Should I get another friend for my piggie?

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Harli.21

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Hi

I have two piggies, Celeste and Lilly who are not related but got on really well from the start. I had Celeste first and Lilly was added when Celeste's previous cage sister passed away. Celeste and Lilly were together for 4 years but Celeste passed away yesterday (she had a large internal tumour and thevet advised letting her go was kindest). Lilly was the dominant sister, she does nibble and head toss alot when she is being petted, I think she maybe prefers piggies to humans. She is a little subdued today, not as vocal as usual but eating normally and I am unsure whether to get her a new companion. I have never had issues introducing sows to each other before (all of them have totally accepted each other from day 1) but I am dithering about Lilly and whether she would accept a new cage sister for some reason. Not many pet shops are willing to sell single piggies (for very good reasons that I totally understand) but I am not sure if Lilly would accept a rescue adult. What do you all think? Thank you
 
Sorry I meant to add I know Lilly needs time to grieve so a new sister isn't something I am considering straight away
 
Hi
Most reputable rescues offer "dating" so the piggies can pick their own companions. They will put the girls in a neutral area together for an hour or two, and if they get along, you can bring the girl home.
There's no reason not to try, especially since she was happily bonded to your previous girl.
My girl Daisy is very dominant, and went through 3 failed bondings before finally accepting a neutered boar Oscar (which is also an option). I now have a perfectly bonded trio of two girls and a neutered male. It just comes down to their individual personalities and compatibility.
Good luck 😊
 
Thank you. There is a rescue fairly near me so I will get in touch to see if they do a dating service. I had a lovely piggie called Daisy for 9 years she was also very dominant but loved baby pigs. She had four cage sisters (one at a time not all together) and welcomed them all no trouble. When I first introduced Celeste she was very scared and hid under the hay, Daisy just laid next to her squeaking softly until she was brave enough to come out, it was lovely to watch. Daisy also preferred piggies to humans, she hated being petted or fussed over.
 
Well I checked out all the rescues near me and none have any guinea pigs. Lilly is doing OK, eating and drinking but she won‘t venture out of her hut much and she’s very quiet.
 
I'm sorry to hear that :( Is it possible to get on a waiting list at the rescues so you can get a piggy when they have one available?
 
Aw, I hope you can find her a friend. She is still pretty young. My avatar piggy passed on Monday and his wife is now alone but she’s a very old lady. Good luck.
 
I hope you can find a friend for her soon. ❤️
 
Sorry to hear about Celeste's passing. Give lily and yourself chance to grieve.
I would totally get lily a friend (or 2 that way when lily's time comes you won't be stuck with one lone pig for a while). Even if Lily doesn't like sharing a cage with the new ones living nextdoor is the next best thing.

Head toss means they don't like something. My Mia does it all the time, shes not a human pig, she prefers her own kind yet Eris, her cage mate and mum, loves a cuddle.
 
I defo think you and Lily will benefit from another piggie
Take yer time as it’s best all round
.
 
Thanks everyone. I have just been contacted by a local rescue who have been approached by someone wanting to rehome a one year old neutered boar. I don’t anything about him or why he’s being surrendered but they say they can‘t offer a dating service as such. All they can do is supervise a trial adoption. I’ve only ever introduced adult piggies to babies and I’m a bit worried as I don‘t have any way of caging them separately while they get to know each other. It would have to be a long getting to know each other meeting on neutral ground and all being well onto cage sharing. Do you think it’s worth a go?
 
I’m so sorry for your loss.

While living alongside each other for a few days before hand gives them chance to get used to each other, you never really know how it is going to go until you try the neutral territory bonding anyway. If the rescue can take him back if the bonding doesn’t work, then I would certainly give it a go.

My only question would be whether the rescue are going to carry out his two weeks quarantine before you bring him home?
 
That’s a question I would certainly be asking. Along with why he’s being given up for adoption. I have had male guinea pigs in the past and they were all lovely. My very first piggie were a gorgeous cream rex boar called Ozzpig and Taz who had really long hair that I had to brush all the time. Lilly is out of her hut a bit more today. I so miss the piggy chatter, Celeste and Lilly were always warbling at each other.
 
Well it didn’t work out. I adopted a lovely neutered boar from a rescue and they did well on neutral ground but …. Lilly really didn’t want to share her cage with him. They poor little boy couldn‘t even walk across the cage to the food bowl without her quietly tooth chattering and then she launched herself at him twice. So he went back to the rescue, but the good news is he bonded with the owner‘s single boar and will now live with him. I feel really sad that Lilly treated him so badly.
 
Harli.21 said:
Well it didn’t work out. I adopted a lovely neutered boar from a rescue and they did well on neutral ground but …. Lilly really didn’t want to share her cage with him. They poor little boy couldn‘t even walk across the cage to the food bowl without her quietly tooth chattering and then she launched herself at him twice. So he went back to the rescue, but the good news is he bonded with the owner‘s single boar and will now live with him. I feel really sad that Lilly treated him so badly.
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Lilly sounds very fear-aggressive to me; lunging is a defensive and not an aggressive behaviour.

Very sorry that they didn't gel. Been there often enough with sow of mine!
 
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