Want to buy a friend for my current guinea pig

Post Reply
robbhickey75

Post   » Sat May 18, 2019 3:00 pm


Good day. I have a male, long hair, piggy that’s 2.5years old and I want to get him a buddy. His cage is in my living room and I play with him daily and talk to him all the time so he’s super social and healthy. I don’t want them to breed so I need a male, but do I need to get a younger male or can I rescue one that’s older? I don’t want them to fight so how do I know which would be the right one? Your feedback is very much appreciated! 😁

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Sat May 18, 2019 3:46 pm


You find a reputable guinea pig rescue and ask if you can bring your current pig in for a "meet and greet." It doesn't 100% guarantee that they'll get along, but at least you'll know if they hate each other at first sight. If you google "guinea pig rescues denver" without the quotes, you'll get a bunch of hits.

If you can find a spayed sow, or if you want to neuter your pig, a male-female pairing almost always works. Just don't get an unspayed female, as pregnancy and delivery are very hard on guinea pig sows, and the death rate is high for both sow and pups.

Please don't go buy a pig to put with him. There are thousands of unwanted guinea pigs in rescues and shelters that need good homes.

However, you'll need a large cage -- two males need 10 square feet at a minimum, and more is better. And if you get another male, you WILL have some squabbling -- it just comes with the territory. But it doesn't mean they can't live together mostly peacefully, and enjoy each other's company.

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Sat May 18, 2019 8:24 pm


Some useful links as well:
https://www.guinealynx.info/companionship.html

https://www.guinealynx.info/records/viewtopic.php?t=37

https://www.guinealynx.info/housing.html

As bpatters mentioned, you'll need the largest possible cage you can manage for two males. DO quarantine any newcomer unless they have come from a reputable rescue (which is HIGHLY recommended), and DO introduce the two pigs in neutral territory. See also:

https://www.guinealynx.info/quarantine.html

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Sat May 18, 2019 8:47 pm



User avatar
Renonvsparky

Post   » Sun May 19, 2019 10:12 pm


I made the mistake that bpatters is referring to before I joined this forum and learned better. I wound up with 2 boarrs who hate each other. I have no regrets about getting either piggie as they are both sweet boys, but I am disappointed that I didn't know better than to get a buddy for my boar before finding out more about pairing guinea pigs.

TheCageCleaner

Post   » Mon May 20, 2019 7:30 am


Definitely see if you can set up a play date with a local rescue. We did this for one of our pigs after her companion passed and it was really helpful--the pig we initially came to see didn't jive with her at all, but another one did, so we took her instead.

Post Reply