Options for a bereaved guinea pig

[writingbeagle]

One of our two guinea pigs has died suddenly. They were brothers, had always been together, and neither are/were very old - about 3 1/2.

I hadn't expected to lose one early and suddenly like this and I don't really know what to do. We weren't planning on getting any more guinea pigs after this pair, but I kind of feel we might not have any choice. But equally, an adult male isn't easy to pair, is he? Feel really sad for him and don't know what to do for the best.

Oh very for you and your piggie that has gone and the one who remains.

3 and a half is middle-aged, but he's potentially got another 2-3 years left so yes, it is tricky.

Your chap is probably a bit long in the tooth to neuter (though it's more about their fitness than years) but, boars do take well to a tiny boar piglet.

There will be a re-assessment period when the younger one hits puberty ( I had two brothers and we were in the same situation with GP1. We got tiny boar GP3 and gradually , he took charge. He did try it on with GP1, but the older one scolded him and walked away)

When the inevitible happened and we were left with lone boar GP3, we got him 2 girls to side-by-side with and had him neutered to bond when he was sterile,

Or you could get an older female (same age as him) to keep side by side to chat, but , they won't be able to live together properly . Rescues are full of singletons that are looking for rehoming.

If you get a piglet from Rescue they can boar date on neutral territory.

There's no guarentees that they'll get on, either male/male or male/female.

And of course, you're in a spiral of 'next pig' as you add to the list

Your piggie needs a little while to come to terms with it all, and lots of cuddles. (We put our lone boars in DD room at night in the cage when they were bereaved )

Yes, to asking a rescue. Don't try and introduce another boar yourself because if it doesn't work you will end up with two single boars.

Thanks. Remaining boy has always been very timid and nervy so I would definitely worry about how he'd adapt to a new cage mate. He seems ok still at the moment, he's eating and not behaving any differently to normal, which is good. I'll speak to a rescue place to see what they suggest. It's really difficult, wanting to do the best for him but also wanting to avoid the spiral of "next pig", as 70 put it.

It's a difficult one. I've just lost one of my boars (during the night) and his friend is looking a bit lost this morning. He's nearly 4, so I don't want to neuter him but equally he is not of the friendliest temperament so matching him would not be easy. I also don't want to be in the never-ending cycle of pigs (much as I love them and their little ways). He is quite a bully and likes to bicker and fight if he can - luckily his friend was a bigger, stronger pig who put him in his place, but I could see him tormenting a baby pig.

We have decided that Scruffypig will be a lone 'lap pig' for the remainder of his days. I'm at home mostly and he lives indoors so we can have plenty of interaction and he can gets lots of attention. He likes people, so hopefully this will work for him.