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can a guinea pig be alone?

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squirrel

squirrel

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ok i have a female guinea pig and we got her with the intent of getting a second one once we got a larger cage, well mg mom asked the employee at the petstore and they said that guinea pigs could be alone, well i still planned on getting one anyway. well i have now upgraded Squirrel to a 2x6 c&c cage, and i was going to get my second guinea pig, but my parents said that i cant have one (apparentally it will cost too much money, even though i have the money for the guinea pig, and i never ask them for the guinea pig food) so anyway I'm wondering if she'll be ok alone? I'm still going to try and convince them though.
 
They're very sociable animals and it's not very nice for them to be alone. Please make sure that if you do manage to convince your parents of the need for a friend that it is either another sow or a neutered boar.
 
Guinea pigs are herd animals and it's not very fair for them to live alone. As much as an owner thinks they are giving their animal attention someone can not be with them 24/7 and it can get very lonely for a piggie.

Try and see if you can get your parents to buy her a friend, you will also see a lot more happiness from her too and its very fun to watch them play and cuddle up.
 
ok ill keep trying to convince them, but if i absolutely cant will it shorten her lifespan if she's without a partner?
 
Hi love maybe if you show your mum and dad this site and show them how piggies love to be with their own ....... if you go into the stories/photo's section there's some gorgeous video's of piggies together.
You might like to look at some of Wiebke's her Tribe video's are always a delight......she has 16 piggies.

In the meantime give your little one a stuffed toy (make sure no eyes to nibble off etc.. they are little monkey's with chewing stuff!)

Best of luck love xxxxxxx
 
I read another post on here on this subject that said imagine how you would feel if you were shut in a room with only a guinea pig for company. Of course it's not an entirely accurate comparison but I thought it made a fair point - guinea pigs need company of their own kind so they can have piggy cuddles and conversations same as people do. :)

I hope you manage to persuade you parents that it's best for the welfare of your guinea pig to have a friend (and not much more expensive). Do you have any rescues near you that you could adopt a second pig from?
 
Guinea pigs are very sociable animals so it is best for them to be housed in pairs or as a herd.
I would suggest helping out around the house, researching lots of information (to show to your parents) and saving up some money! If you save up some money, offer to pay for the new piggy (please try and get the guinea pig from a rescue - sometimes they do ask for a donation or small fee to pay for vet bills etc.) and either help out around the house with jobs or pay for the piggy food for a while.

I know it doesn't sound very fun (doing chores), but if you can persuade your parents, it'll be great news!
 
You can show your mum this link from the best medical website for guinea pigs:
http://www.guinealynx.info/companionship.html
This is a insightful and thought provoking thread from a forum member:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=37654

Guinea pigs are wired to live in groups and are not built to live on their own. With only one piggy you will miss out on what makes them so special and unique - the lively vocal interaction and the way they play with each other when they are young.
 
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AndreaJane said:
They're very sociable animals and it's not very nice for them to be alone. Please make sure that if you do manage to convince your parents of the need for a friend that it is either another sow or a neutered boar.
Click to expand...

Julesie said:
Guinea pigs are herd animals and it's not very fair for them to live alone. As much as an owner thinks they are giving their animal attention someone can not be with them 24/7 and it can get very lonely for a piggie.

Try and see if you can get your parents to buy her a friend, you will also see a lot more happiness from her too and its very fun to watch them play and cuddle up.
Click to expand...

i know theyre socoal, and I'm going to keep trying, I'm pretty good at persuading people. now the big question is, will it shorten her life span/ stress her out of she doesnt have a friend, and how should i intoduce a new female to her?
edit: Oops my phone is being dumb i guess and i didnt think it postex my first reply.
 
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If you are in england, it would be best to let the rescue introduce them, that way you dont have to worry as the rescue will know what they are doing! :)

I'm not sure about life span, but it will definatly stress her out being all alone. I really am a fan of the "If you were made to sit in a room with only guinea pigs for company, how would you feel?" one. Because i feel it is completely accurate... if a piggie has no piggy friends.. that is their life.

However obviously I'm not having a go at you, you are trying to get your piggie a friend, just perhaps something you could get your parents to think about.
 
