advice please

[jaynibel]

I have recently had to have one of my two guinea pigs ( female age 3 ) put to sleep due to a tumour. The surviving one is very quiet and seems lonely is it ok to get another guinea pig aroung the same age. If so where do I go to make sure it is healthy etc.

 

[Goldie]

Hi Jaynibel .. welcome to the forum and I am very sorry to hear about the loss of your piggy!

I am sure that you will find lots of helpful and friendly advice on here.

If two sows have lived together and one is now on its own, then it will be missing the other one. Guinea pigs like company, which is natural in their habitat.

I would suggest that you contact a local rescue to see if they have a sow that you could try to bond your piggy with, or a neutered male. Sometimes rescues are happy for your piggy to choose its own friend.
If you adopt one from a rescue you will be sure of a healthy pig. If you go to a pet store, then do check that you have a sow and not a boar. Pet stores can mis-sex the guinea pigs that they sell and you can't be sure of the health of the pig, so if you do buy from a pet shop or pet store, please do bear that in mind.

If you don't find one at the local rescue and get one from somewhere else, then try to keep the new piggy housed separately for a while so that you know it is happy and healthy before bonding it with your other piggy.

Let us know how things go.

 

[shanmissycasscass]

new friend

Like you, we recently lost one of our two female guinea pigs due to tumours. They had always lived together, and although the remaining one seemed to be coping fairly well,we thought she would probably be happier with a new companion. After contacting Guinea Pig Rescue, and joining The Guinea Pig Forum, we were able to track down a rescue not too far from us who had several girls looking for a loving home. We picked up our new piggie on saturday and despite a couple of minor squabbles the girls are getting on better than we could ever have dreamed of. Our own girl is 2yrs old, our new girl is 1yr, the age gap doesn't seem to be a problem, but I don't know if that is always the case. I definitely would recommend rescue as they will offer help and support in finding a good match for your own piggie, and it gives a second chance to a piggie looking for a good forever home. Good luck with your search, I hope you find a lovely new companion soon.