Depressed/lonely pig

[lisam]

Hi,
I have a 2 year old pig named Saturday. For the last few days, he has seemed sad/depressed.
His cage mate (who was also his father) died on Christmas Day, so he's been alone for a while. But he seemed fine up until recently. I ttok him to the vet about a week ago to make sure that he wasn't sick as well, and he's perfectly healthy. But now he mostly sits around in the corner (he used to run around a lot), he doesn't eat all of his vegetables (not even cucumber, and he used to love that) and he's far from as talkative as he used to be.
I'm thinking that he's lonely, so I should get a new piggie to keep him company. The problem is that I have no idea if he'd get along with a new one. He's quite dominant, and the only reason he tolerated his old cage mate was because he had grown up with him. They were apart for a while when Saturday was younger, for about two weeks, and it was hell getting them together again.
Because of this, I'm not sure if I should get another male pig. Do you think he'd get along better with a female? Does the age of the new one make much of a difference? Any help would be appreciated, whether it's about getting a new pig or about cheering Saturday up.

[kourt1313]

Sounds like he needs a buddy. Shelby will hide and won't do anything unless I'm in the room and there's activity (he'll be getting a friend as soon as he's over his mites though). You'd probably do well with a younger pig. If Saturday is that dominant and won't get along with a new one, keep in mind they can be kept side by side in separate cages or with a divider. As long as he has someone to chit chat with. =)

[gabby88]

I wouldn't get a female unless you are prepared to get him neutered or you'll end up with babies. You could always get a male or female and keep them separated but still able to see and smell each other. If you have a C&C cage, you could put a divider between them so they could still be together whether you get a male or female.

[dkwannabe]

We've had this problem with some of our pigs. We try pairing them and they just aren't compatible. What we do is make them a large c&c cage and put a divider in the middle--that way, they can still socialize without having to prove their dominance. If you aren't able to divide a cage, you should try a young boar.

[Alice Rose]

A younger boar would be a lot better than an older one, as the younger one will know that he's older and therefore the dominant pig so won't try to knock the balance etc =)

[lisam]

Thanks, everyone I've been looking at new piggies from a breeder close to me, and I think I've found the perfect pig. It's a black boar who will be ready to be adopted in a week. I'll let you know how it works out. Again, thanks

[Orlaith]

Hope it goes well