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How Many? Importance of guinea pigs having a buddy?

arionat799

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 24, 2011
Messages
1,144
Why do guinea pigs need to have companions? Links are appreciated. Thanks :)

Also, if anyone has any testimonials/stories about how much happier their pig was with a friend, I;d love to hear them. Also any pigtures of two pigs snuggling/videos of them playing, etc. Thanks :)
 
[GuineaPigCages.com] Importance of guinea pigs having a buddy?[GuineaPigCages.com] Importance of guinea pigs having a buddy?[GuineaPigCages.com] Importance of guinea pigs having a buddy?[GuineaPigCages.com] Importance of guinea pigs having a buddy?[GuineaPigCages.com] Importance of guinea pigs having a buddy?

i got elliot, the black guinea pig, last february. she was a single pig until i moved out of the house in august.

when i got obcy, i kept her separate from elliot for a bit as a safety precaution. obcy hardly ate and she was extremely fearful when i first got her. it took her a long time to venture from the hut to eat pellets and she wouldn't touch veggies. i worried for her and i had a feeling she wasn't going to make it, because i never witnessed her eat or drink.

i eventually introduced my pigs in my living room. i plopped obcy on one side and elliot on the other. i allowed them to find each other. obcy hardly moved, slowly walking and showing quite a bit of fear of her surroundings. elliot ran around as usual.

when they finally found each other, they sniffed and obcy became a TOTALLY different pig. she popcorned and ran around and followed elliot everywhere. it was as if they had been buddies all of their lives and obcy had no fears anymore. she was also eating and drinking a lot more.

elliot also became more active and vocal. she was already pretty vocal, but she was more so after meeting obcy.

obcy never wheeked when i first got her, but eventually she "learned." the very first time she wheeked was so weird and somewhat worrisome- no noise came out, it was just air. over time she added noise with the wheek and now she wheeks normally. i'm not entirely sure if she learned it from elliot or what, but i guess it sort of proves they learn from each other and need a buddy.

whenever the pigs separate from each other, they frantically wheek and run around until they meet up again. then they calm down as if, "phew, i found you." obcy used to show a lot of anxiety when elliot ventured away from her.

here are some videos of them:
(broken link removed) (eating)
(broken link removed) (lately they have been cuddling and sleeping together. they're in a temporary and smaller cage for the time being.)

i'd provide you with links but i'm sure someone may have beat me to it as i typed up this post.
 
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They are naturally herd animals and need a buddy to keep from being lonely and getting depressed.
 
Thanks Kieri, those pics and videos were very cute, and that story really makes me want to get Ging a friend:)
 
Btw, it's not that i don't want to get her a friend. I know the importance of it, but I still need approval from my Dad.
 
i know where you're coming from!

no matter how much i told my dad guinea pigs need friends, he didn't care and he would tell me no. i had to wait until i moved out to get another guinea pig.

if you can't get another friend yet, don't worry. give your pig loads of love and attention and interaction and ging should be okay! :)

elliot did okay without a buddy, but now that she's had obcy for several months, i don't think she would do very well should obcy pass away. also, elliot had the personality to be okay. i know obcy wouldn't have been okay as a single pig.

feel free to let your dad read my story if you think that'll help! also let him know the cost of one guinea pig compared to two hasn't been much of a difference at all. granted vet bills may be a bit more, but food, bedding (especially fleece), etc. hasn't really changed at all. if anything, there's more poop to sweep up every day, but it takes only a few seconds to clean it up.
 
When we got our two piggies we were only lookin to adopt one female. But we got two male brothers. I didn't know the importance of the Hurd. I'm so glad we got the two babies... They get along great and it's fun to see there different personalities.
 
Obviously case studies have shown time and time again that guinea pigs thrive in groups. Just because you only have one piggie, however, you shouldn't feel like you are doing something wrong. If you are a dependant and your parents say absolutely only one guinea pig, then there is not much you can do besides periodically revisiting the question. Before I got my group of 4 piggies, I adopted a single adult male named Bruce. He was old enough that I didn't want to put him through a neuter surgery, and he absolutely hated sharing his space (I tried). He still enjoyed tons of lap time, fresh veggies, and floor time, and his sounds made it very obvious that he was quite happy. What I'm saying is that, while two piggies is better than one, one piggie with a fantastic owner is better than none!
 
Last year around this time I brought home Huey and found out that he should have a friend. Along came Roger and then all of a sudden Huey started gaining weight:eye-poppi! Of course I had just taken the word of the people they came from and had no clue if Huey might be a girl. After several attempts (I was terrified of harming babies if there were any) I finaly discovered that Huey was in fact a boy and had only gained weight because he now had a buddy! Then along came puberty and a divider had to be installed. The boys appeared happy socializing through the grids but after a few months moved back in together (they only snuggle like this when I'm with them)

Well then in the fall Sheldon and Winston needed homes so after double checking they were boys:p I now have a little herd. Sheldon didn't make noise when he first arrived and was a very tense piggy. After querantine all 4 boys lived together for a few weeks but fighting broke out. After trying several different combinations Sheldon and Roger each have their own section at one end(2x5 for each of them) and Winston and Huey live together in the other end(4x4).
All the boys can still socialize with each other without biting! While I like to believe that they would just be happy to have a great home and loving care, they do enjoy having the other guys around.
 
