Want a Guinea Pig(s) Should I get a friend for our male piggie?

[mackwolfe]

We have one male pig, he is right about 3 years old. Sadly, when we got him we truly didn't know much about giunea pig care and the importance of them having a cage mate. Recently my son and I have been trying to learn more about them to give our little guy a happier life. I just wondered with him being a male and alone now for 3 years, is it a bad idea to introduce him to a friend? He is definitely not aggressive (to us) but still a little skiddish.

 

[CavyMama]

Males can be tricky to successfully pair. The success depends on the personalities of the pigs, doing intros properly and making sure the cage is large enough - especially with males.

 

[mackwolfe]

So would you recommend at this point we let him stay alone or try to match him up? And if we try to match, how does one go about that? (assuming we get another and then they don't do well together )

 

[Icarus_Hermes]

I would recommend trying to match him. Osiris was about 2 when I adopted him. He was previously a solo pig and got along great with my prior male. My new pig Anubis is 4 and also previously a solo male pig. He and Osiris are getting along great. Lots of rescues let you do meet-and-greets to help find the right buddy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mackwolfe]

thank you for sharing, that makes me feel a little more optimistic! I need to see if I can find a rescue in my area.

 

[Comely Guineas]

Yes you can get a friend for your pig. My male was 4 years old and alone for most of his life before I decided to get him a 5 year old buddy. The most important things you need to consider is whether you have a large enough cage. It should be 2x6 or larger as males tend to fight over territory. Also if you're expecting them to become lovey dovey and cuddle eachother, then try to change that and realise they might just tolerate eachother, and you will hear a lot of teeth chattering and mounting behaviour. But of course, every pig is different with different personalities. I do think you should look into getting him a friend though as every piggy deserves a friend of their kind. Just do introductions properly, https://guinea-pigs.livejournal.com/3002707.html and ask the shelter if you can trial a few of their pigs to find a match before taking them home just in case.

My male seemed like he was pretty happy alone, but I got him a friend anyway. He did seem to enjoy his company, however he would always mount him and show dominance over him, which was fine as well. The new buddy passed away recently, and my original male seems unaffected, still happy and healthy. So I decided he's fine alone for now. Good luck.

 

[pigmommy89]

@mackwolfe Where are you located? Not your address but city/state. We might be able to point you toward a good rescue.

 

[mackwolfe]

@mackwolfe Where are you located? Not your address but city/state. We might be able to point you toward a good rescue.

would love that, I haven't had luck finding any rescues so far. I'm in Birmingham, Al

 

[Rywen]

It looks like there's a ferret rescue that has other small pets, you could reach out to them: (broken link removed)
Your local humane society website lists a price for Guinea pig adoption, so they must have piggies sometimes: https://www.adoptapet.com/adoption_rescue/71242.html
And you can look on Petfinder.com . Checking Craig's List for someone looking to rehome is also an option, just avoid Guinea pig breeders.

 

[Erin piggies]

yes! i think its a good idea but you should try and and do the introductions properly. it's always best to have 2 pigs because they are social animals.good luck!