Saphie needs a friend

Dianet

Dianet

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi I hope this is ok to post. As some of you are aware I lost my little girl Pearl quite suddenly last weekend and unfortunately her sister Saphie seems a little sad on her own. She's spending most of her time in her 'bedroom' (which is a little boxed section within the cage where her food and straw are), whereas before they were always doing zoomies together round the downstairs tunnel and generally mooching about the whole of the hutch (indoor).
If anyone hears of a suitable friend for adoption not too far from either Winsford or St Helens, could you please let me know. Saphies about 3.5 to 4 years old and can be a little fear aggressive so 'speed dating' would be preferable first. Thank you.
 
Aww, he is adorable. I was looking for a sow but I've no objections to a neutered boar. What's peoples opinions/experiences on bonding with a bereaved sow. Could it possibly be easier for her to accept a younger neutered boar? I would ideally like to introduce them at the centre to see if they are compatible.
 
Dianet said:
Aww, he is adorable. I was looking for a sow but I've no objections to a neutered boar. What's peoples opinions/experiences on bonding with a bereaved sow. Could it possibly be easier for her to accept a younger neutered boar? I would ideally like to introduce them at the centre to see if they are compatible.
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A neutered boar is more likely to work out and stay getting along 👍. Thats why i did
 
Aw, she does look a bit lonely, hope you find her a little friend soon x
 
Hi all, I'm still looking for a friend for Saphie. Fudge at Tiny Paws was already reserved and I've tried to contact Cheshire RSPCA on several occasions, left messages and emailed but had no response. I'm prepared to travel as there aren't really any rescues locally but never thought it would be so difficult. In the meantime, I'm giving Saphie lots of cuddles and attention.
 
aww i hope that you find Saphie a friend soon. I took my recently bereaved Pippin to a rescue for bonding last night.. I feel so lost without her in the house but hoping she comes away happy with a new friend... Pippin was very quiet for about 4-5 days after loosing Gladys but she started to almost get back to normal after that time... she was defiantly grieving bless her..
 
Merab's Slave said:
Have you tried the Potteries GP Rescue?
You might be a bit far from them but a phone call won’t hurt.
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Yes, I've tried there, Cavy Haven (even though its not on recommend list) and even local Pets at Home adoption sections. Hopefully someone will come up soon.
 
Hope so.
Although this is a rescue friendly forum we do recognise that sometimes the need of a bereaved guinea pig for a companion outweighs the recommendation to adopt.
There aren’t always piggies in the rescues suitable as companions.

Four years ago ( pre forum days) I had a bereaved sow, Merab. I couldn’t find a rescue anywhere near me so I finally ended up looking for a reputable pet shop and buying 2 baby girls.
 
artcasper said:
aww i hope that you find Saphie a friend soon. I took my recently bereaved Pippin to a rescue for bonding last night.. I feel so lost without her in the house but hoping she comes away happy with a new friend... Pippin was very quiet for about 4-5 days after loosing Gladys but she started to almost get back to normal after that time... she was defiantly grieving bless her..
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Thankfully Saphies still eating and drinking ok, but like Pippin, she just seems a bit quiet. The good thing is she seems to be liking cuddles with me a bit more than she did and is constantly licking my nose/face 😆.
 
Merab's Slave said:
Hope so.
Although this is a rescue friendly forum we do recognise that sometimes the need of a bereaved guinea pig for a companion outweighs the recommendation to adopt.
There aren’t always piggies in the rescues suitable as companions.

Four years ago ( pre forum days) I had a bereaved sow, Merab. I couldn’t find a rescue anywhere near me so I finally ended up looking for a reputable pet shop and buying 2 baby girls.
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So that's where you got your forum name from then 😆. I'm a bit of a slave to my piggies, my human girls sometimes joke that I care for my piggies more than them 😉 x
 
Would Walsall RSPCA be too far away they often get new piggies in? Love to your little one x
 
Yes, I will do, they're probably busy and we have had a bank holiday. I'd call down in person but the website says they're not open weekend and I work in the week.
 
Dianet said:
Yes, I will do, they're probably busy and we have had a bank holiday. I'd call down in person but the website says they're not open weekend and I work in the week.
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Have you had any luck getting Saphie a friend or getting in touch with the RSPCA?
 
rhymer said:
Have you had any luck getting Saphie a friend or getting in touch with the RSPCA?
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Hi, no luck yet but hopeful. Altrincham RSPCA did leave me a message but all the neutered boars had been reserved from their website. I have managed to find a neutered boar at Warrington Animal Welfare, but they wouldn't let him go to a home without a garden (I live in a terrace with just a yard). When I told them I also had a static caravan with a garden that I go to most weekends/holidays and the guineas all come with me, they agreed it might be ok subject to a home/caravan check. I'm going to try and nip down this weekend to fill in some forms so I'll let you know how it goes. Fingers crossed. 🤞
 
Good luck! Pippin has rejected 2 pairs of sows this week... one last try for her tonight/tomorrow.. She might want a man friend instead!
 
artcasper said:
Good luck! Pippin has rejected 2 pairs of sows this week... one last try for her tonight/tomorrow.. She might want a man friend instead!
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Aww poor Pippin, hope she finds a friend soon (male or female 😁). Saphie,s fear agressive so don't know how she will be, even with a neutered boar. She's currently running around my caravan living room at the moment so seems to have perked up a bit which is good to see. I'm still missing Pearl though 😟.
 
Hi all, great news. I took Saphie to Warrington Animal Welfare today to meet Tybalt and it went really well. Just a bit of rumble strutting and mounting each other but then settled down so I brought him home this afternoon and set up a C & C cage next to Saphies. Just let them have another meeting before bedtime and after just a short spell of sitting on each others heads and Saphie squirting pee at Tybalt for chasing her 😆, they settled down next to each other. I know its early days but I'm so happy is going better than I had hoped so far. 20190515_221900.webp
 

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Hi that’s good news for you. If you put them together, please don’t keep separating them. Each time they’re together again, they have to sort out the hierarchy again. It can be stressful for them.

If you have some hours set aside, put them together in a neutral area with no hides, a big pile of hay and veg. Make sure you clean out their cage thoroughly (no lingering scent from either). If you see they’re doing fine after some hours, you can then transfer them to the newly cleaned cage. Bear in mind the dominance display etc may go on for a couple of weeks.

The thread below is a good read.

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
 
Siikibam said:
Hi that’s good news for you. If you put them together, please don’t keep separating them. Each time they’re together again, they have to sort out the hierarchy again. It can be stressful for them.

If you have some hours set aside, put them together in a neutral area with no hides, a big pile of hay and veg. Make sure you clean out their cage thoroughly (no lingering scent from either). If you see they’re doing fine after some hours, you can then transfer them to the newly cleaned cage. Bear in mind the dominance display etc may go on for a couple of weeks.

The thread below is a good read.

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
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Hi, I didn't know I'd be bringing him home yesterday so unfortunately hadn't had the chance to thoroughly clean the cage to put them together.
The charity did advise me to put Tybalts temporary home next to Saphies cage and just put them together for a few hours a day for a couple of days. Thanks for your advice, but it is sometimes confusing as you get different advice from different people. As they seem quite happy though, I think I'll put them together in the cage today after I've thoroughly cleaned it. 😁
 
Brilliant news! So glad you got a new friend for Saphie. I agree with the advice given by @silkibam to not keep separating them.
Good luck and I'm sure you will have two very happy piggies. :yahoo:
 
How are things going, have you got them paired up yet? Oh, sorry it’s a bit early! Hope everything goes well for them today x
 
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