Concerned About Elderly Bond...

Wafflez

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I have two rescued elderly piggies. One is estimated to be about 6 or 7 and the other is estimated to be about 5 I'm worried about my older pig, Lewis. He's not showing any sign of sickness but I know that he's very old. Clark my younger bud relies on Lewis a lot... Anytime I take out Lewis to do a health check or clip his nails little Clark starts to wheek worriedly and it's cute an all, but I'm worried that when the time comes and Lewis has to go, Clark isn't going to be okay. Now I red all of the forums about caring for your lonely Cavy and I'm educated on this. But I'm not sure whether or not I should Clark another bud or not, since Clark isn't that young him self. Any tips on what to do...:(
P.S (Both guinea pigs are doing great, I'm just trying to be prepaired and ready. If you know what I mean.)
 
I have two rescued elderly piggies. One is estimated to be about 6 or 7 and the other is estimated to be about 5 I'm worried about my older pig, Lewis. He's not showing any sign of sickness but I know that he's very old. Clark my younger bud relies on Lewis a lot... Anytime I take out Lewis to do a health check or clip his nails little Clark starts to wheek worriedly and it's cute an all, but I'm worried that when the time comes and Lewis has to go, Clark isn't going to be okay. Now I red all of the forums about caring for your lonely Cavy and I'm educated on this. But I'm not sure whether or not I should Clark another bud or not, since Clark isn't that young him self. Any tips on what to do...:(
P.S (Both guinea pigs are doing great, I'm just trying to be prepaired and ready. If you know what I mean.)

Hi! Whatever other online places say, no guinea pig is ever too old to be on their own!

Just to mention that my currently oldest piggy at nearly 9 years old is the last survivor of a friend's long-lived group that - while not pining - became nevertheless depressed on her own despite the love lavished on her. Calli's been here for a year now in the company of other piggies and she is no living with my 6 year old rebel Tegan after being neighbours for a few months.

The best place to find a character compatible mate of your surviving boy's liking is one of our recommended god standard rescues that mostly offer dating/bonding at the rescue with a likely (adult/older) mate - provided you can get to one!
You can find our forum tips on bereavement via this link here; it includes links to good rescues in several countries.
Looking After A Bereaved Guinea Pig

We could of course help you a lot more if you added your country, state/province or UK county to your details, so we can tailor any advice to what is available and relevant where you are straight away instead of having to keep it as general as possible in view of our forum having members and enquiries from all over the world. Resourcing suitable new companions depends very much on the options in your wider area. The same goes for any medical advice - access to vets, medications and brand names vary from country to country.
Please follow the guide, so your general location appears with every post you make and saves everybody time. Thank you! https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...cation-and-creating-an-avatar-picture.107444/
 
Now, I think that I have found a good guinea pig rescue here where I live(The U.S, Kentucky) which, here there aren't really good places to find guinea pigs and I was lucky enough to find this place. It's just when the time comes, should I get another guinea pig close to Clark's age. What if I get a pig for Clark and he dosen't get along with him. Clark can be quite territorial too. I AM WORRIED!
(P.S, I have already red the forum that you suggested when I said I know how to care for a lonely Cavy, I meant that I know how the pig will react and what to do once there partner had died.)
 
Now, I think that I have found a good guinea pig rescue here where I live(The you.S, Kentucky) which, here there aren't really good places to find guinea pigs and I was lucky enough to find this place. It's just when the time comes, should I get another guinea pig close to Clark's age. What if I get a pig for Clark and he dosen't get along with him. Clark can be quite territorial too. I AM WORRIED!
(P.S, I have already red the forum that you suggested when I said I know how to care for a lonely Cavy, I meant that I know how the pig will react and what to do once there partner had died.)

If you do not have a rescue that can introductions for you so you come home with a guinea pig where acceptance and mutual liking have happened, then you use plan B - getting a single piggy or younger pair to live in an adjoining cage with interaction and stimulation through the bars. That way, Clark has his own territory but he doesn't lack companionship. With a single next-door boar, you can look for boars, sows or mixed pairs where one partner is de-sexed as they do not live together.
That is usually enough to keep a piggy from depression that is not acutely pining. If a piggy is pining, then it is either ill or will accept another mate out of need of company.

We call forums either guides if the they are in the grey area at the top of a section or a thread if they have been started by a member about a specific problem. A forum is the whole place.
 
Also how do I know what warning signs to look out for, if in the future the pigs might not get along.
 
Also how do I know what warning signs to look out for, if in the future the pigs might not get along.

Take the time to read these guides. Boars are straightforward, so you know pretty quickly during bonding whether they get on or not. Since the testosterone in older boars has pretty much fizzled out, they mellow a lot compared to young boars and are generally much easier to bond. It is sows that tend to get much more trickier to rebond as they age. ;)
Bonding: Illustrated Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics
 
Take the time to read these guides. Boars are straightforward, so you know pretty quickly during bonding whether they get on or not. Since the testosterone in older boars has pretty much fizzled out, they mellow a lot compared to young boars and are generally much easier to bond. It is sows that tend to get much more trickier to rebond as they age. ;)
Bonding: Illustrated Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics

But also, the cage that my guinea pigs had come with in the first place was a 2 by 3 c and c cage(which I want to modify to have a level for the guinea pigs to get up.) I would send a picture but don't know how. But, basically the cage is cornered in an area where I can't add grids horizontally. so, my only choice is to make a level. I also have a project that I want to do which is biuld a summer shed for them. So getting on topic, I think that if plan A wouldn't work out and the pigs didn't get along then I wouldn't be able to do plan B. since they would have a 2 by 3 and a level and splitting the cage wouldn't work out... I don't know how this will even work out. But I'm determined to fix it, some how.:no:
 
But also, the cage that my guinea pigs had come with in the first place was a 2 by 3 c and c cage(which I want to modify to have a level for the guinea pigs to get up.) I would send a picture but don't know how. But, basically the cage is cornered in an area where I can't add grids horizontally. so, my only choice is to make a level. I also have a project that I want to do which is biuld a summer shed for them. So getting on topic, I think that if plan A wouldn't work out and the pigs didn't get along then I wouldn't be able to do plan B. since they would have a 2 by 3 and a level and splitting the cage wouldn't work out... I don't know how this will even work out. But I'm determined to fix it, some how.:no:

Well, you have hopefully got quite a bit of time to think things through and think about alternative solutions!

You say that you have got a decent rescue within reach. Have you spoken to them about bonding older boars at the rescue so you are sure that they get on before you bring any boy home?
 
I read the article and it's quite help full. So... In the future do I put the new piggy straight in with my boar or should I set up a play pen with plenty of veggies and hay. How would you recemend it since my boar is dominate.
 
Well, you have hopefully got quite a bit of time to think things through and think about alternative solutions!

You say that you have got a decent rescue within reach. Have you spoken to them about bonding older boars at the rescue so you are sure that they get on before you bring any boy home?

Um, bad news... turns out the web site that showed the rescue, glitched and said that the rescue is only 9 miles away. But then I did some research on this rescue, and turns out its 73 miles away! And the area that I live in (Kentucky, US) Litterally dosen't have any good place to get rodents. I'm left with Guinea pig finder.com, Craigslist, or the my local pet store to get a guinea pig. But, mabye you have some forum, I can read on bonding older guinea pigs together ? :doh:
 
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