Should I Get A New Pig Or Not?

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scpiggy

scpiggy

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Since I lost my girl Sookie in January my trio of pigs became a duo. Even though they had each other Sherbet still pined for her mummy and lost quite a bit of weight because of it. That has me worried now that if I lose another one the remaining pig will pine away. Sherbet is starting to get on a bit now, she'll be five soon. It makes me sound like a terrible piggy mum to say none of the four pigs I've lost made it to their fifth birthday.
I have a 6x2 ft cage so plenty of space for a new addition or two. My only worry is money. I'm a student, barely surviving on student loan. If I got another pig and couldn't afford vet bills if they got ill I'd feel terrible. Luckily my parents are very helpful and leant me money to pay for Sookies vet bills when I couldn't pay them but I don't want to owe them any more.
I'm considering waiting until either I get a job or until one is left alone and I have to get a new pig. My only worry there is that once my parents move away in the summer it will make it harder to get to a rescue centre as I don't drive and the only other option is to have my pigs on a train or bus for an hour or 2 which wouldn't be ideal.
Sorry for the rant. Any advice on what I should do? Am I just being crazy and over worrying?
 
It's a tricky one but maybe wait? I've spent a fortune on my pigs on vet bills. If you get more have you considered insuring them? Luckily my youngest I did insure, but the oldest has cost me about £1800 so far :( I have had one piggy live until 7, like you most of mine didn't get to 5 & when her friend died just before 5 I decided not to get another as I was convinced she wouldn't live much longer either. She did though :) Not that I recommend it, but she was actually fine on her own, always being the smallest she actually put weight on & thrived & was very contented with lots of attention form us & didn't pine at all.
 
I'd say wait too. There's always unexpected vet trips with pigs, the more you have the higher the chance one will need a vet treatment
 
Thanks, I think I need a bit of convincing to wait until I have enough money to care for any additional pigs. It's very tempting to get more, especially when I look in the rehoming section on here. I should ban myself from looking at pigs up for adoption.
I certainly hope my girls live to the ripe old age of seven. My sister has a seven year old pig so I know it's a possibility but when I've lost so many so young and most of them very suddenly I worry so much about my girls.
My vets is luckily very cheap and very good quality. I only spent about £400 on Sookies treatment and that included surgery, an emergency late night visit, medication and a ton of check ups so I'm not sure if insurance worth it. How much do you pay for insurance?
 
Please don't down yourself because your piggies have died before reaching the age of 5. Since I started keeping piggies 3 years ago I've had 2 losses. The first 18 months & second under 3 years. I was really devastated by both these deaths but did everything I could to save them.

Regarding getting a new companion to join your remaining pair, I'd say the same as previous replies in wait a while yet. If you do decide to get a companion then maybe consider a younger neutered male. It would probably be a lot less stressful than adding another female to the group.
 
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What IS the average life span expected for a guinea? I've had them go on into their teens several times and thought that was normal - but perhaps it wasn't. I lost my last pair at twelve years old, sadly I lost one and like the OP couldn't bear to see her on her own and went and got a friend for her, but she then passed on too and I had to go and get a friend for the friend!
I had no idea until I read this that you could insure guinea pigs!
 
Bluebell said:
What IS the average life span expected for a guinea? I've had them go on into their teens several times and thought that was normal - but perhaps it wasn't. I lost my last pair at twelve years old, sadly I lost one and like the OP couldn't bear to see her on her own and went and got a friend for her, but she then passed on too and I had to go and get a friend for the friend!
I had no idea until I read this that you could insure guinea pigs!
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They say average of 5-8 years, but it appears that pigs do not seem to live that long these days possibly due to mass breeding etc.. My four rainbow bridge pigs lived to around 4-5 sadly
 
Briony_S said:
They say average of 5-8 years, but it appears that pigs do not seem to live that long these days possibly due to mass breeding etc.. My four rainbow bridge pigs lived to around 4-5 sadly
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Oh - I wasn't expecting that.............:(
 
The average age seems to have come down to 4-7 years. Count yourself lucky for every year over four! But don't feel bad if your piggies develop medical problems before that age or die very young from stroke/heart attack. Virtually all of us who have had a number piggies for any length of time have come up against it. The current indiscriminate mass breeding is not improving the life expectancy.

Like the others said, I would wait. We have got a good rescues locator on the top bar; they will bond bereaved piggies under expert supervision, taking character compatibility and age into account. Better put a little money aside to be able to get to one of these rescues and pay the adoption fee; these are all good standard rescues run by piggy savvy people where you do not have to worry about illness or pregnancy. That way, your remaining piggy won't be pining for long, but you can concentrate on caring for the piggies you have right now! ;)
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/pages/guinea-pig-rescue-locator/
 
Thanks for the replies, it's comforting to know I'm not the only one who's lost a lot of piggies quite young. Luckily both my girls seem happy and healthy right now
Thanks for the info Poppy'sMum with the amount I have been spending on vet bills it's probably cheaper not to insure mine. But I've seen some vets that charge an absolute fortune and when pigs have on going illnesses the vet bills can pile up so I can certainly understand why some would chose to insure.
There are some good rescues near by, it's just getting to them that's the problem. There is an RSPCA branch that would be easy to get to but I've heard some horror stories from my sister who volunteered at the RSPCA so I can't say I'd be happy going there.
If and when I get a new piggy I would definitely consider a neutered male, looking at Mr Bean in the rehoming section is one of the reasons my desire to get another pig came up. I've heard lots of people say that trios of girls are often hard to get the balance right but I've never had a problem. Either way I wouldn't introduce another pig without making sure they got along first.
 
You know mum and dad would lend you money for vet bills. A couple of years ago Charlotte, Annabelle and Lexi got sick one after the other and cost me nearly £1500. They lent me £1000 then. I would happily be a taxi service to a rescue for you, I go that far for my own pigs anyway. Don't rush it, make sure you do what is right for Sherbs. I can't believe she is that old already, she is still a baby to me, but then again so is Charlotte and she is six.
 
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