Grieving?

Question
I lost one of my little buddies on Thursday.(respiratory infection) For me it was extra sad because our vet thought he might make it.

His bunk buddy has seemed to be extra sad. Low interest in favorite foods, staying inside his twigloo almost all of the time, and he's listless. From my reading I had understood that within a short period of time any grieving would pass.

My questions are as follows: a)after what period of time should I be concerned if he doesn't perk up a bit b)is there anything I can do as far as extra playtime or anything else to get a little bounce back in his step and c)is there a consensus on getting him a new roommate?

He's about 13 months old and they were brought home together.

Thank you in advance very kindly for your help.

Answer
Most pigs will bounce back after a day or two. I would worry more about whether the remaining buddy is also ill rather than listless from grieving. Animals don't spend the kind of time we humans do when there is a loss.  This is probably more an instinct of nature than a lack of feelings.

In the wild when a herd member dies the remaining herd must go forward or they become susceptible to predators who would take advantage of their lack of attention to their surroundings. Even mother guinea pigs do not display signs of grief over a lost pup. They concentrate their efforts on the live babies and quickly put the death aside.

As humans we can't help but try to assign human emotions such as grief on our pets. The reality is that they don't share our deeper and longer lasting emotions such as grief or sorrow. Neither to they feel sorry for themselves when they're faced with a disability. They simply accept life as it is given to them and they move forward. That's a survival mechanism.

Holding the little guy and playing with him more often will certainly do both of you more good. Extra little goodies such as melons or parsley are always appreciated. But as far as him remaining unwilling to eat I more strongly suspect this might be something other than a grieving buddy.

Trying to find the reason for sudden illness or death in cavies is extremely difficult. They don't show signs of illness until it's almost too late. I share your concern and feeling of loss in losing a pet. It's a painful time and there just isn't any quick and easy way to deal with it. It's that part of life that we all hate but are helpless to prevent it.