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Grieving Piggy

Jessbeth

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Apr 29, 2015
Messages
39
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145
Location
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Hi,

Just looking for some advice!
Unfortunately one of my guinea pigs Lola was sick and needed to be put down today :( They think it was lymphoma.

I’m worried about my other piggy Zola!
She’s eating okay, but very skittish!

I’ve read the forum on a begrieved piggy, my concerns are that my piggies got along well before one was pregnant, and were very difficult to rebond post! However i don’t want her to be lonely!

My other concern is, is that they thought it was lymphoma they weren’t 100% certain, but she was in a lot of pain and having breathing issues. Therefore would i be better to have her on her own for a few weeks to ensure she’s not sick as well?

Thanks! Any advice is appreciated

Jess
 
Hi,

Just looking for some advice!
Unfortunately one of my guinea pigs Lola was sick and needed to be put down today :( They think it was lymphoma.

I’m worried about my other piggy Zola!
She’s eating okay, but very skittish!

I’ve read the forum on a begrieved piggy, my concerns are that my piggies got along well before one was pregnant, and were very difficult to rebond post! However i don’t want her to be lonely!

My other concern is, is that they thought it was lymphoma they weren’t 100% certain, but she was in a lot of pain and having breathing issues. Therefore would i be better to have her on her own for a few weeks to ensure she’s not sick as well?

Thanks! Any advice is appreciated

Jess

Hi and welcome!

I am ever so sorry for your loss. It is so hard to lose a piggy and lymphoma is one of the nastier ways to do so. :(

The best way forward for you would be to contact your closest good guinea pig rescue, Chuffnut Cavies in the Melbourne area, and arrange to bring Zola for dating in about 2 weeks. This means that she can choose who she wants to share her life with. You can be assured that you will only adopt a quarantined/vet treated and fully healthy piggy that is guaranteed not pregnant. You can look at both sows or (if they are available) neutered boars. Most rescues will re-open soon now that the holidays are over during which they do not rehome in order to prevent not throught out impulse animal gifts - they are going to pick up the pieces of that all too soon anyway!
https://www.facebook.com/Chuffnut-C...-Sanctuary-Melbourne-Shelter-132958846775921/
https://www.australiancavysanctuary.org/acs-melbourne-shelter

PS: The trickiest time to bond or re-bond sows is after the end of the nursing period. During that time, mothers and babies enjoy a protected status which suspends the normal hierarchy. A nursing undersow gains in status and with her babies automatically creating tiers of hierarchy (especially when she has become the new leader of her own group), she is often not willing to go back to her old relationship with a more dominant sow. Many sow bonds fail over this. If there is a sow baby, it is generally easier to let her stay on with her mother.
 
Thanks :(
I have been in contact with the shelter before so will get in contact again.

There’s no concern with pregnancy now that was almost 4 years ago now when i first got them and didn’t know one was pregnant.

Jess
 
Hi @Wiebke! I’m thinking of trying to get one of the piggies from a shelter near me.
He is a spayed boar that is 6 months old.
I’ve never had a boar so that should be interesting!
Is there anything in particular i should look out for when introducing them?
Zola is 4 year old Sow, however i’ve read your fact sheets on bonding and states that they if they like each other within the first introduction then usually they’re okay?

Thanks for all your assistance
 
Hi @Wiebke! I’m thinking of trying to get one of the piggies from a shelter near me.
He is a spayed boar that is 6 months old.
I’ve never had a boar so that should be interesting!
Is there anything in particular i should look out for when introducing them?
Zola is 4 year old Sow, however i’ve read your fact sheets on bonding and states that they if they like each other within the first introduction then usually they’re okay?

Thanks for all your assistance

I would strongly recommend to keep the piggies next to each other for a few days with interaction through the bars, so they can get to know each other and can work past the first over-excitement (your boy is at the stage in life when testosterone is at an alltime high, and neutering doesn't change that - the testosterone is excreted with the pee).
Please make sure that he is 6 weeks past his neutering operation. The baby in my avatar on the left is the daughter of supposedly safe over 5 weeks post-op boar (not one of mine), just to prove that particular point. While it is fairly rare for an accident to happen so late, it can happen to anybody.

Please brace yourself for some very stinky times and a pee fest; conduct the bonding in a room that you can preferably wipe down afterwards.
It all depends on the personality combination. Dominant older ladies past their ideal pup bearing age can be iffy in accepting a boar. If your boy is rather dominant and hormone-driven, then the gonads can take over and he loses control of them. Will the shelter take the boy back or can you keep them as next door neighbours with full interaction and mutual stimulation through the bars in case the bonding doesn't work out?

Please take the time to read these guides here. You will hopefully find them helpful:
Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths And Facts
(especially the last section)
Bonding: Illustrated Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics (also contains a chapter on mixed gender bonding)
Sow Behaviour (You'll see a lot of behaviour from that guide, apart from the boar rumbling or mounting; an underboar will be very much kept at bay while a sow is not in season)

All the best! Please make sure that the shelter has got a mandatory quarantine; otherwise you'll have to conduct one yourself.
What to check and look out for in new guinea pigs (vet checks, sexing, parasites&illness)
Importance Of Quarantine
 
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