h_and_piggies
Teenage Guinea Pig
Hello,
On Thursday, my piggy Ben passed. He had 2 siblings, and one is taking the loss very hard. They used to live together as babies, but when they were teens they had to all be separated due to fighting (blood was drawn). But they all had C&Cs that joined so they could always see each other and cuddle at the divides. Bertie has always been an independent piggy, so he didn’t pay much attention to the other 2. But Billy and Ben had a very close bond, even though they couldn’t live with each other, they were still very close.
Billy’s appetite is down a lot. It’d slowly been decreasing while Ben was ill, but only over the last 2 weeks. But since Ben’s passing, he’s really not had much interest in food. I’ve been hand feeding him, and I was hand feeding him with Ben while he was still here. I’ve tried to tempt him with lots of goodies, but he’s not so keen. He’s eating hay, and drinking, which is positive, but he doesn’t each much in one go. He looks sad, and he keeps calling for Ben at the divide. I’ve moved Bertie in to Ben’s old living section, but Bertie is just not as social as Ben was, and I’m worried he’ll never give enough companionship that Ben have Billy.
I’m going to take him to the vets on Monday to be absolutely certain he’s not got anything sinister going on. But has anyone noticed similar behaviour in a grieving guinea pig? Also, I was thinking of adopting an older companion for Billy to live with, do you think it’s a good idea even though Billy still has Bertie? I’m in panic mode right now, I’ve already lost Ben in difficult circumstances, and it’d break me to lose Billy so soon after. Thanks in advance for help.
On Thursday, my piggy Ben passed. He had 2 siblings, and one is taking the loss very hard. They used to live together as babies, but when they were teens they had to all be separated due to fighting (blood was drawn). But they all had C&Cs that joined so they could always see each other and cuddle at the divides. Bertie has always been an independent piggy, so he didn’t pay much attention to the other 2. But Billy and Ben had a very close bond, even though they couldn’t live with each other, they were still very close.
Billy’s appetite is down a lot. It’d slowly been decreasing while Ben was ill, but only over the last 2 weeks. But since Ben’s passing, he’s really not had much interest in food. I’ve been hand feeding him, and I was hand feeding him with Ben while he was still here. I’ve tried to tempt him with lots of goodies, but he’s not so keen. He’s eating hay, and drinking, which is positive, but he doesn’t each much in one go. He looks sad, and he keeps calling for Ben at the divide. I’ve moved Bertie in to Ben’s old living section, but Bertie is just not as social as Ben was, and I’m worried he’ll never give enough companionship that Ben have Billy.
I’m going to take him to the vets on Monday to be absolutely certain he’s not got anything sinister going on. But has anyone noticed similar behaviour in a grieving guinea pig? Also, I was thinking of adopting an older companion for Billy to live with, do you think it’s a good idea even though Billy still has Bertie? I’m in panic mode right now, I’ve already lost Ben in difficult circumstances, and it’d break me to lose Billy so soon after. Thanks in advance for help.
