Hello, I have one Abbysinian guinea pig named Alfie, he has been living by himself for a year now. He has always been perfectly fine, active, social, and friendly. I often find him playing around with the toys I provide him since he is a single guinea pig, and I provide him a lot of enrichment. I know the general rule is to have two guinea pigs, I have been thinking about maybe getting a second someday, (if my parents let)
Here are the questions I have, I would appreciate answers to these questions.
1. Should I let Alfie live the rest of his life as a lone guinea pig?
2. If I were to get another gp, should it be a boar? Or a spayed female? And how old should the potential new gp be?
Do you guys think a almost 2 year old guinea that has been living alone will put up with another guinea?
Sorry if this is alot of questions.
Hi!
No guinea pig is ever too old for company. I know of a 6 year old boar in Australia who found a best friend at a rescue when his new owners took him there for dating to spend the remainder of his life in company.
My own now 3 years old Dylan has spent the first 2 years as a single piggy in a tiny hamster cage before being dumped onto the free-ads and picked up by a rescue volunteer. He has been neutered and is now happily living with a baby sow he has closely bonded with after he struggled when the submissive baby boar I found him hit the teenage months. Dylan has got unfortunately some interactive deficits (he needs to be in absolute control) stemming from his lack of company and social integration in this formative early months, but I have thankfully been able to work around that. He is a very happy and busy boy these days!
My sow Beryn, who must have been someone's much beloved and well cared for single piggy before she was found wandering the grounds of a cricket club, took 1 1/2 years and many failed intros to work through her fear-aggression resulting from her lack of social interaction, but she now lives happily with a very submissive group survivor who is about 1-2 years older than her. She's been living right next to other piggies of mine all the time for stimulation and constant piggy interaction. Beryn was a young adult when I adopted her.
Please be aware that spayed sows are generally pretty scarce on the ground and that you have to plan B for the case of failure if you bring home a companion of your own choice. Matching up single piggies at a rescue as well as long term forum member experiences have shown that it takes around 1-3 candidates to find the perfect match, irrespective of gender or age, which come a long way behind mutual liking and character compatibility.
However, since your options very much depend on what is locally available for you, we can help you much better working out what is the best way forward for you and your boy where you are if you please added your country, state/province or UK county to location in your account details (click on your username on the top bar to access them).
We have got members from all over the world with very different backgrounds and access to good rescues or vets, so there is no one solution that fits all. The same goes for climate and brands, especially medical ones. Our default advice is UK based. By having your general area to appear with every post you make, you allow us to tailor any recommendations straight away to what is relevant and available where you are. Thank you!
. And by the way if you see another post just like this one, just ignore it because I didnt mean to post two. And if you woukd be willing to help, do you know how to delete a post?
