Hi,
One of our guinea pigs has just died leaving one male aged 3 on his own, my question is what we should do?, will he be ok on his own or do we need to find him a friend, if so would this be one of a similar age.
Thanks for any advice
Hi and welcome!
I am ever so sorry for your loss! We have a Rainbow Bridge section for those members that would like to post a tribute to a beloved pet of theirs at any stage of the grieving process. You are welcome to remember your boy there if and whenever it feels right for you.
No piggy is ever too old to be left alone after a bereavement. Your boy is only about halfway through his life.
Your options depend very much on on your local options:
- The by far best way is contacting a good standard rescue that offers boar dating under expert supervision so you come home only with a properly sexed and fully quarantined/vet cared healthy companion of any age if acceptance has happened. This means that your bereaved boy can choose who he wants to live and be happy with and you have the backing of the rescue for the lifetime of the adopted piggy if the bond is going wrong at some point or you run into real trouble.
- Access to a good operating vet means that you can consider neutering and pairing up with a preferably younger sow after a 6 weeks safety wait unless you can rescue date. This is the most expensive and not quick solution but has the considerable advantage that cross gender pairings are the most stable of all. While a few US rescues do spay sows, there are none in the UK so this is in most cases not a realistic alternative.
- If you can't do either where you are, then looking for a baby boar or another living alongside neighbour of any age are your default options. Mutual liking or character compatibility are key to any successful boar bond, long before age; when dating it takes on average between 1-3 candidates to find a new friend; this includes also babies. An adult boar may reject one baby but happily go home with another one. That means that if you get another companion of any age without dating, you need to a have a plan B in case they do not get on.
You can find more information on what you can do for your surviving boar while you do your research in these links here:
Looking After A Bereaved Guinea Pig
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars (Contains a chapter with more detailed advice on finding company for a single/bereaved boar and links to lists of recommended rescues and vets in several countries)
Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths, Facts and Post-op Care
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Since we have members and enquiries from literally all over the world we find it very helpful if you please added your country, state/province or UK county to location in your account details (via clicking on your username on the top bar). This makes it appear with every post your make and allows us to tailor any recommendations to what is available and relevant for you straight away instead of having to keep any advice as general as possible. We can't unfortunately not help you further to work out which approach is best for you unless we know where you are and which options are realistic for you, nor can any members local to you give you tips/share exeriences.
