Hi and welcome
I am very sorry for your loss!
By far the best and safest way to find a new friend is via one of our recommended good standard rescues. They all only rehome fully quarantined/healthy piggies that are correctly sexed and most offer boar dating at the rescue, so any new companion will only come home with Mustard if acceptance under expert supervision has happened. This way, you can avoid all the usual pitfalls and maximise your chances for a little extra effort. It takes about 1-3 introductions to find 'Mr Right' if your boy is allowed to have his say as to who he is going to be happy with.
The rolls royce of all bondings is residential 'full' bonding where a piggy is staying at the rescue for up to a week for meeting up to three candidates during this time including the full bonding and stress test, so when you come to pick them up, they will be as stably bonded as any sow bond, irrespective of age; it works for all ages. There are a few UK rescues that offer this type and they have - for obvious reasons - quite a waiting list, but it is definitely worth it if you can get to one for total peace of mind!
Key to any successful boar bond is character compatibility and mutual liking; age is actually secondary. However, this is an area where shops, breeders and you getting a piggy on spec are coming up short. You are in with about a 50% overall chance of getting it right by guess.
If you cannot get to a good rescue where you are in safe hands, then it is usually better to opt for a baby boar that is on the submissive side. Babies are much easier to bond (although not every baby is necessarily accepted by a bereaved boar) because they are desperate for company, but they have the disadvantage that they will hit the teenage months (4-14 months) and only then will it become obvious whether the two boars are a match or a clash.
Adult boars should only be bonded if they can meet in pigson as success cannot be predicted and is entirely personality driven, but they are an option if you'd consider a set-up with two adjoining cages, so the boars can give each other the mutual stimulation and interaction through the bars that they both need if they turn out to be incompatible. Anyway, a second cage is always the necessary fall-back plan when you add new piggies without dating.
Please stay off creating boar trios; they are a recipe for disaster!
The third option for a younger boar is a neutering operation, so he can live with a sow or two after a 6 weeks safety wait. Cross gender bondings are the most stable of all bonds, but you need to have access to a good vet with piggy neutering experience or practice in operating on small furries. Operation cost can differ massively; in some countries they can be very high.
There are a very few US rescues, as well as one Canadian one and the only guinea pig rescue in New Zealand that have spayed sows. Sadly the only UK rescue with a spaying policy has closed down several years ago.
Quarantine is at your discretion. Babies do not at all cope well with being on their own, but you need to be aware that you will need to treat both piggies if there is a problem. Any adults that come from a place without quarantine and medical treatment (including private intakes from the free-ads) should be quarantined, unless you have the option to date, in which case you have to risk it. If you go for free-ads piggies, please be aware that owners that are desperate to get rid of their piggies can be extremely economical with the truth and that it can be a very steep and expensive learning curve, as several forum members have found out. You can be lucky, but all the risks are on your side. If you cannot afford any vet care, I would be very careful!
Please always double-check the gender of any new arrival! Mis-sexing is surprisingly common.
Sexing Guide
Since we have got members from all over the world, so it would be helpful if you please added your country, state/province or UK county to your details so we can tailor any advice and recommendations to what is available and relevant where you are straight away. Click on your username on the top bar, then got to account details and scroll down to location. This makes it appear with every post of yours and speeds up things. Thank you!
Here are some links you may find helpful:
Looking After A Bereaved Guinea Pig (includes links to good standard bonding rescues in several countries)
Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths And Facts
Bonding: Illustrated Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics
Importance Of Quarantine
thanks in advance!
