Thinking of getting another guinea pig

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k33k00

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I need some advice on weather i should get another one.

My first guinea pig is a girl called Sneak, She is about 3 years and 2 months old
My second guinea was called stormy, I think she was around 2 years old when she died.

I had sneak for about 6 months and then i introduced stormy they seemed to get on all right. I have no idea how stormy died i didnt see anything obvious so I'm guessing it wasnt sneaks fault

Any way the question is am i safe introducing another baby guinea pig to sneak?

The reason i ask i have heard that there is an age limit where you can not introduce another guinea pig

I have a pretty massive cage which has only sneak in it.

If i do get another pig it will be a girl

Thank you
 
No such thing as an age limit for piggy friends:)

The best way to go about it is probably to bring Sneak with you to a rescue and let her meet a few girls and chose a friend! If you tell us where you live I'm sure someone will advice you on a nearby rescue!
 
Hi! There is no age limit, especially with sows. You can try and bond them with either sows or neutered boars of any age.

The best way is to find a reputable rescue where you can take Sneak and let her choose a new friend for herself. I have done that twice, once bonding my three year old "widow" with another sow of exactly the same age, and once bonding a 3 1/2 year old sow with a 12 month old neutered male. Both relationships were very loving, even though we were always coming away with a big surprise and not the expected piggy!

Whereabouts are you? It pays if you can ring around all the rescues within your reach, so you can start with the one that has the biggest selection of "candidates". Not all rescues will allow you to bring your guinea pig, so it is useful to ask first.

There is a direct link to the rehome.org.uk website at the bottom of the page. They have a list of guinea pig rescues in Britain. Here is the direct link: http://www.guineapigrehome.org.uk/gp/centres.asp

The other possibility is to post for a friend for Sneak in our "rescue - wanted" section. Please state your area, so that rescues that are rehoming in your region can contact you.
 
I'm in Newcastle under Lyme,

Should she be all right with a very young guinea pig?

And the guinea pigs that have been given to rescue centers, don't they usually have problems? such as aggressiveness and so on.
Dont mean to offend its just the only rescued guineas ive seen are at pets at home and they say they were bitey so the owners couldnt look after them
 
k33k00 said:
I'm in Newcastle under Lyme,

Should she be all right with a very young guinea pig?

And the guinea pigs that have been given to rescue centers, don't they usually have problems? such as aggressiveness and so on.
Dont mean to offend its just the only rescued guineas ive seen are at pets at home and they say they were bitey so the owners couldnt look after them
Click to expand...

Sadly, it is one of those myths that rescue piggies are aggressive and damaged... malletheadmalletheadmallethead

UNLIKE pet shop pets, you will get a guaranteed healthy, properly sexed, non-pregnant and well looked after piggy that HAS been handled! You will also get support and advice from the rescue during the settling in period.

Yes, there are problematic animals, but those won't be rehomed unless it is to very experienced and trusted people. Neither will guinea pigs in need of constant medical care; all these guinea pigs usually become sponsor piggies at a rescue and will stay there in good care for the rest of their lives.

I can really recommend that you contact this rescue; the lady in question is active on here and I can vouch for her:
http://www.northeastguineapigrescue.co.uk/

PS: All my lovely piggies in my avatar are rehomed from rescues - would you have thought that?
Some were real rescues from bad places, a couple unloved children's pets, two were breeder's "extras" and one was born at the rescue from a sow that was pregnant when rescued; another two had to be given up due to circumstances. As you can see there is a real diversity of reasons that bring guinea pigs to a rescue, not all of them are necessarily mistreated or neglected!
 
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Rescued pigs are NOT damaged goods and most rescues who have piggies with behavioural problems will tell you about them or they will go into foster care for rehabilitation before being rehomed. Rescue piggies can be and often are more affectionate then pet shop piggies. You will gets loads of good advice and know that you are not helping the pet trade breed more piggies by going to a rescue. Rescues also likely to have a range of ages so that you could if you wanted get a piggy the same age as your sow or a younger sow or neutered boar. They will probably help you bond your piggy family for you aswell.

all 3 of my piggies are rescue and none of them have issues, everyone says how confident and inquisitive they are!

Piggies in rescue centres come from all sorts of places from the uninformed who have had accidental litters, people with ill health, people who children don't want them any more and cruelty cases.
 
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I will definately take this into consideration i have found 1 or 2 rescue centers that are quite local so i may give them a ring. Thanks for the answers. I will also take a look at the pets at home pigs that have returned for some reason or another.

Thanks much
 
k33k00 said:
I will definately take this into consideration i have found 1 or 2 rescue centers that are quite local so i may give them a ring. Thanks for the answers. I will also take a look at the pets at home pigs that have returned for some reason or another.

Thanks much
Click to expand...

Please be aware that pets@home piggies are often piggies that are to old to be bred or haven't sold normally or are pets with problems - they fit far more your idea of what a rescue piggy is like. I won't say that these animals do not need a loving home like "proper" rescue piggies, but you do NOT know what you may get with them if that is a major consideration with you.
 
Oh right, I went up to pets at home last night, they didnt have any guinea pigs at all. i've been looking around today and have found two nice Abyssinian guinea pigs, do you think it would be ok mixing both of them with my normal short haired one
 
Look at my avatar - my piggies of five different breeds (including aby and smooth) do all live in one big group. A piggy of whatever breed is still a guinea pig as far as other guinea pigs are concerned.

Here is a thread with tips about introductions:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38562

Haven't you found any suitable piggies in your local rescues?

PS: We have had so many girls from pet shops being pregnant when bought, so better make sure that your piggies have been properly sexed and separated AT ALL TIMES from the breeders via transport to the shop! I started my piggy life as a pet shop piggy granny as well.
 
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I'm not getting them from a pet shop now, my dads neighbors are trying to get rid of theirs so i'm going to take sneak around soon to see how she reacts
 
Good! Please follow the tips of the introductions - guinea pigs can react aggressive towards an intruder in their territory; let them meet somewhere that is nopigs territory and you'll get a better response! Best of luck!
 
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