Connie said:
If you are in england, it would be best to let the rescue introduce them, that way you dont have to worry as the rescue will know what they are doing! :)

I'm not sure about life span, but it will definatly stress her out being all alone. I really am a fan of the "If you were made to sit in a room with only guinea pigs for company, how would you feel?" one. Because i feel it is completely accurate... if a piggie has no piggy friends.. that is their life.

However obviously I'm not having a go at you, you are trying to get your piggie a friend, just perhaps something you could get your parents to think about.
Click to expand...

i dont even have a rescue near me, but i think ive convinced my mom to let md have another. should i just buy from a petstore? ive tried craigslist and local shelters but cant find any. should i quarentine? i plan on letting then meet in a room and see how they react to eachother.
 
If you are going to do introductions yourself, pleaseee have a long read of our introductions threads (and i think there are some stickys) in the behaviour section, as if you do it wrong it can doom the bond. (but I'm sure if you read them it will all become clear :) )

If you are in the Uk, It may be possible, if you asked nicely, for one of the piggies from a rescue on here, to be piggy trained to you.

The trouble with getting a girl piggy from a pet shop, is the pet shop might not know about seperating males and females propperly, and then she would have babies. (which might seem cute) but it is very stressfull for the mommy, and VERY stressfull for you because it would cost loads of money with new cages, and that kind of thing.

If you really arnt able to get a rescue piggie, then you should definatly quarantine your new piggie (I'm not sure what the recomended quarantine period is, but someone will come along to advise) But she would need to be quarantined in a different cage, with different food bowls and things so you would need two of everything.

Hope that helps
 
Wiebke said:
You can show your mum this link from the best medical website for guinea pigs:
http://www.guinealynx.info/companionship.html
This is a insightful and thought provoking thread from a forum member:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=37654

Guinea pigs are wired to live in groups and are not built to live on their own. With only one piggy you will miss out on what makes them so special and unique - the lively vocal interaction and the way they play with each other when they are young.
Click to expand...
It makes me mad that the people with the most influence- in pet shops- give such damning advice:(
 
well that sucks. i have another cage, but i dont have another water bottle or anything. so what should i do bc the only rescue is like 6 hours away?
 
I got one GP from P@H they didn't try to talk me into getting a second but when I registered him at the vet and took him in for a meet and weigh, we had a chat about getting a second one and the vet told me that because they are prey animals they feel very nervous when they are alone and they can even have psychological problems which can lead to physical health issues just from being on their own.

I phoned P@H and they agreed to let me have another GP for £6 (one costs £19 and it's 2 for £25) so I got one of his brothers.

It doesn't cost very much more to feed both of them and I get less veggie waste now!
 
Do you have any way of dividing the space you currently have?

I am assuming, and you have continually not said, that you are not infact in the uk (and because their arnt many places in the uk 6 hours away from anywhere. lol)
 
Connie said:
Do you have any way of dividing the space you currently have?

I am assuming, and you have continually not said, that you are not infact in the uk (and because their arnt many places in the uk 6 hours away from anywhere. lol)
Click to expand...

nope i live in the US. divide what space? i guess i could quarentine for 3 weeks, since i have thhe extra cage, but what do i look for while quarentining?
 
i found one on craigslist! i emailed them an hopefully ill get a reply saying its a sow. should i quarentine it if theyve had it since december?
 
|Yes. Always put any new piggies in quarantine as you can never be sure if they are unwell.
 
Definatly quarentine. Its much easier to treat one poorly animal than two :)

This will mean you need a new water bottle and bowl for the new piggie (as you said you only have one of each).
 
i got a guinea pig! its an abbynessian thats black with a brown butt and have a white stripe down its face like a horse or skunk. so its name is Skunk, Squirrel and Skunk.quarentine for 3 weeks. now to figure out vegetables. and does it matter that Skunk is small than Squirrel?
 
The size should not matter at all. :) They will either get along or they wont (my fingers are crossed that they will) Make sure you introduce them on neuteral terratory (somewhere neither of them have ever been before) and after they have been getting along in the neuteral space for a while, clean the cage REALLYY thoroughly, and refresh all bedding etc before putting them in it. More detailed advice which you should definatly read in the behaviour section.
 
only if one is ill should you separate them , Mine is much better and waiting for her fur to grow back before i give her a bath and be placed in with poppy again.
Jessica
?X
 
This piggie is being quarantined because its new. This is the correct thing to do because some illnesses take a while to show symptoms. :)

Hope that clears up any confusion.
 
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