Guinea Pig Death Leaves One Alone

Question
Very sadly, one of our guinea pigs died overnight. Eric lived with his brother, Earnest, and had been ill a few weeks ago. However, he had perked up (or so we thought), but he declined rapidly over the last 24 hours. It has all been very sad, but we are very worried about Earnest. We have spoken to someone local (Norwich, England) we trust and she suggest either getting a cagemate of similar age or bringing him indoors to be with our houserabbit, Mabel (he would remain in a separate hutch). However, we also want to keep him outdoors for a couple of weeks to enure it was not a contagious disease Eric died from. Any suggestions? I am trying to collate advice from a few sources. Any ideas on the short term and long term would be gratefully received.

Thanks

Ben  

Answer
Hello Ben,

I'm so sorry to hear of Eric's passing. I don't recommend a piggy of a similar age. Adult male piggies often have serious conflicts with other adult male piggies over dominance. Sometimes they can work it out and other times they can't and will have to be separated. A young immature male, 7 to 12 weeks old would be better. They usually are not seen as a threat to the older piggy's status and the pairing typically goes very smoothly with few dominance debates. Bringing him indoors would also be a good thing. Piggies do tend to do better inside and stay healthier. The typical flux in temperatures outside can weaken their immune systems and make getting sick easier, that coupled with the stress of mourning (piggies typically mourn friends and cagemates) could cause him to get ill. If you do decide another piggy is for you and Earnest, I definantly recommend a young boar over an adult one to make things easier. Good luck.

-kkat
www.geocities.com/abyssinianguineapigs