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Bereaved Old Sow- Symptoms Of Loneliness?

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Wawka14

Wawka14

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We've had small numbers of guinea pigs for over 15 years, and have had a pair of bonded smooth-hair sow siblings for 6 years and recently (maybe 2 weeks ago) lost the less dominant sow Sky to cancer. Her health was still excellent apart from the cancers so it came rather sooner than we expected and as such hadn't made any firm decisions about how best to proceed with our lone sow, Star.

After the initial mourning period Star appeared to be well, continuing to eat, clean herself and squeak. At this point we began to investigate the potential for introducing a pair of young sows to keep her company, and as a pair due to Star's own older age.

Unfortunately over the last week Star has taken to hiding in her 'bedroom' area and not moving around except to get food. She continues to clean herself and eat, although she has ceased squeaking completely despite being only a foot away from another hutch with a pair of very noisy boars. What we're concerned about is, are these symptoms of loneliness or illness? We're mainly worried that if we assume that these are symptoms of depression as they appear to be that she may be ill and infect the infant sows we're considering introducing her to. Does anyone have any helpful ideas at this stage? This would be much appreciated, we're very anxious about our little piggie!
 
Really sorry to hear about Sky. RIP Sky.
My guess would be to say that it could well be both illness and bereavement going on. But we cant really tell over the tinternet! I dont have sows but I have a few boars and when they lose their cage mate they definitely react and behaviour may be odd for a week or a bit longer but they still eat and get on with things. Has she lost any weight from normal?
I think it is worth a vet visit for a thorough check over to see if there is something underlying.
 
Bereavement and lack of stimulation can both trigger any underlying illness in older guinea pigs as well as promote depression. I would recommend to look for new companions, even if they are only next door neighbours at first if you are unsure.
The RSPCA Walsall is your closest good rescue; they have currently got both sow pairs and single neutered boars looking for homes.
http://www.rspca-walsall.org.uk/page7a.html
 
Thanks for the advice everyone, and the kind words about Sky. Since posting Star has gone back to running frantically around her cage, which definitely strikes me as being incredibly bored.

We've looked into finding some friends for her, and have been focusing on rescues. We were wondering about whether it'd be suitable to adopt a single neutered boar (6 months-12 months) and a young sow (3 months-6 months) who aren't already paired, but weren't sure if introducing 3 piggies at once would be difficult/risky? In the past we've only ever introduced pairs of infant sows to an older sow, or one infant boar to an older boar.

Happy to post this on another thread if that's more appropriate.
 
It is a very difficult balance to strike when introducing several guinea pigs of vastly different ages. I would strongly recommend to make use of the experience from a knowledgeable rescue like the RSPCA Walsall who offer dating (i.e. introductions) at the rescue under expert supervision, so you at least know that acceptance between the piggies involved has happened before they come home with you. You will still have to hold another intro on neutral ground at your home until you are sure that they are working out when they establish their dominance and you will have to rearrange/neutralise the cage to give them all an even start.

Going rescue, especially one that will take a piggy back that doesn't work out, is the safest way for finding a solution that suits both you and Sky for the short as well as the long term. Please make sure that you only rehome from rescues that have a mandatory quarantine and pregnancy watch; there are sadly some rescues in the Birmingham area that are not up to scratch.

It all depends so very much on the individual mix of personalities that you just cannot make any predictions - and I am now up to nearly 50 group intros, successful ones and failed ones... :mal:

https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/introducing-and-re-introducing-guinea-pigs.38562/
 
I hope all goes well with finding Sky a new companion.
 
Really I would check with the rescue centre. Speaking from experience - introducing a neutered male is the easier introduction, but I would be tempted to put them all together and let them get on with it. As long as they are neutral territory then their innate timidness will mean they are more grateful for new company. Main thing to check is that you have enough room for them all. If I were to wait I would bond with the neutered male now then when it was warm enough for them to be outside introduce the younger female (assuming you have an outside run). Sorry for your loss btw.
 
I'm sorry for your loss. It could be illness, but could also be depression/loneliness. My pigs behaved similarly when they lost a companion. We recently lost our 6-year-old sow, Linney, leaving behind Sundae (almost 4), who alternated between withdrawal, frantic and anxious-appearing activity (running around with no apparent purpose other than frantic, directionless energy), and would periodically wheek for attention- not her normal behavior, and she would wheek again when we left after investigating and patting her. We did adopt a younger pig and Sundae settled right down again after that... apparently she really needed a friend and is not the kind of pig to do well on her own.

Since you say you lost the second-in-command pig, leaving behind the dominant one, my only advice would be to try to find another pig who seems like she would be happy in a subordinate role. See if you can observe her with other animals. With our original pair of pigs, Linney and Frenzy, Linney was the dominant pig- and a bossy dominant pig at that! Frenzy unfortunately passed away after a major infection at about 18 months of age, and we were concerned that if Linney met up with another pig with the same personality type, she would not be able to live with her and we would end up having to separate. She was EXTREMELY domineering! LOL! When we picked out Sundae, we observed her for a bit and noted that she seemed happy to defer to the other pigs in her enclosure. She ended up getting on very well with Linney (because she respected her authority!) Now that Sundae is paired up with Hadley, her new companion, she also defers to Hadley (which is quite amusing, as Sundae is a big piggie and Hadley is a tiny little pipsqueak!) But Sundae obviously has no desire to be the top pig on the totem pole. Depending on how dominant your remaining pig is, you may want to keep an eye out and try to guess if the personalities will match up (though ultimately, they like who they like and it's sometimes impossible for us to predict!)
 
Just wanted to say thank you very much for everyone's advice, after going through the motions Star has got two new friends from RSPCA Walsall. Last Sunday we had mom 5 month old Daphne and her 5 week old baby Dory, both dark-eyed white shelties, join the herd and am happy to report that everyone seems healthy and happy with the new family, both the newcomers have adapted to Star as the alpha. Daphne still seems anxious in her new home, but we're handling them all daily and keeping a close eye on her. Star is certainly a lot better for the company. Dory seems thrilled with her assortment of toys and the fact she now has two girls to snuggle with. Hopefully we've got a happy herd for old Star and a happy home for our rescues!
 
Wawka14 said:
Just wanted to say thank you very much for everyone's advice, after going through the motions Star has got two new friends from RSPCA Walsall. Last Sunday we had mom 5 month old Daphne and her 5 week old baby Dory, both dark-eyed white shelties, join the herd and am happy to report that everyone seems healthy and happy with the new family, both the newcomers have adapted to Star as the alpha. Daphne still seems anxious in her new home, but we're handling them all daily and keeping a close eye on her. Star is certainly a lot better for the company. Dory seems thrilled with her assortment of toys and the fact she now has two girls to snuggle with. Hopefully we've got a happy herd for old Star and a happy home for our rescues!
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What fantastic news .
 
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