Guinea Pig Death

[scoobysoo]

I was hoffified to find one of my guinea pigs dead in the cage yesterday. I bought 2 male siblings just over a week ago, as I was told that they needed to be kept in pairs, and now I'm concerned about the poor little piggie that's left. I got the last 2 from the same litter, and my understanding is that you cannot introduce a new male as they will fight. I don't want him to be lonely. I've thought of getting a female companion, but would have to get him neutered first, and wasn't sure at what age you can do this. I'm also slightly concerned that he may have killed his brother. Has this been heard of before? The reason I suspect this, is when I found the dead pig (who was fine the day before), he looked like he had been flattened. Any ideas? My pig is now squeaking the place down and jumping around since his brother passed away.

[bensmum]

Sorry to hear about the piggie - they can die very quickly and of unexplained reasons. I wouldn't think that the other one killed him - you would see other signs than him being flattened.
You don't say how old he is. I acquired a boy piggie a couple of years ago (he was 5 months old) and wanted to put a friend with him. The vet said that another male of around the same age should be okay but no older. I got one and after a lot of posturing and teeth chattering they got along very well. If you do this don't leave them alone from the outset - I had mine indoors where I could keep an eye on them. The other answer would be to get yours neutered and put him with a female in which case there should be absolutely no problem. Ask your vet about the best age to do this. Good luck and I hope you find a friend for him as they are very social and like company.