# Getting my guinea pig a friend?



## xprincessxgingyx (Jun 10, 2017)

Hello,
Yesterday was such an exciting day because we adopted a guinea pig. In the past I have had many small furries, chinchillas, hamsters, gerbils, etc, but I have been travelling the last few years and so have not had pets. Anyway, this little guy was up for adoption in the local [email protected] branch (I know there's lots of issues with this company and this is why we were looking in the adoption section only). Basically he had had a respiratory infection, been separated from the others for treatment and they now considered him too old to be put with the young ones they were selling. The sales assistant was generally helpful but suggested that he might be fine alone, as long as he was kept as an indoor pet, in a room with lots going on. He will be, but I have concerns about this because I have had animals that have needed to be kept in pairs before, and, when one has unfortunately died before the other, I have seen how quickly they can get depressed. I want this little guy to be as happy as possible and am thinking he will need a friend, am I right in thinking this? I'm thinking it's best, though, to leave it at least a week or so because the poor thing has been moved from his cage in the vets, to isolation, to the adoption cages, to my house in a matter of days and I think he probably needs some time without any big changes, just to feel more secure. 
If I should get him a friend, does anyone have advice on bonding them? I've only done this with gerbils before and I used a split cage method. I really need it to go well as, having come back from travelling, I live with parents and there is just practically no room to house another guinea pig separately long term, if this goes wrong. There's already 3 brothers and 2 giant breed dogs lol. Any advice would be great, and sorry for the long ramble, I just get so excited by a new pet arrival.


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## wind1 (Oct 24, 2010)

There is some very good advice on this forum re bonding. I have bonded quite a few pairs of boars in the past and only ever had one pair that did not work out. Good luck.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/forums/behaviour-and-bonding.21/


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## Squidgypigs (Jul 6, 2017)

You probably have a friend for him by now but...
with adult boars either a baby boar or much older boar companion usually works best. This ensures that they're not both having major hormonal moments at the same time.

As for bonding you need to introduce them in neutral space (so not either of their cages) with lots of room and some tasty food . Ensure they have two of everything (2 bowls etc) and any pigloos or houses have two exits so that nobody feels trapped. Separate if blood or serious injury occurs. There will be chasing and humping. Keep an eye on then during bonding and good luck .


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## tabelmabel (Oct 18, 2013)

A baby would definitely be your safest bet with an adult boar. Head over to the guinea pig forum. They will tell you all you need to know!


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