Pig died suddenly, confused if I made the right decisions

lauryn1289

lauryn1289

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Hi, I’m not sure if this is the right place to post so sorry if it’s not.

My pigs, Rico and Kip had been cagemates since 2017. I got Rico in 2016 and think he was around 6. Very suddenly a few days ago he stopped eating and was very inactive, we brought him to the vet who said it seems like he’s bloated and after some fluids and critical care he seemed to improve. I’d been feeding him critical care every 4 hours and he started drinking again and then when I introduced more vegetables and pellets again he seemed to take a turn. We brought him to the vet again last night who kept him for the night and an xray showed gas in his abdomen and a large mass on his spleen. Before I got to the vet’s to say goodbye he had already passed.

I’m at a loss for words with grief but immediately started to panic about Kip and him losing his friend. I straight away found 2 pigs who needed a home and went to take them so Kip wouldn’t be lonely. Getting more pigs the day of Rico passing broke my heart but I was just trying to do what I thought was the best for Kip. I let Kip see Rico’s body and sniff around it so he’d know what happened. I have their cage seperated so they can get accustomed to eachother before being together, but now I’m confused about whether I did the right thing getting 2 friends for Kip so fast :(
 
I am so sorry for your loss.

Getting a new friend for him is the right thing to do, he will grieve his friend but he will also be ready for a new friend sooner than you would probably be. You are looking out for him and that can only be a good thing.
However, I must warn you, I'm assuming the two new piggies you have got are both male as well, then I am afraid you will not be able to put all three of them together in one cage. Sadly three boars living together in one cage wont work. Boars need to be kept in pairs only to stand any chance of having a good relationship.
Three boars together find it very difficult to get the match of characters right and the majority of boar trios will fail resulting in fights and piggies having to be separated. On top of that, to attempt a boar trio (not that we recommend it), the space required far exceeds normal cage size requirements - a cage of three metres by one metre would be needed to give each piggy enough territory to get away from the others (but still no guarantee it would work).
The best thing going forward would be if the two new piggies can remain together as a pair in one cage, with Kip living alongside them in his own cage. They can interact through the bars as neighbours only. This will prevent Kip from becoming lonely and will ensure the relationship for the new pair remains in tact.

Looking After A Bereaved Guinea Pig
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
 
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Thank you for the response! I had checked my local shelters and even advertisement websites for lone piggies but those two were the only ones near me and I didn’t even think of the fact they’re all boars since Rico and Kip got along so well. I have a 4x2 C&C cage that I can expand if needed but I’m going to introduce them very carefully and see how things go, if not I will keep Kip seperately
 
lauryn1289 said:
Thank you for the response! I had checked my local shelters and even advertisement websites for lone piggies but those two were the only ones near me and I didn’t even think of the fact they’re all boars since Rico and Kip got along so well. I have a 4x2 C&C cage that I can expand if needed but I’m going to introduce them very carefully and see how things go, if not I will keep Kip seperately
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I would urge you not to attempt to put them together at all and instead keep them as a pair and Kip single but as a neighbour.

How old are the pair?

When bonding boars it is done as an all in one event - either success or failure and no amount of doing it slowly will change the outcome. It is likely things will turn and it could break the bond of the pair potentially immediately. If this happens, you could end up with three single piggies all refusing to go together and then needing three separate cages.
If you are going to do this, then you will need make the cage more along the lines of 8/9 x 3, but bonding on neutral territory first, in a bonding pen of equal size
Please dont try to put three boars into a 2x4 cage. A 2x4 is a little too tight for two boars together, and it will definitely not work for three.
A pair of boars really require a 2x5 to themselves.
 
They’re both 1 year old and Kip is around 4-5, thank you so much for all your advice
Piggies&buns said:
I would urge you not to attempt to put them together at all and instead keep them as a pair and Kip single but as a neighbour.

How old are the pair?

When bonding boars it is done as an all in one event - either success or failure and no amount of doing it slowly will change the outcome. It is likely things will turn and it could break the bond of the pair potentially immediately. If this happens, you could end up with three single piggies all refusing to go together and then needing three separate cages.
If you are going to do this, then you will need make the cage more along the lines of 8/9 x 3, but bonding on neutral territory first, in a bonding pen of equal size
Please dont try to put three boars into a 2x4 cage. A 2x4 is a little too tight for two boars together, and it will definitely not work for three.
A pair of boars really require a 2x5 to themselves.
Click to expand...
 
