If you are wondering if guinea pigs can live alone happily or you are just wondering what the signs of a lonely guinea pig are, we gathered the most useful tips on how to keep a single guinea pig happy and on what signs to look for if you want to avoid the unfortunate situation where the remaining guinea pig dies of loneliness.

If you have also been wondering if it is ok for your guinea pig to sleep with you, or if male guinea pigs can live together, this article will give you some much-needed answers.

Guinea Pigs Can Live Alone – Truth or Myth?

The truth is that guinea pigs need to be kept with at least one other guinea pig unless otherwise advised by the veterinarian. Clinical animal behaviorists may also advise keeping your guinea pig in a special environment, based on the needs of your pet. Instead of living alone, guinea pigs thrive when living with at least one other guinea pig.

Ideally, your guinea pig should be kept in the same environment with a neutered male or one or more females. Two female guinea pigs also live well together, as is the case for neutered brothers, but the latter is only recommended if the guinea pigs have been raised together.

Male guinea pigs can live well together, but only if provided with good care and plenty of space, and only if no female guinea pig is living in the same cage, or proximity to their cage. Male guinea pigs getting along with one another also boils down to the animals’ individual personalities.

Even if they love to have companions, guinea pigs need places to escape from others when they feel like it, so make sure there are enough resources for all the guinea pigs that are living together. This means providing them with plenty of food and water, as well as shelter spaces and hiding spots. Otherwise, guinea pigs may resort to bullying others when they are stressed because their needs are not being met. 

How to Make Your Guinea Pig Happy without a Second Guinea Pig?

If you need to keep your guinea pig alone, an essential aspect for it to be living alone happily is the way you handle them from an early age. If you provide your guinea pig with perpetual human companionship and you interact with it every day, from a young age, they will learn to value your presence and see you as a friend.

Otherwise, the guinea pig will develop symptoms of distress, when exposed to human contact, such as trying to run away and hide or be overly aggressive and fearful. 

Besides human companionship, to make your guinea pig happy without bringing a second guinea pig, you need to make sure your pet has enough safe toys to play with and chew, as well as hiding places, where your guinea pig can escape stressful factors and things that scare them. Also, make sure that your guinea pig has the chance to exercise frequently. A fit and a healthy guinea pig is a happy one. 

Other Ways to Make Your Guinea Pig Happy when Living Alone

• Keep ping pong balls in its enclosure, as they are fun to chase and chew for guinea pigs. Provide it with wooden structures to explore and a lot of things to chew.
• Since guinea pigs enjoy the outdoors, you could take it out to the garden while you are working with plants. Make sure that it does not have a way to escape through the gates of your garden, and also keep an eye on it if you have any poisonous plants around your garden.
• Do not keep it in a cage all the time. Allowing your guinea pig to explore safe spaces in your house is a great way to avoid boredom when it lives without other guinea pigs. Always make sure it has a cardboard box around to hide in if it feels overwhelmed with the new environment.
• Spend at least 2 hours of quality time with your guinea pig every day, so that it does not suffer from loneliness while not having other cage mates. Half hour play periods that add up to at least 2 hours daily are enough to keep your guinea pig happy while living alone. Of course, the more people that get to play with it, the merrier, so encourage all your loved ones to spend time playing with the guinea pig to prevent it from feeling lonely.

But how do you know if your guinea pig is lonely? Read on to discover tell-tale signs that a guinea pig is suffering as a result of living alone.

Signs of a Lonely Guinea Pig

• If your guinea pig lives alone, you need to be very observant when it comes to its behaviour.
  
  
• When your guinea pig suddenly shows signs of fear or stress, it could be injured, distressed, or bored and lonely. Of course, signs that your guinea pig is lonely may vary based on its age and personality.
  
  
• If it suddenly becomes aggressive or hides more than usual, it might be worth checking in with a vet or a clinical animal behaviorist.
  
  
• Other signs that might indicate that the guinea pig is feeling lonely and distressed include over-grooming, changes in feeding and drinking habits or alterations of toileting habits, a tendency towards chewing cage bars and nervously playing with food bowls and water bottles, as well as a change in posture, such as sitting hunched and not wanted to move.
  
  
• If you see your guinea pig circling the enclosure repeatedly, especially if it is not something it usually does, you might also want to check in with the vet.
  
  
• Fidgeting, in the form of rapid head movement, is a sign that you should especially pay attention to. It means your guinea pig is uncomfortable or scared.
  
  
• A lack of energy and lack of interest in food or play is also a tell-tale sign of depression in guinea pigs.
  
  
• Sudden weight loss or weight gain is another sign that your guinea pig is feeling lonely. Losing interest in food is a common sign of a stressed and isolated guinea pig. Not playing enough and not having friends to interact with may result in your guinea pig not being active enough, which leads to putting on some weight due to sedentarism.
  
  
• If your guinea pig shows signs of feeling cold, it is probably because without any cage mates to huddle together for warmth, a cold environment is less comfortable. You should be careful not to expose your guinea pig to cold temperatures, especially if it is living alone, since they are prone to upper respiratory problems.

Other Questions

Is It OK to Have just One Guinea Pig? 

It is ok to have just one guinea pig, but only if you intend to dedicate at least 2 hours entertaining it every day. Otherwise, guinea pigs love the company of cage mates and may end up showing abnormal behaviour if they feel lonely. Guinea pigs can live alone, but they require more attention, as they will lack friends to play with.

If they are not raised with constant human companionship, they may find it distressing when they end up alone and forced to interact with humans. Guinea pigs are social animals, and they will need companionship more than anything else.

Take into account the fact that guinea pigs groom each other and really appreciate the company of other guinea pigs, so their behaviour may change drastically if you only get one and not provide it with proper stimulation and interaction.

Can Guinea Pigs Live Alone after One of Them Dies? 

If you have two guinea pigs and one of them dies, the remaining guinea pig will certainly show signs of loneliness, unless you provide it with proper companionship. You should be aware that sadly, guinea pigs can die of loneliness, because they are social animals, and they flourish on interaction with cage mates.

Without external motivation and signs of affection from companions, a single guinea pig will get lonely and depressed. This could lead to it getting sick and literally dying of loneliness.

That being said, the kindest thing to do if the partner of a guinea pig dies, is to either get it another companion or give the remaining guinea pig to someone who already has other guinea pigs for it to live happily with. The latter applies if you do not wish to get another guinea pig after the first one died.

Can My Guinea Pig Sleep with Me? 

Have you ever wondered what does it mean when your guinea pig falls asleep on you and if it is ok for a guinea pig to sleep with you?

The answer to these questions will make you both swoon and be wary of this habit at the same time. Why?

The good news is that if your guinea pig is relaxed around you and wants to curl up and cuddle, and then falls asleep on you, it means that your pet loves you and it trusts you entirely, which is pretty great if you consider that guinea pigs are usually anxious creatures. The bad news, however, is related to the behaviour and habits of guinea pigs. 

First of all, guinea pigs pee and poop a lot. So, if it sits in your bed for a couple of hours, chances are you will end up with guinea pig faeces all over. Second, you wish your pet to be safe at all times, don’t you? If this is the case, you should think twice about letting it sleep with you, since you could easily move around in your sleep and hurt your guinea pig.

Last, but not least, you might not get the most restful sleep with your guinea pig around, because they are active during the night and they will require food and water, thus making noises and disturbing you all night long. So, the right question is not if your guinea pig can sleep with you, but rather if you really want it to, knowing all these delightful facts about your pet?