We went on holiday last month and while we were away our 5.5 year old pig Wombat died a bit unexpectedly.
We've been left with his cage mate Lewis. To be honest, we didn't expect Lewis to survive - he's 6.5 years old, has a big lump on his head (that the vet says is benign) and we think he had a stroke or some other illness in October (he lost the use of one of his back legs, though that's now come back). Immediately after we came back Lewis was a bit glum, he wouldn't come out of his hiding place except to eat and was generally subdued.
Two weeks on and he's reasonably perky - he interacts with us but he doesn't move as much as he did when Wombat was around. He rarely comes out of his hiding place (as evidenced by the unusual cleanliness of the rest of the cage). He does seem relatively content, and seems happier than when he last lived alone (he had a period where he couldn't live with other pigs because he was a grumpy teenager but he seems to have settled down and has got on with every pig he's met in the last two years, including Wombat).
We're wondering what to do about getting him a new friend. Will this be too much for him? In a perfect world we'd get two more boys so that when Lewis goes we don't have to go through another bonding process but our local rescue centre has said that three boys won't go together and that Lewis is better off on his own. Does that sound right? It seems a shame that he's not himself, but it'd be a bigger shame if we got more pigs that ruined the rest of his life.
Thanks for your help.
We've been left with his cage mate Lewis. To be honest, we didn't expect Lewis to survive - he's 6.5 years old, has a big lump on his head (that the vet says is benign) and we think he had a stroke or some other illness in October (he lost the use of one of his back legs, though that's now come back). Immediately after we came back Lewis was a bit glum, he wouldn't come out of his hiding place except to eat and was generally subdued.
Two weeks on and he's reasonably perky - he interacts with us but he doesn't move as much as he did when Wombat was around. He rarely comes out of his hiding place (as evidenced by the unusual cleanliness of the rest of the cage). He does seem relatively content, and seems happier than when he last lived alone (he had a period where he couldn't live with other pigs because he was a grumpy teenager but he seems to have settled down and has got on with every pig he's met in the last two years, including Wombat).
We're wondering what to do about getting him a new friend. Will this be too much for him? In a perfect world we'd get two more boys so that when Lewis goes we don't have to go through another bonding process but our local rescue centre has said that three boys won't go together and that Lewis is better off on his own. Does that sound right? It seems a shame that he's not himself, but it'd be a bigger shame if we got more pigs that ruined the rest of his life.
Thanks for your help.