Lone guinea pigs

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piggyfan

It really upsets me that so many people have just one guinea pig. I can accept there are reasons that some may have to live alone but most guinea pigs love and need company. It seems so cruel to have just the one piggy. My Sophie was all by her self so I rescued her and she is so affectionate and loves company. I wish people would research into guinea pigs before getting them.
 
I had one piggie and I truly mean this when I say he was a perfectly happy piggie. I took him to the vets regularly for nail trims and general checks and the vet always said what a happy little piggie he was.

Yes I agree that they should not live alone, (now I know better) but I honestly think if they are living free range in the house with the rest of the family and get lots of attention and have plenty of things to stimulate them, then thats is ok.

Isnt it better to have rescued 1 piggie than not have rescued any? Some people just cannot afford to have 2 or have the space for 2.

x
 
my mums piggie is a freeranger and very happy, he has been tried with other pigs but just does not tolerate them.

In an ideal world two is best, but i guess some are just loners...bit like me :))
 
Two do not cost much more. I think it is better not to have any really as you cannot give them the company they need. They may seem happy but they would be happier with a friend.
 
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I have a single pig, Percy-Roo adopted him from a lovely lady who takes in rescues. Before being rescued he lived his first year of life in a hamster cage, with no name and no friends to play with. He wasnt fed that oftern too and due to this it's took a while for him to put on weight and he's tiny in comparrison to my two fourteen month olds. Though through lots of love and care he's gaining the weight.

We've tried to bond him with my boys but due to his background he doesnt quite know how to interact and although he wants company he just lunges at other pigs even in his run with the girls by the side.

So we're going to take things slowly with him, and keep his 'piggie education and manner dates' with my boys and the girls so he can learn how to talk and play properly. One day I'd love for him to have a friend or two to snuggle with but i know that its going to be a long journey for the both of us :)
 
i have to agree that people should TRY to have at least 2 and to socialze them, but i also understand that its not always possible. if the pig can get adequate attention/free range it's better than solitary existence. oh and good luck percy-roo and audioheart!
 
Well I have 8 and 1 lives on his own. I am not sure what to do. Should I put him through an operation and have him neutered so he can go back with his partner, or should I leave him on his own. I don't know what to do. :(
 
piggyfan said:
Two do not cost much more. I think it is better not to have any really as you cannot give them the company they need. They may seem happy but they would be happier with a friend.
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It does cost more to have two. I am really struggling to have my two and Sweets was such a different pig when he was by himself happy and always wheeking. Now he is skittish and scared. And I enjoyed being a piggy mom much more when there was one then two. My boys might live in the same cage but they might as well live on different continents because they dont care for each other being there.
 
I have four loan piggies (out of 8). I have tried to pair them all with several different pigs all have ended in fights or bullying. My loan girl has so far rejected SIX piggies!

All of my loans at least have a piggie next door and i do occasionally let them out together for a short while to at least have some proper interaction, even if its arguing!
 
if i was a piggy i would be a lone as i wouldnt get on with boys i never have and i never will :))

and girls i would always be jealous of as i am a fatty and they will all be slim and lovely and the boys will want them
 
piggyfan said:
Two do not cost much more. I think it is better not to have any really as you cannot give them the company they need. They may seem happy but they would be happier with a friend.
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I'm really sorry but I totally disagree with you on this -

2 piggies means more money needed for vet visits! It cost me in total £300 for Rodneys treatment and op (not that the money matters as I would have paid treble that if it had saved his life), but i could not afford vet bills like that with 2.

I work from home, so I gave him a lot of time and love. When I first got him I was living with my b/f so he was never on his own. We split * p 2 years later and Rod was settled in a routine, he was a very dominant piggie and displayed a lot of dominance behaviour towards me (basically I was his sow lol) so I truly believe he would not have accepted another piggie.

I am proud of the fact that he lived a happy and loving life with me, instead of possibly being with someone else who may not have treated him as well.

I think it all depends on the pig, some as we've seen on these posts just do not accept other piggies and some do.

Rodney died of a bladder stone, not loneliness or depression. He could have lived another 4 years if it wasnt for that. So I know I gave him the best life I could....and I have no regrets about him being on his own.

x
 
AudioHeart said:
I have a single pig, Percy-Roo adopted him from a lovely lady who takes in rescues. Before being rescued he lived his first year of life in a hamster cage, with no name and no friends to play with. He wasnt fed that oftern too and due to this it's took a while for him to put on weight and he's tiny in comparrison to my two fourteen month olds. Though through lots of love and care he's gaining the weight.

