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Getting another guinea pig...

Smore The Guinea Pig

New Born Pup
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Hi, so I have a male guinea pig and I’ve had it for 2 years and after doing some research I found out guinea pigs can die of loneliness! I am very concerned and I do not want that to happen to mine. I play with it everyday but I don’t think it’s enough. Now, I am looking to see if I can get another guinea pig to live with it. But is it even ok to put a guinea pig who is younger with mine? I saw a really cute female on at the pet store today, sadly I obviously can’t put them together. But, how do I know which guinea pig will be the best fit for mine. I don’t want them to fight or anything.
 
I’m glad you’re looking to get him a new friend. It is so important that they aren’t by themselves. They do get lonely (won’t die from loneliness), but guinea pigs aren’t wired be by themselves. Companionship

the most important thing about getting a new friend is character compatibility, not age. You can keep two piggies who aren’t the same age together but they must like each other, want to be together and be able to form a hierarchy.

the safest way to get a new friend for your piggy is to take him dating at a rescue centre. That way, he can choose his own new friend so you can be sure they will have compatibility.
If you get a piggy from a pet shop then you won’t know if they will be compatible and there is then a risk they won’t like each other, they won’t bond and could fight. if that was to happen, they would need to live in separate but side by side cages for interaction through the bars.

As you have a male piggy, you can only put him with one other, character compatible, boar. You can’t keep more than two boars together otherwise there will be fights. Your other option is to have him neutered, have his six week post neutering wait for him to become infertile, and then he can be bonded with a sow (again, via dating at a rescue centre is best). You can keep one neutered boar to any number of sows - space allowing of course. You need to make sure your cage is big enough for any number of piggies. Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths, Facts and Post-op Care
Two boars need a cage of 150cm x 60cm as a minimum, but 180x60cm is recommended. Two boars need lots of space to have enough territory. A neutered boar and one sow need a cage of a minimum of 120cm x 60cm but 150x60cm is recommended. Cage Size Guide

there is a procedure to having guinea pigs meet and if you Do go to a rescue centre, they can often do it for you. If you were to have to do a bonding yourself, then this guide explains what to do. The introduction is a one time thing - you put them together Snd see it through to conclusion and if successful, they then live together from then on. It must always Be done on neutral territory, never put a new piggy directly into the cage of an existing piggy as that will cause a fight. Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

Please do read all the green links to guides I have added in. They contain more information than we can relay in a post.

these are some more useful guides about guinea pig boar pairs and their behaviour, as well as one about keeping a neutered boar/sow Pair.
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
A Closer Look At Pairs (Boars - Sows - Mixed)
 
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Thanks for the info! After doing research I found a guinea pig pet rescue not too far away! I do have one question though, is it ok if I built the cage my self or is it preferred to buy one?
 
Thanks for the info! After doing research I found a guinea pig pet rescue not too far away! I do have one question though, is it ok if I built the cage my self or is it preferred to buy one?

As long as the cage meets size requirements on one level (180cm x 60cm for two boars) then it doesn’t matter if it’s one your built or one you bought.
 
:agr:
A rescue will be most concerned that you can offer your piggy enough space once he has a friend.
It doesn't matter if you bought or built the cage - just the size :nod:
 
Welcome to the forum.
I hope you find a lovely companion for your boy.
You sound like a very caring owner - as soon as you realised that guinea pigs shouldn’t live alone you are looking for a companion.
I’m impressed that you are going to make a cage
 
A c&c cage is the most recommended as they are bigger than any of the commercial cages that you can buy, particularly when it comes to keeping boars. Your alternative would be to get two Midwest cages and joining them together. One Midwest cage isn’t big enough for two boars, but two joined together is - that would measure 240cm x 60cm. As I am in the UK, I couldn’t answer what shops you could go to, hopefully some of our US members will come along and be able to help.

Member Gallery: C&C cages/homemade cages
 
I have found C&C cages and they look amazing, but now I’m running into the problem of where I can fit the cage :xd: My guinea pig is currently inthe office, and after doing measurements there is a space it can fit, but I’m not sure if it’s the best spot. I’m trying to find an area where there will be the most interaction and I think the office would be best. There is a lot of room in my house, but limited spaces that would provide the best spot and area for it to fit.
 
Also I’ve been seeing a lot of guinea pig owners with blankets on the floor instead of bedding. Should I switch to blankets? And if so, where can I get some that are meant for piggy’s?
 
What you are seeing is fleece bedding.
The type of bedding you use is entirely up to you. It’s whether you can manage the washing using fleece bedding creates. Fleece bedding needs to be changed out every 3-7 days depending on many factors.
if you use fleece blankets (which you can get from any home store), then you have to wick it first to allow urine to soak through to the absorbent layer underneath (people usually use puppy pads underneath fleece blankets). You can buy proper cage liners which have the absorbent layer already stitched into it.

I’ll add in a guide below which tells you more about it
A Detailed Guide For Fleece Bedding

My piggies live in my shed so I only use fleece in summer (fleece doesn’t work so well outside in a UK winter) And use disposable bedding in winter. I like using both but trying to get hay off of fleece before it goes in the washing machine can get tedious, but it is easier to change out a fleece and puppy pads than it is to clean out the shed and hutch of disposable bedding. Pros and cons to both!
 
Also I found this website, and this is the closest guinea pig rescue canter I could find. Pets for Adoption | Petfinder
Does it look like a good place I can visit to find my guinea a new friend?
There is a decent amount of options, but a lot of them come in pairs sadly :soz:
 
I would contact them directly and let them know you’re looking to pair up your boar. Go look at their website as well.
 
Also I found this website, and this is the closest guinea pig rescue canter I could find. Pets for Adoption | Petfinder
Does it look like a good place I can visit to find my guinea a new friend?
There is a decent amount of options, but a lot of them come in pairs sadly :soz:

the best thing is to ring them and ask them if they offer a boar bonding service.

a lot of centres (certainly in the uk) don’t advertise their single piggies so as to not encourage people to just think they can take on one piggy. They often keep the single piggies off their websites and people need to call them to enquire about bonding with a single boar
 
Another question! How can I find more guinea pig rescues? I only see ONE in my entire STATE! (Georgia)
 
Another question! How can I find more guinea pig rescues? I only see ONE in my entire STATE! (Georgia)

As a UK based forum, all we can really do is give you the details we can find on guinealynx website which I think had already been linked in. Perhaps you could call local vets and see if they know of any reputable rescue centres?
 
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