What to do?

Question
QUESTION: Hi,
One of my guinea pigs died this morning, called Bubble, shes was 3-4 years old. Problem is, she had a sister, Squeak, who has lived with her since birth and they've been through a lot together as they are rescue guineas. Squeak was very close to Bubble, and i can see already she's missing her, as she runs around squeaking for her sister.
We have 3 other guineas but these had to be seperated from Bubble and Squeak as they injured Squeak. So i can't put her with them, and i don't want to get her another friend in case she rejects it or they fight.
Currently we are keeping our eye on her, and I'm giving her tons more love and attention. Which can be hard as she's shy, and losing her sister hasn't helped. Do you have any ideas on how to occupy her? I don't want to lose her too.

Thanks In Advance

ANSWER: First of all Holly, I'm sorry to hear about Bubble. And I have to add I love the names (Bubble and Squeak).

Since Bubble was a rescue you don't really know how old she was. Often times rescues tend to understate ages to make them more adoptable. It's possibly Bubble had just reached the end of her lifespan.  Although Squeak will miss her she will not grieve as you and I would. Cavies don't handle death that way. They accept it and go forward. If Bubble was in the cage all night after she passed Squeak most likely realized that she was gone. I truly believe that helps the cagemates to move on, just as it does many other species.

If you want to introduce Squeak into the other cage you will probably have to just put her in there and see how it goes. When you say they injured her previously you don't say whether they drew blood or did they just push her around?  If there's no blood being drawn she should be okay.

As in every herd of any species there's always a "queen" in the group. Sometimes she's just such a bitchy thing she won't let others be accepted without making them submissive to her first. If that's the case pick out the one most docile of the three and put her in Squeak's pen. That minimizes the territorial dispute because they're in Squeak's territory and she doesn't have the backup of the others.

In almost every case when you add a new one to the group the new pig will get pushed around for a day or two as the others show her what the chain of command is.  Then the new girl accepts the rules and everyone does fine.

If you decide to get another pig for Squeak get a baby. They offer no threats and the elders take care of them. There is a little bit of the "don't touch that, it's mine" from the seniors but it quickly resolves and the baby automatically takes its place. Very often even a sow that's never had babies will take over the role of mom for the new baby. She'll act as though it's hers and hers alone. The new babies benefit from that nurturing.

From experience I've found that trying to gradually introduce two pigs to each other just doesn't work. They may have lived side by side for two years but the minute you put them together they start on each other. You separate them and try again the next day, same result.

Not that it's always a blood battle, just major pushing and shoving. So when I 'mix and match' my pigs (which I'm doing all the time as I wean babies or move a sow into a different cage) I just pop them in there and let them work it out. It's a rare occasion when I can't get a sow to take another roommate.

Now here's the kicker: if I have two or three sows that are just not wanting to get along at all I put a boar in the pen.  He immediately takes control of the harem and everybody behaves! Of course I only do that if I intend to have them breed. But it works every time.  

I hope this helps you a bit to make a decision as to how to handle Squeak. If you can't get her comfortably into a group she will get along by herself. It's true that cavies are herding animals and are happiest that way, but sometimes an owner can't have more than one and they manage to do very well anyway.

Please do let us know how it works out for you. We're always interested in whether or not our suggestions work.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your suggestions.
We put all 5 guineas together under a year ago now, they left Bubble alone as she was a lot bigger as they were only a few months old, Squeak however didn't like them from the start and had a go at them whenever she could. Eventually they did calm down, but as the younger ones grew in confidence, they began to 'gang-up' on Squeak. I noticed she had a red mark across her nose, so i picked her up and found a fairly deep cut which was still bleeding.
They were together a total of 3 weeks before we divided their barn with a fence.

I'll keep you updated on her. Thank you again.

Answer
My goodness, it sounds like Squeak has some 'social issues'.  Please keep me posted on whether or not she's going to get along with just one other pig in the cage or if she'll behave herself and live happily with the others.

If all else fails maybe "anger management" classes are in order for her!!