from birth!

@RandomMess

An older sow may work and if babies happened it wouldn't be the end of the world as the are the epitome of cuteness from birth!

This is so irresponsible to suggest.

The baby boar misunderstanding amused me a lot.

I think a baby might be a better match. Try Guinea Pig Rescue & Rehome Network UK on Facebook. Or pets4homes.co.uk or preloved.

@PurpleDaisies not if op is happy to expand her family of piggies 🤷🏽‍♀️

Most older sows (4+ years) would be highly unlikely to get pregnant anyway.

We need to be like Switzerland where you can rent piggies.

OP if you don't want to get another guinea pig can you free range him, spoil him and have him around you lots?

I'm in a similar position; one of my boar piggies sadly died and left the other alone. But, I will he honest, due to the personality of the surviving pig he has been seemingly happier alone which I was very surprised at.

I did in a wave of grief go down the very same day to pets at home and bought him and absolute ton of treats and new veg, and moved his cage so that it's right near my desk (I WFH) and also let him out loads.

He is popcorning about, I thought I would hear him wheek much less but he's been great and I'm not not planning on getting a new pig as I want to stop owning pigs once the last one goes to piggie heaven.

He is very cute and content. I think it depends on personality though; my two never seemed to settle the dominance issue.

Really sorry to hear about your piggie. We went through similar and were left with our fairly elderly, neutered, boar.
I contacted camp nibble (Leeds) rescue centre where he had come from, who then signposted me to Milhaven GP rescue, keighley.

milhaven-rescue.jimdo.com

They provide a residential guinea pig dating agency. Ours spent a few nights there and was introduced to several piggies. He chose his favourite two! It worked really well.

Hi OP, How North East are you?
My pair of lovely girls came to us with one already pregnant. Now we have three gorgeous babies, one of which is a Boar. We need a good home for him because I love them but five guinea pigs are a lot

@RandomMess, I am disgusted that you have suggested what you have. An older sow getting pregnant if she has never been pregnant before is life threatening to her. The pelvis fuses and babies usually cannot be born. A guinea pig would need to have a litter before she is around 7 months of age so that she's able to give birth in future. There are enough guinea pigs in rescue without breeding more too. Really, really irresponsible advice.

Three boars is a hard combination to make work. It would be better getting him neutered and then finding a pair of females.

Fair enough, I didn’t know this. It’s advice I often hear about lone degus.

I’ve looked after a pair of boars who were introduced as adults after their original hutch-mates died. Things seemed to start off well, but one boar became increasingly domineering and territorial towards the other, placid boy.

When the domineering boar died, the placid boar was paired up with a baby boar and this arrangement was fine until the old boy died.

The baby was adopted by a local animal sanctuary, once he had been neutered. I was nervous about this as the operation isn’t risk-free. Luckily he was fine and spent the rest of his life in a happy colony.

Oscarandelliesdad, your guinea-pig looks just like our baby boar. We called him Shaun, because he looked like a sheep.

[quote RandomMess]@PurpleDaisies not if op is happy to expand her family of piggies 🤷🏽‍♀️

Most older sows (4+ years) would be highly unlikely to get pregnant anyway.

We need to be like Switzerland where you can rent piggies.[/quote]
And if that 4+ year old guinea pig were to get pregnant then she would die.

So yes your suggestion is very irresponsible.

Isn't the pelvis fusing thing a myth?

I'm not recommending it, but older sows can have babies.

Make sure he's in the main house or bedroom with you until he's buddied up again. Lots of chat and sitting on laps will help.
And if he hasn't already he'll learn the sound of you opening the fridge for salad.

My two boys died within weeks of each other, it is tough

Not sure where in the North East but Brysons near Washington often have piggies in x

Did you manage to get a pal for your GP?

Hi AdditionalCharacter He is on a waiting g list with teesvalley gp rescue They do trial pairings to see whether 2 gps have bonded. They might have a pair of sows coming in soon who have been spayed, which would tackle the problem of a new litter (I really wouldn’t want the responsibility tbh).

In the meantime I’m trying to carry him around in a back pack (carried at the front) when I’m pottering about the house, to minimise how mich time he spends on his own.

Thank you so much for asking - might I also thank everyone else for their well-informed & helpful advice. It has really been useful.

I keep meaning to send pm’s to thank individually but am crazy-busy atm.

Oscarsndelliesdad- thank you so much but I’d rather not take on pups if I can possibly avoid it because we also have canine pups

I will let you all know the resolution🤞 When it happens. x

aww bless you OP for carrying him round. Hope you find a solution and he picks up.

We had a male guinea pig housed with his son who was a baby at the time of introduction so no threat. The son grew in to an adult and they were the best of friends and never fought. I would recommend a baby boar.

'In the meantime I’m trying to carry him around in a back pack (carried at the front) when I’m pottering about the house, to minimise how mich time he spends on his own.'

That has made my day hearing that; how lovely of you op.