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Guinea pigs should never be left without a companion. If you have more than two already, if one dies it’s not essential to replace it. But you can if you want - the more the merrier, as far as the GP community is concerned!
If one of your two guinea pigs dies and for whatever reason you don’t want to get another, it's best to give your single guinea pig to a friend who already keeps guinea pigs, or, failing that, to a local pet sanctuary.
Check out the Introducing Guinea Pigs section of this guide for handy tips on getting GPs together.
Guinea pigs get very lonely, so always provide them with companions
Anyone who claims that their guinea pig doesn't enjoy the company of other guinea pigs is simply mistaken. All guinea pigs are herd animals, without exception.
When introducing new guinea pigs, it should be on a neutral territory. This means an area in which neither animal has spent a lot of time, and therefore doesn't feel territorial about. This could be a large cardboard, or an area of your house that's safe for the guinea pigs to nose around. This area should be big enough for the guinea pigs to meet without being forced too close together, as this could make them feel threatened and therefore less likely to bond.
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