We've tried to bond him with my boys but due to his background he doesnt quite know how to interact and although he wants company he just lunges at other pigs even in his run with the girls by the side.

So we're going to take things slowly with him, and keep his 'piggie education and manner dates' with my boys and the girls so he can learn how to talk and play properly. One day I'd love for him to have a friend or two to snuggle with but i know that its going to be a long journey for the both of us :)
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It is lovely you have rescued Percy-Roo and are giving him a good home. The previous owner he had was so cruel to keep him in a hamster cage. Poor baby.:( If she did not have him on his own you would not have trouble bonding him.
 
Vida said:
Well I have 8 and 1 lives on his own. I am not sure what to do. Should I put him through an operation and have him neutered so he can go back with his partner, or should I leave him on his own. I don't know what to do. :(
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Personally I would have him neutered so he can live back with his friend. He was used to company and must be lonely to live alone. Wow you have a lot of piggies. Are they the babies of the lone guinea pig?
 
SweetsPig11 said:
It does cost more to have two. I am really struggling to have my two and Sweets was such a different pig when he was by himself happy and always wheeking. Now he is skittish and scared. And I enjoyed being a piggy mom much more when there was one then two. My boys might live in the same cage but they might as well live on different continents because they dont care for each other being there.
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Perhaps they have not got the right friend. Sweets being alone in the first place was the problem. If you got him and a friend right at the beginning he would be used to company and get along with his cage mate. If you would have had two piggies in the first place you would not know any different and your boys would have got along and been happy.
 
ZaraPiggie6 said:
I have four loan piggies (out of 8). I have tried to pair them all with several different pigs all have ended in fights or bullying. My loan girl has so far rejected SIX piggies!

All of my loans at least have a piggie next door and i do occasionally let them out together for a short while to at least have some proper interaction, even if its arguing!
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Like I said, some piggies do need to be alone. It sounds like your sow really does prefer her own company.
 
doglovinpiggylover said:
if i was a piggy i would be a lone as i wouldnt get on with boys i never have and i never will :))

and girls i would always be jealous of as i am a fatty and they will all be slim and lovely and the boys will want them
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Not at all. In the guinea pig world,chubby is in and slim is out. :)
 
first_time_piggie_mum said:
I'm really sorry but I totally disagree with you on this -

2 piggies means more money needed for vet visits! It cost me in total £300 for Rodneys treatment and op (not that the money matters as I would have paid treble that if it had saved his life), but i could not afford vet bills like that with 2.

I work from home, so I gave him a lot of time and love. When I first got him I was living with my b/f so he was never on his own. We split * p 2 years later and Rod was settled in a routine, he was a very dominant piggie and displayed a lot of dominance behaviour towards me (basically I was his sow lol) so I truly believe he would not have accepted another piggie.

I am proud of the fact that he lived a happy and loving life with me, instead of possibly being with someone else who may not have treated him as well.

I think it all depends on the pig, some as we've seen on these posts just do not accept other piggies and some do.

Rodney died of a bladder stone, not loneliness or depression. He could have lived another 4 years if it wasnt for that. So I know I gave him the best life I could....and I have no regrets about him being on his own.

x
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I said some piggies need to live alone.
 
piggyfan said:
It is lovely you have rescued Percy-Roo and are giving him a good home. The previous owner he had was so cruel to keep him in a hamster cage. Poor baby.:( If she did not have him on his own you would not have trouble bonding him.
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Thank you :) Its awful though he doesn't want to be on his own, you can see it he really really wants to make friends but doesn't quite understand how to say hello (he teeth chatters loudly then has a series of popcorning fits!) which causes the other piggies (girls or boys) to back away from him although Harvey and Artie did try their hardest being his friends. He just got too excited being with them.

I am getting somewhere with Percy, hes now much more relaxed around other piggies. With my OH's sister herd instead of circling the run several times and teeth chattering he'll lay down and sleep right next to them, or sit and munch grass quietly.

