Behavior Depressed? Sick? 1.5 yr old male

[onya22]

Hi,
I have one 1.5 yr old unbonded male guinea pig, rescued from a hoarding case, that I've had since March. I managed to "bond" him to my 2.5 yr old male but, with him being a teenager, that didn't work out, so I split them up after a few months. Now he's been alone for a while. There's a pig housed above him, but if I place his cage next to another cage, the rumbling and bar-chewing are constant. I'm starting to worry that he may be depressed. He is eating, but not with his usual enthusiasm. And when I let him out, he sits on the floor instead of exploring like he usually does. Could he be sick? There are no other symptoms, except that he rarely ever vocalizes. I do play with him a lot (15 minutes 3x per day or more). Should I take him to the vet? Get a piggy friend? Is this him calming down as he gets older? I'm afraid that if I try to bond him again, I'll end up with another separated pig.

Advice would be appreciated! Thank you!

ETA: He won't even squirm when I clip his nails, which is weird because he hates grooming day.

I also realized that we went away for a few days and it got SUPER HOT - talking 90+ with no AC...could that have anything to do with it?

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

First things first. Are you weighing him regularly? That will almost always be the first indication that something is wrong, other than an obvious injury.

How long has he been acting like this? The bar chewing and rumbling are completely normal when cages are side by side.

The fact that you went away for a few days and it got that hot could very well mean he's had a spell of heat stroke. You are VERY lucky it didn't kill him.

You need to weigh him regularly to start with, but just to be on the safe side I think a wellness check with a qualified cavy savvy vet would be a good place to start.

 

[onya22]

He's been like this for about 2 weeks, maybe longer. It was gradual. The pet sitter who was watching them during that period has been fired. I should definitely be weighing them, so I started a log.

Just wondering, I am happy to pay vet fees, but the quote from the place near me was $110 per pig, JUST for the booking fee, not including anything else. Does that seem right?

 

[onya22]

Called 7 places and found one that was $90 per pig, including the checkup, and actually had open appointments, so I'll be taking him to a vet soon. He's actually much better today, after being played with and held for over 3 hours yesterday! Also been playing guinea pig sound effects, which seems to help as well. I'm definitely taking him to the vet and will probably start visiting a nearby guinea pig sanctuary to find him a friend.

 

[bpatters]

See if the sanctuary will let you bring him in for a "meet and greet." That's not a guarantee that they'll actually get along when you get them home, but it greatly increases the odds that they will, and prevents you from taking home a pig that will immediately fight the old one.