I recently lost one of my piggies (i've always had two). Heres the story. I originally bought one, Soda, and then i realized that he was lonely so the next day i went back and bought his brother, Link. They never had been separated for more than a day. Then, tragically, my little Sodapop died due to a water bottle accident (I'm going to sue the company who makes them). It was so sad and I saw Link trying to look for him and he got depressed and lonely. A few days later, I brought Link home a new playmate! Raiden! He was only about 6-8 weeks old. They loved each other and I finally saw Link cheering up. Sadly, this past saturday, my little Raiden became sick and eventually died. We tried everything and all he vets that were open at that hour didn't take Guinea Pigs. We think he was sick for a while because he always kind of acted weird, but didn't know why. I'm still grieving but I'm not sure if Link is. So, I guess i actually have two questions. 1. What are the signs of a lonely piggie? and 2. If i do get another, I'd like to adopt a spayed girl from the animal shelter but Link isn't neutered. I've been reading a lot about it (I don't want babies) and I was just wondering if it makes a difference behavioral wise if he's not neutered.
-Thanks for your answers
Answers & Comments
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I'm very sorry for your losses :( I hope you have more luck with little Link.
1. What are the signs of a lonely piggie?
Slumping around the cage, lack of food and water consumption to name a few. Some guinea pigs will deal better with loss than others. My piggie Broccoli barely worried about loosing Carrot a few months ago, but I think if it had been the other way around I may have had to get another guinea pig.
It is suggested that you should weigh a lonely piggie for a week after the death every day to make sure that the loss is not affecting him badly.
To help Link adjust to the loss, completely clean the cage and change everything around, including food times, lap times and floor times.
http://www.guinealynx.info/alone.html
2. If i do get another, I'd like to adopt a spayed girl from the animal shelter but Link isn't neutered.
Neutering male guinea pigs will not make a difference to their behaviour.
You've made a fantastic choice by staying away from awful pet stores and adopting. Good on you!
As long as at least one of the piggies is neutered (neuter is a neutral word and applies to both sexes of guinea pig) then they won't be having babies.
Neutering is a risky operation and should be avoided where possible. If you cannot find a neutered female then it would be much better to just adopt a male.
Make sure you quarantine the new guinea pig for 3 weeks. That's as long as it will take for any illness to show up. You must wash your hands and arms thoroughly and change tops between touching each pig/cage. If the new cavy is fine afterwards then you can slowly and carefully introduce them in a neutral environment, following the instructions on this page: http://www.guineatastic.com/introducingfighting.ht...
Here is some info about pet loss, it may help you:
http://www.guinealynx.info/petloss.html
1. A lonely one looks sad and just kind of mops around and isn't happy to see you and doesn't play.
2. No it doesn't really matter for them, unless you get a female then you will have babies and territory issues.
Guinea Pigs are pretty socialble animals so I would try gettting another one for it and if it dies too I think you are just having bad luck. :( Good luck!
hard step search into a search engine just that will help