April Lodge - Match Make your guinea pig

We receive many phone calls regarding recently bereaved guinea pigs. It is the natural thing for a guinea pig to have a companion and by all accounts some guineas are what can only be described as "upset" at losing their friend, in some cases not eating, facing the corner of the hutch and appearing depressed (Reminder - Illness nearly always comes across as "depression", so be careful.)

We have introduced the above facilities to combat the above problem. We normally have several single guinea pigs here, one of which we hope will make a suitable companion for your lone guinea pig.

To adopt one of our guinea pigs you need to read through the "Guide to Adoption and Care" and the re-homing policy to be found on our "Re-homing" page. Following a successful home visit, we invite you to bring your guinea pig along to make sure he/she is healthy and lice-free. You can leave your guinea pig with us for 2-4 days in which time we hope to find him a compatible companion. The cost of boarding a guinea pig which is with us for an introduction, is by donation, plus the adoption fee (if we find a suitable match). We cannot guarantee an introduction or the continuation of a successful union once you return home. We will always take the companion back if there is a problem.

In March 09 we rescued two baby guinea pigs, Sox and Toffee from a centre in Medway. For the first few months everything went well. They settled in, got used to the hutch and to us. After a while, though, Toffee started to bully Sox. At first it just looked like a tussle for dominance and Sox would often give as good as she got, but gradually it became more serious. When Toffee eventually bit Sox, we made the sad decision to separate them and return Toffee to the centre. The centre didn't have any other single females so we bought a baby from a local pet shop and tried to introduce them. Sox seemed interested in her to start with but couldn't cope when we let them both out in the run together and got very stressed and upset. Eventually she went for the baby and as the new girl was so much smaller than Sox, we thought it would be better to return her to the pet shop, give Sox some time out and try again at a later date.

We left it for a few months, Sox seemed reasonably happy as a single pig and has always been good with people so we didn't rush into anything. We came across the website for April Lodge and their match service seemed exactly what we were looking for (although all our friends found it hilarious!). We contacted Val and she told us that Sox could come and stay for a few days and she would try and match her up with another pig while she was there. If all went well we could take them both home together. Our home visit was fine so off we trekked from Tunbridge Wells to Sandwich with a Sox in a box to find her a friend.

Even then, nothing was simple! Sox had gone from bullied to bully (we think that she never really learnt how to behave with other pigs, and is probably a bit spoilt!) and Val had a rough time trying to match her up with a sweet, quiet little pig called Crumble. We had at least one email every day updating us on how the girls were doing but at one point, we're told, Sox leapt at Crumble, all four feet off the ground at once! They seemed to settle down a bit after a few days and Val said she thought they would be ok to come home with us. We set off back to Sandwich a few days before Christmas and ended up bringing them home at night in the snow!

Since then it's been hard work but worth it - finally Sox seems to be settling down and learning to share and Crumble has learnt that if she doesn't back down, Sox doesn't know what to do and will generally wander off and leave her alone. They may not be best friends yet (or maybe ever) but they are definitely improving and both seem happy. Crumble has got used to us and found her voice and they both come out squeaking into the run demanding dinner when we get home from work as loud as they can!

Hi Val
I thought you might like a quick update on Crumble and Sox. They're doing fine, Sox has a grumpy hour here and there but generally seems ok. Crumble is still very easy going apart from when it comes to food - she hounds me ALL DAY when I'm at home, squeaking at the top of her lungs whenever I walk by, open the fridge, rustle a bag... She also wont tolerate any nonsense from Sox when it comes to food and has won several arguments over apples and celery (her favourite). She's turned into a proper chunky monkey and now weights more than Sox!
Anyway, the attached pictures show that they're getting on a bit better now. The last one is the day they escaped. Being used to hamsters I panicked and thought I was going to have to spend the whole night trying to catch them. It turned out that all they'd done was to hide together underneath the hutch in a dark corner and the first rustle they thought might be food brought them both running back! Simple creatures...
I hope everything's ok at April Lodge.

Jenn x

Munchkin & Pickle

Munchkin and Pickle sharing a hutch after being introduced in a grass run. At the moment it is looking good. An email from Pickles relieved owner Kim ' There has been one long ah... from all here !!! Glad they are getting on okay. Will call you in a few days. how long do you think they need to bond?'

COMPANIONS MALE

Companions are a wonderful thing, but when guinea pigs fight it can be very distressing for all. Having male guinea pigs castrated/neutered does not guarantee they will stop fighting. A castration will mean you can pair your boy off with a female and not have any unwanted pregnancies! We get lots of calls about companions and although it is tempting to just go and buy the friendliest looking baby guinea pig you can find, PLEASE think carefully before you take the plunge. If your guinea pig is male, it can be more difficult than with a female. Guinea pigs have very different personalities. You may get lucky and find him a compatible companion straight away, but try to consider these points first.

If the proposed companion is a baby, we don’t want him to smell of his mother. He can be gently given a bath first.
Thoroughly clean your guinea pig's hutch so it doesn't smell of him. Guinea pigs do get quite territorial.
Space, space and more space is a huge advantage.
Wire divisions for both hutch and run are what we use for introductions.
Tunnels, shelves and hidey-holes can help for when the big day comes. Rub some of your guinea pigs bedding on the new companion so they both smell the same. Take the divider out of the run first, hutch last.
Two boys trying to mate? This is inevitable at first and not necessarily a problem. Fighting? This is always deemed as an incompatible introduction.
If your guinea pig is old, maybe he can spend his twilight years in an indoor cage, indoors with you. After all, YOU could be his companion, giving him lots of attention, chatter and cuddles.