Maise, the dominant sow of the herd has been really wonderful with Percy, when he intially teeth chattered at the heard the girls and neutered boy eventually wandered off sick of his teeth chattering and Percy throwing himself at the run mesh. However Maisie stayed put, right beside him not responding to his strange behaviour after a few days Percy calmed down and began sitting quitely with Maisie, eating grass and now they've got to a stage where they groom each other through the bars. I can honestly say it's a joy to see, although I still cant trust him to go in the run with her its a very big step in the right direction!

I believe all piggies should have a choice whether they want to live alone or in a pair or group from a younge age I personally think you're doing more harm than good if you make the decision when the piggie is a baby. I respect that not all pigs, just like you and I, won't want to bond with others but i always believe they should have a choice not just an option forced upon them.

I believe this as owning Percy-Roo has really opened my eyes,and I can't describe how sad it is to see a little creature who can't understand the dynamics of social interaction frighten off potential cage mates when all he wants is a friend of his own. :( its awful when i put Percy-Roo back by himself, he will wheek so loudly for his friends to respond.
 
I am quite surprised you say piggies should have a choice as to be alone or with a group. In their natural environment they never live alone and feel safer with others. You are being kind and caring for them by either keeping them with their siblings as a baby or getting them a friend. It is not like you are forcing a choice on them at all as they do not like to be alone and only do as they are not used to company. They are born into a family and like to live as one. They are not like humans in that way.
 
piggyfan said:
Like I said, some piggies do need to be alone. It sounds like your sow really does prefer her own company.
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She is next door to Terry who she loves. they week for each other and talk through the bars. It's such a shame he is to old to be snipped :(
 
Oh that is so sad. :( Poor little babies. You cannot let him have the operation if he is older as it would not be safe.
 
I do agree but I think there are extenuating circumstances - ie Percy-Roo. My Misty is a lone piggie at the moment but I would hate to be automatically 'judged' because she is on her own after her sister died last week - I started off with 3. At the moment she is cheering up and I am thinking about what to do next. You have to not just think about numbers but possible reasons behind them.
 
Posiesparkles said:
I do agree but I think there are extenuating circumstances - ie Percy-Roo. My Misty is a lone piggie at the moment but I would hate to be automatically 'judged' because she is on her own after her sister died last week - I started off with 3. At the moment she is cheering up and I am thinking about what to do next. You have to not just think about numbers but possible reasons behind them.
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I get very upset sometimes thinking I have been judged because I only had 1 :(
 
I think the problem is before people get a guinea pig they should research and once they do all you hear is how they must be kept in pairs or more. If somebody has one piggy and does not realise it must mean they did not research before getting a guinea pig. Most places will no longer allow people to adopt or buy one piggy for that reason.

I am not judging you. You loved your baby and gave him the best life in the world. I am merely upset so many people just go out and get one guinea pig as they need company.
 
Posiesparkles said:
I do agree but I think there are extenuating circumstances - ie Percy-Roo. My Misty is a lone piggie at the moment but I would hate to be automatically 'judged' because she is on her own after her sister died last week - I started off with 3. At the moment she is cheering up and I am thinking about what to do next. You have to not just think about numbers but possible reasons behind them.
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That is a totally different situation. You did not aim to have one guinea pig.
 
Why are people not understanding my point! If you go and get a guinea pig you should not get just one unless you are told that piggy cannot socialise. Some piggies do need to live alone but most need company. :o
 
first_time_piggie_mum said:
I get very upset sometimes thinking I have been judged because I only had 1 :(
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please dont be upset, you are already upset at your loss AND your ear infection, i dont think this is a dig just a general feeling, which to be fair we all have, sometime it cant be an ideal world.

My first pig was a lone piggy in a smallish cage, but i was naive and didnt know, and it isnt that i didnt research its that he was a gift from my friend that knows i love animals...i have learnt since then.

if no one took lone piggies there would be even more in rescues :(
 
I have many lone piggies come to stay. Some, like the old boar I have now doesn't even recognize other piggies in the slightest (although he does wheek when the veggies are coming when my lot set him off :)) ), others are just overjoyed to be next to any piggies in the runs and will happily much grass along side each other, albeit with mesh between them.

It makes me very sad that those piggies then go back to loneliness. I do try to educate their owners, but most can't be bothered with the dating lark :(

I do think it comes down to cost for some though. All the lone piggies I have are in excellent condition and very well loved and handled, so at least that's something I suppose.

Jo
 
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