Shall I get my recently bereaved guinea pig a friend?

[EloiseTheFirst]

I have a 5 year old female guinea pig who has recently lost her sister. 😭 and she seems so lonely.

My dilemma is shall I try and get her a friend? Or will the stress of getting used to a new friend be more stressful for her than living alone for the rest of her life?

What I was thinking was trying to get 2 older girls (eg 2 or 3) who will then have each other when the older one finally passes away.

But then of course I'd be left with 2 and eventually one and I'll be back here again.

Any advice?

I would. They do get lonely. I’d see if your local rescue do dating.

Sorry about your piggie x

Very and yes after 5 years together she'll be completely adrift .

It's an awkward age too , 5 is quite middle/late age for pigs .

You end up on a spiral with guinea-pigs that you keep adding one (or two)
A Rescue will be the best bet . You could get a couple of younger girls .
I found my sows to be less easy going than my boars ( who were all soppy lardy aricles) which brings me to ...........a neutered boar ?

Most rescues neuter boars now as a matter of course , makes them easier to home .

When we went to our last three old pigs ( pair of sows who had always been together and our boar who had lost his two wives ) we had to wait till one of the sows died (she refused to blend with my other pigs) .
We married the boar to the remaining sow and he was very well behaved . She was deffo in charge and he knew his place .
So there might be an old boy out there who is used to being in a pair ?

Or - some Rescues will "lend" a piggie as a companion. I don't know how I'd feel if I knew the piggie was on loan and to be returned . It would only work if you wanted to draw a line at No More Pigs .

Is your guinea-pig indoors where she can chatter to you all for company ? They need a few days to grieve then you can put out some feelers .