Bond Old or Young?

[silverstream007]

I've posted a thread about adopting another companion for my current piggy, Sonic before. However, a new question has been lurking in my mind lately. First, allow me to explain the story. When I was about 6, my parents unknowingly bought two guinea pigs from a pet store. One developed a cancerous tumor and died. Since we knew they were herd animals, we contacted a local rescuer and adopted two more males to accompany him. The original pig was middle aged. Out of the two that we adopted, one was also middle aged and another was a tiny baby, just barely weaned. There was some fighting between the two older males so we divided the cage in half. The older ones bullied the younger one and took advantage of him. (the younger pig, by the way, was Sonic) but if we separated them, Sonic would cry for hours during the night because he was lonely, even if they only had a grid wall separating them. We were pretty much stuck. Let Sonic be harassed or let him be lonely? After a while, the older pigs passed away and Sonic was left on his own. It's been a couple years. We've been really skeptical about adopting another pig because of the terrible disaster that happened last time. It's been so long and he was only a baby back then... I have no idea how he'd react to other pigs. I don't know if he's the dominant type or anything, really. So my question is: If I choose to adopt another guinea pig, should I get one that's the same age as him or one that's older? I'd really rather get one his age so that if one pig dies, the other won't be left alone for much longer

[Duffinvt]

I'd look around for a mild mannered male the same or approx. age. Do you have a rescue nearby? We have one here in VT that has seven males, all neutered. I am sure that a reputable rescue would let you test the situation and take back a male that does not work out.