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Kim88

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Hi,

I'm here hoping for a bit of advice.

This weekend I sadly lost one of my piggies, Rosie, to a UTI. She was old and the vet was also concerned she had mammary cancer (we don't think she had been spayed however I am not her first home) so her death was not entirely unexpected. Part of me is grateful this took her over the cancer as her death was extremely quick. This left daisy being the only guinea pig in the house.

While she appears a bit withdrawn, she is eating and drinking normally and I am currently not too concerned... For once she's able to eat the food (Rosie could be a bit of a bully). My question is that, while we cannot be sure of Rosie's age we guess her to be around 6, how do I try and keep her company giving her the interaction she needs without another piggie?

Rosie and Daisy have always lived in the house and have a pen complete with hideaways and tunnels but neither were particularly up for human interaction - despite my trying. I'd love more guinea pigs however I am highly allergic and while I'd put up with the hives, coughing etc for these two I love them to death - I don't want to get on a perpetual cycle of buying guinea pigs. Ive considered whether it would be best to re-home but given her age and the fact they've already been rehomed id be worried that a. She'd feel abondoned again (stupid I know) and b. Not knowing where she was going that she wouldn't be looked after.

Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Kim & Daisy
 
So sorry that Rosie passed away.
Its not stupid that you're worried about Daisy's feelings. If you are allergic to guinea pigs and don't want to get in a cycle from one to the next it may be best to rehome her however you could look to get a new guinea pig the same age as her.
She needs to have at least one other piggie friend as humans cannot replace company of her own breed. Some rescues do boar dating and you could look for something similar with sows.
Hope this helped
 
Hello, I am so sorry for your loss! Losing any pet is very unfortunate, but please remember that Rosie is happy in piggy heaven....
If you do choose to rehome your 2nd pig, do not feel like it is a horrible thing- many people rehome animals because they are in situations requiring them to do so and it turns out that after the animal is rehomed, their welfare is improved greatly (some owners will never feel that way though)! You can also put up a VERY high rehoming price to make sure someone is serious about taking care of her and you can ask them to send you pictures/videos and maybe update you so you feel a bit better. This isn't unusual.
It would also be benificial to get another guinea pig closer to her age.
I also knew someone who ended up with a single pig, they decided to put stuffed animals in their guinea pig's cage (because pigs like to cuddle with each other), so maybe try that as well as the guinea pig responded greatly to that.
It is heartbreaking when ANY animal loses it's companion. I happen to have a family of small dogs and when the first dog passed away, my one other dog was absolutely crushed and became seriously depressed and lost weight rapidly, even though other dogs were around, so I know what your going through is a hard thing to watch.
I hope you find out what will be the best solution! xx
 
Kim88 said:
Hi,

I'm here hoping for a bit of advice.

This weekend I sadly lost one of my piggies, Rosie, to a UTI. She was old and the vet was also concerned she had mammary cancer (we don't think she had been spayed however I am not her first home) so her death was not entirely unexpected. Part of me is grateful this took her over the cancer as her death was extremely quick. This left daisy being the only guinea pig in the house.

While she appears a bit withdrawn, she is eating and drinking normally and I am currently not too concerned... For once she's able to eat the food (Rosie could be a bit of a bully). My question is that, while we cannot be sure of Rosie's age we guess her to be around 6, how do I try and keep her company giving her the interaction she needs without another piggie?

Rosie and Daisy have always lived in the house and have a pen complete with hideaways and tunnels but neither were particularly up for human interaction - despite my trying. I'd love more guinea pigs however I am highly allergic and while I'd put up with the hives, coughing etc for these two I love them to death - I don't want to get on a perpetual cycle of buying guinea pigs. Ive considered whether it would be best to re-home but given her age and the fact they've already been rehomed id be worried that a. She'd feel abondoned again (stupid I know) and b. Not knowing where she was going that she wouldn't be looked after.

Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Kim & Daisy
Click to expand...


Hi and welcome

I am very sorry for your loss. You are welcome to post a tribute to Rosie in our Rainbow Bridge section.

It is always difficult when you get to the last standing piggy; a dilemma that we all face sooner or later. Several of my own piggies are depressed bereaved companions whose owners do not want to continue but want to stay in touch; I have just squeezed in another one from a local friend. So I am very familiar with the problem!

If Daisy has come from a rescue, please contact the rescue and see whether you can work a solution out with them that gives Daisy company without you having to continue the see-saw if that is possible. Not all rescues are equally flexible but they are generally understanding.
Any rescue adoptees need to revert to the rescue they have been adopted from, anyway. It is generally part of the adoption agreement you have signed.

Here are tips on what you can do for Daisy in the short and medium term: Looking After A Bereaved Guinea Pig
 
If it helps any, one of my friends was in a similar situation. She had two pigs and one suddenly died, leaving the other all alone. She wasn't overly fond of guinea pigs and didn't want to get stuck in a cycle of owning them either, but she knew it was less than ideal for this pig to be all alone. She ended up giving this pig to me.

Caramel joined my herd, and is having a great time. She's become best friends with Tickles and is happily following the herd around. She's learning to try new foods. I show pictures and share news about her to my friend. For this pig, rehoming was the right choice.

Just keep your pig's best interest in mind.
 
Hello and :wel: to our friendly forum. Sorry it is in such sad circumstances. Can't add to what has already been said. Just wanted to welcome you.
 
Other than what has already been said you could see if you could foster a friend, but not as straightforward as it sounds I suppose.
 
To be honest after the advice I've looked at rescue centres online near me and all the guineas are between 0-3. Meaning I would probably be in the same position in a years time. Ideally I would be looking at getting an older piggie or rehoming her with someone with another guinea pig however I don't actually know anyone with guinea pigs. Any more ideas for where to locate an old guinea pig or someone that has a guinea pig greatly recieved. For now though she'll just have to cope with my over zealous shopping to try and keep her amused... 😬 Xx
 
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