I’m so sorry for your loss. Personally I’ve had many boar trios, over the years and even a group of five boars. I think it’s more about temperament than gender. However, all my boar trios and the larger group consisted of piggies of at least 2 years of age and older.
 
lauryn1289 said:
They’re both 1 year old and Kip is around 4-5, thank you so much for all your advice
Click to expand...

Hi

I am very sorry for your loss.

As long as Kip can live next to the other two boys but with his own territory, he is getting enough stimulation by interaction through the bars for you to keep looking until the right kind of piggy is turning up. It will still come down to character compatibility and mutual liking, though.
Adult middle aged to older boars are more like sows; in that case, it decides whether they like each other and get on. However, you need to abort an bonding attempt the moment, tensions between the bonded pair start showing - it could end with a permanent fall-out in the pair.
The more younger and much more hormonal boars you have in a bond, the more unstable it is and the higher the likelihood of fall-outs, especially during teenage and into young adulthood.

In your case, I would personally not risk it. Lots of space is key so the can have an amicable divorce and get away from each other without being forced to confront each other all the time because the loser cannot move away as they'd normally would.

Please don't feel like you have to rush into it. I have had several bereaved piggies whose companions died very closely together (to different issues but I lost three in just over a week), but who wouldn't get on with each other. Due to a ringworm outbreak in a reserved mother and daughter pair while still in rescue, the adoption had to be put back for several weeks, so my piggies had to wait nearly two months until I could date them with the sow pair as well as a number of newly bereaved piggies that had been handed back to the rescue, In the end, they have all found a new friend they are happy with. Finding that personality match has been worth the wait.
My piggies have had interaction with neighbours through the bars during the wait, so while they were not particularly happy, they were not pining, either.

We are coming up to Christmas and the usual pre-Christmas pet dump, so you are more likely to find a new friend a bit later on, either before or after Christmas.

Please take the time to read the information in these guides here. You will hopefully find it very helpful.
You can find a chapter on companionship options for boars and how to best go about it in our boar guide: A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities (includes a chapter on issues particular to bereaved singles and a chapter on human - singles interaction.

Rescues (Adoption and Dating), Shops, Breeders or Online? - What to consider when getting guinea pigs

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
 
I brought them all to meet in a group in a neutral territory and it seemed to go very well, Kip and the new pigs seem to have quite timid temperaments so I’m cautiously optimistic this will work out but will keep a close eye on them all and how it pans out QUOTE="furryfriends (TEAS), post: 2659539, member: 200"]
I’m so sorry for your loss. Personally I’ve had many boar trios, over the years and even a group of five boars. I think it’s more about temperament than gender. However, all my boar trios and the larger group consisted of piggies of at least 2 years of age and older.
[/QUOTE]
 
introducing them in a neutral territory seemed to go well but i will watch the bonded pair very closely for any signs of tension, so far things seem to have gone alright but i’ll definitely be very cautious with them because i only want what’s best for all 3 of the boys! thank you and i’m very sorry to hear about your piggies that have passed :(



Wiebke said:
Hi

I am very sorry for your loss.

As long as Kip can live next to the other two boys but with his own territory, he is getting enough stimulation by interaction through the bars for you to keep looking until the right kind of piggy is turning up. It will still come down to character compatibility and mutual liking, though.
Adult middle aged to older boars are more like sows; in that case, it decides whether they like each other and get on. However, you need to abort an bonding attempt the moment, tensions between the bonded pair start showing - it could end with a permanent fall-out in the pair.
The more younger and much more hormonal boars you have in a bond, the more unstable it is and the higher the likelihood of fall-outs, especially during teenage and into young adulthood.

In your case, I would personally not risk it. Lots of space is key so the can have an amicable divorce and get away from each other without being forced to confront each other all the time because the loser cannot move away as they'd normally would.

Please don't feel like you have to rush into it. I have had several bereaved piggies whose companions died very closely together (to different issues but I lost three in just over a week), but who wouldn't get on with each other. Due to a ringworm outbreak in a reserved mother and daughter pair while still in rescue, the adoption had to be put back for several weeks, so my piggies had to wait nearly two months until I could date them with the sow pair as well as a number of newly bereaved piggies that had been handed back to the rescue, In the end, they have all found a new friend they are happy with. Finding that personality match has been worth the wait.
My piggies have had interaction with neighbours through the bars during the wait, so while they were not particularly happy, they were not pining, either.

