Just lost my wee man at two and a half years old.

[Smithy86]

Hi Folks,

I'm kinda posting here after being the daddy of two beautiful boys, Maverick and Patch for the last two and a half years and i'll be honest i'm proper struggling.

Truth up front, I just lost my wee boy Patch today. Out of the two of them he was the most friendly, personable piggie ever.

I'm pretty sure I know how he died. I bought one of these Kavee 6x2 enclosures with the ramp, but the problem is that whilst the metal frames can go to any size you like, they sell the plastic flooring by 3x2's rather than my 6x2 enclosure. Vet is pretty certain he died after chewing on the plastic rise in the middle of the enclosure between the segments. He was fine yesterday, he was fine through the day we did lap time this afternoon. But between me doing laptime and catching up on eastenders and heading back through to the room he was on his side barely breathing.

So i'm asking you to do a few things. Please do bug Kavee to sell their enclosure flooring in 6x2 size rather than 2 3x2 sizes, thats what patch died off, choking on the middle ridge,

and secondly, I could really use tips on how to reintroduce maverick to other piggies. That sounds crass to say, its not about replacing patch, its about making sure Mav ain't alone and making sure the same thing doesn't happen again. But I'm heartbroken.

 

[Merab]

So sorry for your loss.
Be gentle with yourself as you grieve
Have you read the bonding threads ?
There’s lots of very helpful information and guidance there.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m so sorry for your loss.

You have time to let yourself and maverick grieve. provided he is eating, maintaining his weight and otherwise then you have 1-4 weeks time to grieve and find him a new friend.

The best way to find a new friend for him is with the help of a rescue centre. They will help you find a character compatible friend so that they have a successful bond.

I will add a few guides below to help you further and we can certainly answer questions you may have

Looking After a Bereaved Guinea Pig

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated Bonding Dynamics and Behaviours

 

[Smithy86]

Mav and Patch came from the same enclosure from purchase. They were part of the same sect. But they have always been chalk and cheese, like the biggest misfits for eachother.

Mav has always been cautious, hidden underneath the kavee flooring, and just shy in general. I always wanted and hoped Patch would be the one to draw him out of his shell. I'm not sure how to bring, (and it will at least be two) new piggies into the setting, when you've got old misery guts who shy's away from everything. I wanna get this right, and I've already asked a joiner to sort out a new base for me, a 6x2. And yes the advantage of a Kavee is I can separate the two groups by the middle divide. I want to do this right. But right now I'm feeling gut punched and winded.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m afraid as you have a male piggy you must get him just one new friend to live in the cage with him.

What you cannot do is try to bond him with more than one other boar. If you try it, then you will be setting yourself up for huge trouble. Three or more boars together is a recipe for disaster: they find it very hard to form a hierarchy, it almost always fails, ending with fights and separated piggies (potentially every piggy ending up on their own, you may not even be able to make any pairs out of it). We would never advise anybody to attempt it.

(Even if you were brave enough to risk the fights, and separated piggies of attempting a boar trio then a 6x2 cage is too small to attempt it. You would have to have a cage of at least a 9x3, a plan to separate them all after fights and then potentially have to keep all piggies separated and side by side)

If you wish to have more piggies then Mav needs a new friend in his cage with him, and then any other pairs you get must have their own separate cages (and the pairs can never physically interact with each other (except between the cages)).

To get him the friend, the best thing is to take him dating at a rescue centre. They help ensure he has compatibility with his new friend.

If you cannot get to a rescue, and you have to buy one piggy for him and do bonding yourself, then the bonding guide I added above explains the neutral territory process.
However you would need to be prepared that when buying a new piggy then you won’t know if they have compatibility so would have to have a plan for living side by side in case the bonding failed.

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?

It is also very important to note that it will not bring him out of his shell if his character is that of a quieter.
Equally if you were to attempt keeping more than two boars together, due to the bullying that is likely the ensue, he would likely to be pushed further into himself

 

[Smithy86]

Well for now i'm doing nothing. But I promise I'll do my research and be guided by a rescue centre.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Well for now i'm doing nothing. But I promise I'll do my research and be guided by a rescue centre.

It’s definitely the best way.
No reputable rescue will allow you to keep more than two boars together, but they will help you find the right friend for him.

 

[munchmonster]

I am sorry you have lost your beautiful piggy in such sad circumstances. It must have been a terrible shock for you and we all understand the pain of saying goodbye. Look after yourself in the coming days.
Sleep well little one
On the question of 3 boars, I found out the hard way by going to a 'rescue' and adopting 3 baby brothers and being told they would live together well. This was years ago but I ended up having to separate them.