Is it possible to introduce a 3 year old male to a buddy? I think he could use a friend.
 
https://www.guinealynx.info/companionship.html
Guinea Pigs Social Life

The first link mainly talks about the importance of having two and the second one talks about cage space, additional costs, how to make it work with them, etc. Also they have an introduction section for when you are ready to. I recommend taking some of this info to your dad. Also if he doesn't believe it google if guinea pigs need a friend while he is watching. Almost every site (not comments on forums) will say guinea pigs need a friend. Hope this helps!
 
Thanks everyone! It all really helped. I just got Ginger this Christmas, (her food,cage,etc. I got her 12/27 lol) and my birthday is in the Summer, so maybe that'd be a better time to revisit the topic. Thanks! For now, I am giving Ginger lots of love and extra floor and lap time. :)
 
Is it possible to introduce a 3 year old male to a buddy? I think he could use a friend.

Yes, I am pretty sure you can introduce any age any gender guinea pig to a buddy :) I would highly recommend it, because I know that guinea pigs need buddies. If you do, please share some stories and the difference! :)
 
So cute!! lol


Last year around this time I brought home Huey and found out that he should have a friend. Along came Roger and then all of a sudden Huey started gaining weight:eye-poppi! Of course I had just taken the word of the people they came from and had no clue if Huey might be a girl. After several attempts (I was terrified of harming babies if there were any) I finaly discovered that Huey was in fact a boy and had only gained weight because he now had a buddy! Then along came puberty and a divider had to be installed. The boys appeared happy socializing through the grids but after a few months moved back in together (they only snuggle like this when I'm with them)

Well then in the fall Sheldon and Winston needed homes so after double checking they were boys:p I now have a little herd. Sheldon didn't make noise when he first arrived and was a very tense piggy. After querantine all 4 boys lived together for a few weeks but fighting broke out. After trying several different combinations Sheldon and Roger each have their own section at one end(2x5 for each of them) and Winston and Huey live together in the other end(4x4).
All the boys can still socialize with each other without biting! While I like to believe that they would just be happy to have a great home and loving care, they do enjoy having the other guys around.
 
So I'm starting a little slideshow/presentation for my dad to see why Ginger needs a buddy, how little change there will be in cost, how much change there will be in her, etc. Any help or things I need to include? Pics and Vids are really appreciated.
 
I felt the need to revive this thread to give it an update. I spoke to my father a few nights ago about adopting another pig, and he finally gave me a reason for not wanting me to get Ginger a buddy. He said that I haven't had Ginger for a year yet, so I should wait. However, I told him that that really doesn't matter, because I obviously take good care of her, and I know everything i need to do to be a good guinea pig owner.

He had no response.

About a week ago, when I brought the subject up, he said that we would talk more when we moved back in. You see, my Grandfather is a contractor and my Dad has helped him on many jobs, so they have been doing some tuff to my house. Therfore, right now we are living with my Grandparents. But, the good news is, we will be moving back in on Sunday!

The point is, a week ago, my Dad said that there was just to much chaos going on with the house being done and us being at my grandparents' house. So he said that we would talk about it more when we moved back in. (That other talk we had I had just happened to catch him in a good mood lol)

So, I have put together a powerpoint presentation to show my Dad, and I have studied all of the guinea pig companionship pages I can find. After we are all settled in the house again, I will give him the presentation.

Any tips? More pigtures, etc. are much appreciated :)

Thanks!
 
I'm disapointed to see the ball was dropped on this thread. What happened? Do you have a new guinea pig now? I hope you see this message, cause I'd really like to know if you succeeded. As a helpful tip, catching parents in a good mood is always a great place to start! (I don't have parents to worry about, as next year I'll be 3 decades- old! but I'd still like to know if you succeeded.)
 
I thought my previous post made it really clear. I am still looking to get her a friend, and my Dad said that I haven't had Ginger long enough, but I gave a good arguement that he couldn't respond to. He said that we'd talk more about it when we move back into the house. I'm asking for tips on giving the presentation. :)
 
Newbie dumb dumb mistake! Run and hide!

So sorry. I looked at your join date and thought, "it's been that long since the last post?"

Sorry, I'm still learning how to read (details) on posts here. :( I've only been here a couple of days.
 
I found this very pathetic movie on You Tube the other day. From all appearances, this owner doesn't know what they're doing with guinea pigs. They were trying to figure out why their piggy was sad. It's called "I'm worried about my guinea pig."

im worried about my guinea pig :( - YouTube

Use your best judgement on whether or not you use this. You want to present him with the facts, not over dramatize (that won't win big points), but this is how sad a guinea pig can be without a friend.

Good luck with your presentation. I hope it's a smashing success!
 
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