mirrors for Guineas Cage ?

[furpiggy]

I have just put a mirror into my guineas cage for comfort for my willow as we lost his litter brother only cage mate e.g our Simba a few days ago. Both my Guineas are 14 mths old. Willow seems to be liking the mirror he has been over and had a good look at himself a few times and even swung his bottom side to side but no rumble strut sound. Has anyone else used a mirror when losing one of there guineas or used one in general ?

 

[Wiebke]

I have just put a mirror into my guineas cage for comfort for my willow as we lost his litter brother only cage mate e.g our Simba a few days ago. Both my Guineas are 14 mths old. Willow seems to be liking the mirror he has been over and had a good look at himself a few times and even swung his bottom side to side but no rumble strut sound. Has anyone else used a mirror when losing one of there guineas or used one in general ?

I have an old bathroom mirror protecting a bit wallpaper in my piggy roaming area.

The mirror will hold attention shortly, but not in the longer term because unlike with us humans, sight is not the strongest sense in guinea pigs; smell, hearing and touch are more important for them. That kind of multi-sensory interaction is something a mirror can't deliver and is the reason why guinea pigs tend to lose interest pretty quickly.

Something that smells of the dead companion and that they can snuggle into is often more of a consolation for them during the first days. In the longer term, only another guinea pig can replace another one; no piggy is ever too old for that!

The oldest bereaved piggy I adopted was 7 years old and lived to celebrate her 9th birthday, simply because of the renewed zest for life from companionship. My current 8 year old lady loves to lie in the corner where her cage (in which she lives with a 3 year old 'husboar' and a half year old sow) meets two others; she's definitely a 'piggy soap' addict!

 

[furpiggy]

I have an old bathroom mirror protecting a bit wallpaper in my piggy roaming area.

The mirror will hold attention shortly, but not in the longer term because unlike with us humans, sight is not the strongest sense in guinea pigs; smell, hearing and touch are more important for them. That kind of multi-sensory interaction is something a mirror can't deliver and is the reason why guinea pigs tend to lose interest pretty quickly.

Something that smells of the dead companion and that they can snuggle into is often more of a consolation for them during the first days. In the longer term, only another guinea pig can replace another one; no piggy is ever too old for that!

The oldest bereaved piggy I adopted was 7 years old and lived to celebrate her 9th birthday, simply because of the renewed zest for life from companionship. My current 8 year old lady loves to lie in the corner where her cage (in which she lives with a 3 year old 'husboar' and a half year old sow) meets two others; she's definitely a 'piggy soap' addict!

Willow has a blanket in his bed that has Simba's scent on along with a teddy bear that also has Simba's scent on. E.g rubbed the blanket all over it. I am quite surprised how he has taken to this mirror. I found him sitting in front of it earlier just looking at him self. It will keep him entertained for a few days/ week or two hopefully. Wow that is a amazing age 9 years old. Absolute fabulous. What's your secret ? What did you feed them. my 14 mth old had recurrent stones and had a OP to remove them in December only to develop a lot more few months later. 14 months comparing to 9 years old. That's the life span of a dog amazing. I will most likely find him a new cage mate. I was told to go for a younger guinea ?

 

[Wiebke]

Willow has a blanket in his bed that has Simba's scent on along with a teddy bear that also has Simba's scent on. E.g rubbed the blanket all over it. I am quite surprised how he has taken to this mirror. I found him sitting in front of it earlier just looking at him self. It will keep him entertained for a few days/ week or two hopefully. Wow that is a amazing age 9 years old. Absolute fabulous. What's your secret ? What did you feed them. my 14 mth old had recurrent stones and had a OP to remove them in December only to develop a lot more few months later. 14 months comparing to 9 years old. That's the life span of a dog amazing. I will most likely find him a new cage mate. I was told to go for a younger guinea ?

A hay based low calcium diet with limited but carefully balanced veg, very limited pellets and filtered or bottled low calcium water is key.

It really has made a difference to the life expectancy of those of my piggies that do not develop medical issues out of my control at a younger age and that has also resulted in me not having any bladder stone problems in over 5 years (the last two were a hangover from when I experimented with diet about 7 years ago and got the calcium balance exactly wrong for a while; it takes a while to work all that extra calcium out of the body) despite having quite a number of adopted piggies in the meantime.
Below are our detailed diet recommendations for a balanced general diet as well as a more restrictive diet for guinea pigs with bladder problems, which our long term members all use in some shape and form. So while we won't go round and say that we have found the perfect diet, we can at least say that it has so far stood the test of time and that it is being updated as new insights and recommendations develop over time.
Here is the link: Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

However, Calli has only spent 2 years of her life in all with me and 7 with her previous owner...

It would be great if you please added your country, state/province or UK county to location in your account details (via clicking on your username on the top bar), so we can give you recommendations re. where you can vest find a personality compatible new friend for your bereaved boy. Your options depend very much on where you are.
Our tips for bereaved companions are in this link here: Looking After A Bereaved Guinea Pig

And here is a link to our new owners guide collection, which you may still find very interesting and helpful, as we cover quite a wide range of topics, some of which may be new to you or have new insights and information: Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides