Our guinea pig just died

[WhatICallMyUsername]

We only got them in September and the pet shop said around 4-6 weeks so she was only around 8 months old. Noticed she didn’t come out at feeding time and when I got her out she didn’t eat and ran under the sofa. Thought she was struggling to breath so booked her in the emergency vets and she passed away on the way. Less than 2 hours from noticing she wasn’t well.

I know we need to think about another as the remaining pig is so young but she was the dominant one and bullied the other a little bit although they had been getting on better recently. I don’t know how she’d cope with a new one.

Two devastated boys and two shocked parents. Dealing with your kids grief is the absolute worst thing 😟

On that must be tough. It doesn’t sound like she suffered for long. Kids grief is horrific, but death is a part of life. A Guinea pig death was my dcs first experience of death as well, and it was horrible.

Many sympathies OP, it's horrible when they die. Perhaps stress that she enjoyed life right up until the end to the DCs? Guinea pigs often die really quickly/ unexpectedly. Lots of attention for the remaining one (provided sje likes that) might be a good idea. I'm not very experienced (owner of 4 guinea pigs so far) though we have had success with bonding young pigs with older ones. We haven't tried anything else though.

What about taking on a neutered male from a rescue? I got a darling boy from the Blue Cross to be a companion with my two girls.

Sorry for your loss. One of ours died suddenly when young, we got a baby pig to keep the other one company, it has worked out well as the older one has gone from being bossed to the boss!

So sorry for the loss of your piggy. Guinea pigs hide illness as they are prey animals, so she may have been poorly for a while and hidden it well.
Guinea pigs definitely need company but they need to be bonded carefully with any new pig as they can fight to kill if they don’t get on. A neutered male or a baby that she mothers might be best to try. Make sure they have their own food bowls, eating and sleeping spaces as sharing these can encourage territorial behaviour.

Thanks everyone. Still trying to get our heads round it. At the minute the remaining one seems quite happy, is still eating and drinking. She seems to be enjoying the extra attention and doesn’t seem bothered about her missing friend but I am not really sure how much she liked her anyway!