We are coming up to Christmas and the usual pre-Christmas pet dump, so you are more likely to find a new friend a bit later on, either before or after Christmas.

Please take the time to read the information in these guides here. You will hopefully find it very helpful.
You can find a chapter on companionship options for boars and how to best go about it in our boar guide: A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities (includes a chapter on issues particular to bereaved singles and a chapter on human - singles interaction.

Rescues (Adoption and Dating), Shops, Breeders or Online? - What to consider when getting guinea pigs

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Click to expand...
<QUOTE="Wiebke, post: 2659555, member: 3906"]
Hi

I am very sorry for your loss.

As long as Kip can live next to the other two boys but with his own territory, he is getting enough stimulation by interaction through the bars for you to keep looking until the right kind of piggy is turning up. It will still come down to character compatibility and mutual liking, though.
Adult middle aged to older boars are more like sows; in that case, it decides whether they like each other and get on. However, you need to abort an bonding attempt the moment, tensions between the bonded pair start showing - it could end with a permanent fall-out in the pair.
The more younger and much more hormonal boars you have in a bond, the more unstable it is and the higher the likelihood of fall-outs, especially during teenage and into young adulthood.

In your case, I would personally not risk it. Lots of space is key so the can have an amicable divorce and get away from each other without being forced to confront each other all the time because the loser cannot move away as they'd normally would.

Please don't feel like you have to rush into it. I have had several bereaved piggies whose companions died very closely together (to different issues but I lost three in just over a week), but who wouldn't get on with each other. Due to a ringworm outbreak in a reserved mother and daughter pair while still in rescue, the adoption had to be put back for several weeks, so my piggies had to wait nearly two months until I could date them with the sow pair as well as a number of newly bereaved piggies that had been handed back to the rescue, In the end, they have all found a new friend they are happy with. Finding that personality match has been worth the wait.
My piggies have had interaction with neighbours through the bars during the wait, so while they were not particularly happy, they were not pining, either.

We are coming up to Christmas and the usual pre-Christmas pet dump, so you are more likely to find a new friend a bit later on, either before or after Christmas.

Please take the time to read the information in these guides here. You will hopefully find it very helpful.
You can find a chapter on companionship options for boars and how to best go about it in our boar guide: A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities (includes a chapter on issues particular to bereaved singles and a chapter on human - singles interaction.

Rescues (Adoption and Dating), Shops, Breeders or Online? - What to consider when getting guinea pigs

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
[/QUOTE]
 
lauryn1289 said:
Hi, I’m not sure if this is the right place to post so sorry if it’s not.

My pigs, Rico and Kip had been cagemates since 2017. I got Rico in 2016 and think he was around 6. Very suddenly a few days ago he stopped eating and was very inactive, we brought him to the vet who said it seems like he’s bloated and after some fluids and critical care he seemed to improve. I’d been feeding him critical care every 4 hours and he started drinking again and then when I introduced more vegetables and pellets again he seemed to take a turn. We brought him to the vet again last night who kept him for the night and an xray showed gas in his abdomen and a large mass on his spleen. Before I got to the vet’s to say goodbye he had already passed.

I’m at a loss for words with grief but immediately started to panic about Kip and him losing his friend. I straight away found 2 pigs who needed a home and went to take them so Kip wouldn’t be lonely. Getting more pigs the day of Rico passing broke my heart but I was just trying to do what I thought was the best for Kip. I let Kip see Rico’s body and sniff around it so he’d know what happened. I have their cage seperated so they can get accustomed to eachother before being together, but now I’m confused about whether I did the right thing getting 2 friends for Kip so fast :(
Click to expand...
First off I want to say from the bottom of my heart that I am so deeply sorry for your loss. Personally, I think you did the right thing, and I think you did what was best for Kip. I have heard of trios of boars working out before, it may not happen too often, but it surely does happen on occasion. I would definitely just make sure to keep an incredibly close eye, and watch out for any signs of aggression. Keep us posted! Once again, I’m so sorry for your loss.
 
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