Helping my piggies get over the loss of their sister.

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ErictheBee

ErictheBee

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Not sure this is the right place for this, but it is my first post and I am hoping someone can help me. Let me explain my situation. On Sunday my fiancée and I noticed one of our piggies Choji (top of my profile pic), was off her food. We took her to the vet who said she had an impaction in her stomach and though they tried to get her going again, in the end they couldn’t help her and we had to have her p.t.s.

In the space of 12 hours we lost a member of our family and we are utterly devastated. I think it is the suddenness of the loss that has affected us so deeply. We miss her more than words can say. We rescued Choji 14 months ago, when she was 6 months old having been abandoned. At the time we had two guinea pigs Merry (crested piggy) and Pippin (blonde) who we got at the same time and who will be 3 years old this coming January. A few months ago we were given another baby guinea pig, who was only 10 weeks old. We named her Penny (white with orange face) and she is now 7 months. Obviously our other girls are very sad at the loss of their sister and we have been giving them lots of hugs and they’ve been giving us kisses :)

My concerns are multiple. Firstly, Penny had bonded with Choji as they were closer in age and used to play together a lot. Pippin and Merry have tried playing with her more, but they just can’t keep up and poor Pippin was run ragged last night. We are wondering if it is best to get another piggy for Penny to play with, so she will have someone closer to her own age (with the same energy levels) and can then grow up with and this will give Pippin and Merry a little break.

I have reservations about getting another piggy and it would be hard for my fiancée and I, but we want to do what’s best for our piggies.

Does anyone have any similar experiences to this? If it is a good idea to get another piggy, how long should we wait? I don’t want them to think we are trying to replace Choji and want to give them enough time to grieve. Any other advice on helping them get through this difficult time would be much appreciated.
 
Its probably best to leave them for a couple of days to grieve. After that another piggy may help the group dynamic.

Should you wish to get another piggy I can recomend she comes from a rescue, to reduce your risk of illness/pregnancy.
 
so i am guesing they all lived together? as you said it would be difficult for you to take on another guinea pig, if your remaining pigs do live together, my feeling is they will settle down soon, and find their way of co existing together , and introducing another could cause problems. how ever if they lived in two groups , and she has left one on her own, then it would be better to get the one on her own a friend, or try to introduce the lone one to the others i am sorry you have lost one, that is always very upsetting, and i feel for you x i also want to welcome you to the forum, even though it is on a sad note x x
 
I am so sorry for your loss. It is such a hard thing to go through. There is nothing wrong with getting another guinea pig at all but the younger ones will always annoy the older ones. It is the way they are when you have a group of different ages. I have five guinea pigs of different ages. When I had two sisters who were three and then got a younger one they found her a bit much but they are so close now and just moan at her when she runs around. :) If you wish to have another piggy I see no harm at all.
 
Sorry I may have misinterpreted, By hard, did you mean awkward finacialy and otherwise, or hard because you dont want to feel like your replacing your lovely girly.
 
Hi! Give it a few days to settle - piggies grieve no less than we humans, but they generally can't afford to grieve for as long. A sudden death generally whacks you around badly because you just can't brace for it. It will take time for you until it has all sunk in, too. I have lost piggies that way, too, so I know how hard it is.

If you really want to look for a new friend, I would strongly recommend finding a rescue or shelter where Penny can date a piggy friend (or preferably more) of her own liking. Just adding a piggy for the sake of it is not necessarily a good idea. Personally, I would only consider it if you are dealing with a clear and long term outsider situation.

We also have a Rainbow Pet section where you are most welcome to post a tribute to Shoji and share your grief with us.
 
Thank you all so much for your comments. Our piggies all live together and I wouldn’t say they were split into two groups per say, just that Choji and Penny used to sleep next to each other in their igloo and Merry and Pippin have been together since the beginning.

It would be hard for us in that we would not want to feel like we are replacing our lovely little girl. If we did decide to get another piggy it would be more for Penny’s well being(though we would love her just as much as the others). And it wouldn’t be for at least another 2 weeks. I am just wondering if it would be better to get another piggy now for her to play and grow up with, rather than getting another piggy as a companion when the sad day comes that Merry and Pippin pass away. Does this make sense?
 
That does make sense. :) Thankyou for clarifying.

I think the decision has to be up to you. If they settle down over a couple of weeks and seem happy as a trio I wouldnt worry too much, but if she seems to be getting left out then perhaps you could add another girlie. :)
 
Thanks again. We'll reflect on the advice here and see how she get's on.
Here's another little pic. Can finally look at this without getting upset.

SDC12626.jpg
 
I had a similar situation. I had a trio of girls, one of them passed away and the other two started to fall out after she died. I left it a few months but the longer I left it the more they fell out. Eventally I decided to get another girl to help sort out the group dinamic. They've all been together a few months now and they're all very happy, the group just seems complete now. :) It was hard feeling like i was "replacing" my other girl. But seeing the three of them together i know i made the right choice.
 
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