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If one of your guinea pigs sadly dies, leaving a single guinea pig left alone then yes, your remaining guinea pig will be very lonely and needs a companion. If you have more than two guinea pigs and one dies, then it’s not absolutely necessary to get another, but if you want to buy or adopt more then go right ahead. If one of your two guinea pigs dies and you absolutely don’t want to adopt or buy another then it would be kindest to give your remaining guinea pig to a trusted friend who already has guinea pigs, or to a local sanctuary. Guinea pigs are herd animals and don’t wish to be kept on their own, even if they don’t get on particularly well with others. If you need help or advice with grumpy guinea pigs that you’re nervous of finding a new friend for, have a look at the Introducing Guinea Pigs section for some handy tips.
Guinea pigs get very lonely
Some owners think that their guinea pig needs to be kept on their own because they don't enjoy the company of other guinea pigs. However, since guinea pigs are herd animals, this is not true. When attempting to make introductions, what some owners miss is the idea that guinea pigs get along best when they are introduced on a neutral territory. A neutral territory is an area in which neither animal has spent a lot of time, and so hasn't had a chance to explore it and mark it as its own. You can make neutral territories out of a very large, safe cardboard box with air holes, or by establishing one in a special area of your house that is safe for guinea pigs to roam around in. Make sure that this area is big enough so that they aren't forced very close together, or they could feel a little threatened and less likely to bond. Introducing the animals in areas such as these means that neither is feeling as if the other has invaded their space, which is likely to mean they get along better.
Comments
An Omleteer, 25 November 2023
My ginea pig dusty died this morning and I don’t know what to do with my other one because I have someone in the house who thinks I shouldn’t get another one because it might be young will moon is old what do I do
Cerys, 25 March 2023
so my guinea pig (Violet) died about 6 hours ago i came home and went to go give them both some apples and i found my poor one laying there obviously it just happened looked like a heart attack bless her. with my other guinea pig Ivy i hate the fact of her being alone and i'm constantly checking her every hour and it's horrible loosing one and cannot stress enough the thought of her going to as it says they can have a heart attack to stress so am i best getting another companion for her in a month or two ?
Heidi, 4 September 2022
My guinea pig is almost 5 years old. I adopted her (Tilly) and her sister (Milly) at a couple months old. When they were around one year old, one of them passed away (Milly), and my remaining piggie was very lonely. Couple weeks later I got another piggie (Billy) and they got along really well, no issues whatsoever. However, my newer girl (Billy) passed a few months ago suddenly, so Tilly was again very sad, as was I as Billy was the sweetest girl ever. Two days ago I got another guinea pig, and they aren't bonding very well. Anyone have any tips on how they can both be happy?
Sadguineaowner, 21 October 2021
One of my two guineas died this morning due to unknown causes but he was 5 years old and had quite major surgery in the past. His brother is the same age and is still healthy but I'm worried about him becoming lonely. I don't want to get another guinea pig as my future living situation is uncertain. My guineas have always been free in my quite large garden and I'm worried that if I give me remaining guinea away he might not have the same quality of life, having to spend most of his time in a cage. What should I do? I love my remaining guinea and I'm scared I might have to put him down so that his whole life is happy and he doesn't become sad.
Wendy, 14 September 2021
Iv just lost my guineapig this morning my other piggy’s looking for him how do I comfort him as he doesn’t understand .lm so sad as they are all I have left .can he live on his own .my cream will always be missed I’m just worried about peaches.after losing two dogs lost one 2014 then 2019 the hurt doesn’t go away