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Bonding with a different companion

Stranded_In_Place

New Born Pup
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I hope this is posted in the right thread.
I feel completely lost about what to do and I feel awful.

I stupidly purchased two male Guinea pigs and attempted to house them together. I noticed they weren’t sleeping together at night and after asking questions I found out the massive mistake I had made and took the advice given to me and gave up one of my male guinea pigs.

I feel awful and it was horrible to do, but now I am so worried about my remaining guinea pig. I would rather not cause him anymore stress surrounding his new companion but I just feel so lost about what to do at this point. Would it be better to have him neutered and get a female guinea pigs and keep them separate for 6 weeks? That seems so depressing to be alone for that long after losing his bud. Or should I get a female guinea pig and have her spayed? Or have I ruined his whole life and I should return him too? I just don’t know what to do and I hate that he is in a bad position because I didn’t do proper research.
Please help!
 
Having two males together is not a mistake, It’s a perfectly fine thing to do. Many of us on here have two boars living together, I have a boar pair myself. There is nothing wrong with them not sleeping together at night, it doesn’t mean they didn’t like each other. Two boars just need more space - as in a bigger cage, they also need to have multiple of every item so they can sleep separately and have their own territory. It is a myth that guinea pigs will cuddle each other. The only time having two boars together is a problem is if they aren’t compatible (both want to be dominant) and are having physical fights.

If you are going to get your piggy a new friend, and want it to be a female, then he will need to be neutered and have his six week wait before being bonded. Spaying sows is a major operation and is usually only done when there is a medical need to. Do be aware though, you don’t mention his age, that he won’t be able to be neutered until closer to 4-6 months of age.
Alternatively, you could go to a rescue centre and have them help you bond him with a new character compatible boar.
 
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I hope this is posted in the right thread.
I feel completely lost about what to do and I feel awful.

I stupidly purchased two male Guinea pigs and attempted to house them together. I noticed they weren’t sleeping together at night and after asking questions I found out the massive mistake I had made and took the advice given to me and gave up one of my male guinea pigs.

I feel awful and it was horrible to do, but now I am so worried about my remaining guinea pig. I would rather not cause him anymore stress surrounding his new companion but I just feel so lost about what to do at this point. Would it be better to have him neutered and get a female guinea pigs and keep them separate for 6 weeks? That seems so depressing to be alone for that long after losing his bud. Or should I get a female guinea pig and have her spayed? Or have I ruined his whole life and I should return him too? I just don’t know what to do and I hate that he is in a bad position because I didn’t do proper research.
Please help!

Hi and welcome

I am very sorry. Most piggies don't sleep snuggled up; that is one of these misconceptions that are sadly being reinforced by human choice of what kind of videos they find cute - but which do not reflect the reality in any way.

Please take the time to read our boar guide. It has a chapter on how to best go about companionship with a range of possible options as not everybody has good rescue access for a meet&greet dating session on adoption day. Please take the time to read it. We can't explain everything in the kind of detail you want to know in just one post so you can go about it intelligently and with doing your research first this time. Don't rush into the next mistake and take your time to think things through and do your research first. We are here to answer any questions you have after reading the guide.

PS: if you are very lucky, you are within reach of a rescue with a spaying policy (there are a very few in the US but none in the UK) although the spaying may be suspended for the time being as it is a non-emergency procedure.
Here is the link: A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
For de-sexing boars: Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths, Facts and Post-op Care
 
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