I had 2 guinea pigs for about 3 years,and one just died what should I do?

Question

First I had one guinea pig that I got from the SPCA Wild Life Care Center his name was Henry 2 years later I got a female guinea pig named Angelica. I got Henry spayed or fixed whatever. I have had Henry for about 3 years and Angelica for 1 1/2 years. I got them both at at an adult age, never knew their REAL age but they were deff adult fully grown. Iv brought them to the vet. Very healthy.. So they been together for a year and a half got along perfectly. until Henry died. I never played with them because I had no time so they had each other. Will Angelica the one thats still alive become depressed of being lonely? Should I play with her more? How do I play with her ? I DONT HAVE MUCH MONEY to spend on them besides food and bedding.

Answer 1

sell it. I mean it's sad but it's either your life or a Guinea Pig.

Answer 2

Bring it to a vet see what they would say.

Answer 3

get another pig

she might die of lonliness

and try to give them more cuddles

Answer 4

You have a few options. The most common one is to buy yourself a new, adult guinea pig. Get a different cage and put them together, Angelica will probably forget about the one that passed. Another thing I did once was change the cage. I got a whole new cage, changed the colors and the structure, it took my guinea pigs mind off the deceased guinea pig. If you don't have time for those, you should probably give it away, I suppose. But I would try the first two.

Answer 5

Yes you should play with her alot more and/or get her a friend.

"playing" is just getting her out and spending time with your guinea pig. Scratch her under the chin and give her treats and stuff. Sit with her on your lap and quietly talk to her and stroke her gently.

But whatever you do, you need to spend as much time as you can to your guinea pigs. And sometimes you just want to be doing something else like watching tv and stuff, but your guinea pig will be much happier and healthier if you just spend time and play with her.

I would get her another friend if it was me+ play with them alot (getting her a friend is no excuse not to play with her-by the way)

Hope this helps

Good luck

Answer 6

You should definitely find more time to play with her.  Try having her sit on your lap while you feed her veggies to make her comfortable.  Eventually, she may be able to sit with you while you do other things like watch tv.

I also find that the little interactions during the day mean a lot.  So, the quick look of happiness when I top up the hay.  Or, the noises every time I open the fridge.  I'll give Timothy little cheek rubs when I feed him a bit of fruit, or whatever I had that he wanted.

While they are social animals it sounds like you're not in a position to take on more pets right now.  If you don't have money to cover expensive vet bills then definitely don't get another guinea pig.  Just spend plenty of time with Angelica and it should be fine.

Please don't buy an exercise ball or wheel.  I know these are sold in pet stores but they are actually very dangerous.  Guinea pigs have a rigid spine (unlike a hamster) and they aren't designed to bend in the way that is necessary to run in a wheel or a ball.

Answer 7

Has she been acting lonely?  If she is not acting lonely, then she will do fine on her own.  If she is looking lonely or depressed, I would play with her a little bit more.  You can make a play pen for her out of anything that can enclose an area-like some books.  If you can, get a wide tube that is big enough for her to crawl through.  If you cannot get one, then you can make a maze for her out of paper towel tubes and toilet paper tubes.  You do not put her THROUGH the tubes.  You can put make a maze and leave a space between them that is big enough for her to crawl through and have her go through the maze.  And if you do not want to do that, then is it possible for you to let her roam around outside for a short period of time with you watching her?  And be sure when you take her outside, do not let her eat any fertilized flowers.  I hope this helps.

Answer 8

Sometimes guinea pigs do seem depressed after the death of a cagemate. There is definitely a noticeable difference in the behavior of guinea pigs living on their own (either if they were always alone or if they lost a cagemate) and guinea pigs living in groups. Guinea pigs are happiest when they have at least one other pig around.

I got my first pair of guinea pigs as adults from a rescue group years ago. When the first one died, I almost immediately got the survivor a new companion. When the older pig eventually died, I was in the middle of a move and couldn't get another pig for a while. The surviving pig became noticeable less active and less outgoing while she was alone. I adopted two more pigs about 6 months ago, and now all three of them are very happy and active. She's definitely perked up with new friends.

So, if you are planning on keeping guinea pigs into the future, I'd definitely recommend getting Angelica a friend. If you want to avoid the "one pig dies, get a replacement to keep the other one company" cycle, you might want to consider getting two pigs that are the same age so that even if they outlive Angelica, they will probably both live around the same amount of time.

If you aren't interested in getting more pigs, give Angelica more attention and more out-of-cage time. It's not really a substitute for a new cagemate or two, but it's better than nothing. It doesn't need to be a lot of work or time - you can multi-task, hold her on your lap while you use the computer or watch TV. It's better than leaving her in her cage alone all day.

Answer 9

It sounds like you don't have enough money to take anyone to the vet anyway, which is irresponsible, so I'd rehome her with someone who can get her a same s*x cagemate.

Edit: Please do NOT buy her a run about ball as someone in the answers suggested. Balls and wheels are /not/ for animals like guinea pigs. They will injure themselves in them.

Answer 10

there life span is about 3 to 5 years

Answer 11

She will need some attention and you willl end up either buying another one or playing with her yes.

and all you have to do is you can buy her a plastic ball that is meant for bigger animals at your local pet store and then put in there and let her run around in it.

or if you let her run around your bed room while you are in there and you sit by her she will like that.

or you can by a littlle fence thing and you can make a square of it and put it up and put her in it and that way she has a little space to run.

or you can by her some small animal toys for her and play with her with them.

Answer 12

I think you should go and adopt another companion for her.

She will get very lonely on her own.