Hi and welcome
I am very sorry about your loss!
Here is our grieving guide, which will hopefully help you with your own loss:
Human Bereavement: Grieving, Coping and Support Links for Guinea Pig Owners and Their Children
It is very normal that you do not want to continue the jigsaw immediately after a loss.
However, guinea pigs are group animals and not wired to live on their own; they really need company and social stimulation around the clock. Your youngster is only 5 months old with another 5-6 years of a healthy life span in front.
Looking After a Bereaved Guinea Pig
Please reconsider and find her a similar aged companion so you hopefully don't have to face a loss for a few years or consider surrendering your baby to a good standard rescue with mandatory quarantine/vet care that rehomes only to welfare compatible, checked good homes. The right to company of their own kind for any group species is one of the internationally recognised five animal freedoms. Please - as much as you are hurting right now - put your little girl's needs for company before your own feelings.
Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities
Recommended and vetted good standard guinea pig rescues:
Recommended Guinea Pig Rescues
Recommended rescues in some other countries:
Guinea Lynx :: Rescue Organizations
Having the special boon of the unconditional love we can give a pet means that we have to grieve to the degree we have loved; they are the two sides of the same coin. You wouldn't grieve if you couldn't love. All interactive pets have unfortunately a much shorter life span than us; but without them our lifes would be a lot poorer. Grieving is a painful experience but like so much in life, it is also an experience that can make you stronger, emotionally more mature and understanding. It can also help to prepare you deal with the larger losses of those close to you. In this world where death usually happens behind closed doors, we do no longer have many of the social rituals and the support of a community to help us through the loss and the grieving process, which means that a pet is often the first time we are confronted with loss - and often struggle because we have to actively look for help.
You do not have to make an immediate knee jerk decision. Please think things through and decide on the option that you can live with best in the future without the bitter aftertaste of having put your own interests before any pet's needs. It is something that is ultimately harder to live with and get over in the longer term than a straightforward loss.
