Finding a partner

[Hare Lane]

I adopted an 8 month old lone male guinea pig 6 months ago and it has been suggested to me that he may need a friend. I am unsure about this as my original two guinea pigs came to me as a mismatched pairing of two unrelated males of a slightly different age which resulted in vicious fighting and them having to be split up. I kept one and my Granddaughter took the other one.
Mine died last February aged 4 years old.

So, the question is, do I seek out a suitable partner for my present guinea pig who is male, aged 14 months or not. He is very happy with us, gets out to grass whenever weather permits and has the run of the living room most evenings. Having said all of this, I do sometimes feel he would benefit from a friend in his life.

How do I go about it in order to prevent the scenarios I have already stated. Knowldedgeable guinea pig people please advise.

 

[Guinea pig slave]

Personally as a safe bet, boar dating would be my option.
See if there are any rescues close to you who do this, your little fella will chose his own partner then

 

[piggyfan]

I think it is really worth seeking out a friend as it can make all the difference to a guinea pig. The great thing about rescues is they let you take the piggy to meet the others and you can see if they get along.

 

[Wiebke]

Personally, I would try it nevertheless - it is worth it for the sake of your lonely boar.

There are not too many rescues your way at the moment, but I can recommend this one is Stoke-on-Trent, which is run by a forum member and which offers boar dating. Boar dating has the advantage that you don't have to adopt a piggy unless a solid bond has been achieved. If there are problems further down the line, a reputable rescue will support you and will always take back their piggy.
http://www.thepotteriesguineapigrescue.co.uk/