Another Addition?

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Big G

Big G

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi there

(before i start, i did put this post on in another area, but didnt get much of a response so i thought i'd move it)

It's been ages since i've been on here .....
Anyway, as you'll see from my new avatar, we've now bitten the bullet and got ourselves a new wee piggy. He's a wee cracker and we've called him Ernie.

I have two separate cages for them, with a new double decker one being ordered shortly.
We did our first bonding session a couple of days ago and we think it went really well. (we only let it last for about 5-10 mins)

We placed them both on an old quilt and just let them get to know one another etc.
The older piggy (Buddy) was purring and squeeking quite a lot and the little one was squeeking a wee bit.
The only panic moment we had was when Buddy actually sat right on top of Ernie (2 or 3 times) whilst purring loudly.
I was crossing everything that he wouldnt bite the wee thing but he didnt.! Phew.!

I was also a bit worried that Ernie might get squashed but he seems fine with it all.
So, they had a good little bit of bonding and are now back in their own cages. (with Buddy now squeeking like mad as if hes looking for his friend etc)

Any advice from you guys would be greatly appreciated.........
Please tell me that we're doing the right thing and that all the behaviour that we saw this morning is perfectly normal.

I've been reading up on the quarantine side of things, and we will keep them apart for roughly 2 weeks.
To be honest, it's given our older guinea pig a new lease of life. He's hyper and always looking for his friend.!

Any help / comments would be great.

Regards
G
 
It's wonderful that they seem to like each other!

The behavior displayed was normal, but please do not put your piggies together and then separate them again, as it does virtually nothing for bonding and mostly serves to stress the pigs out. I did the same thing when I was first trying to bond my two boys, but I found that it was better if I cleanly introduced them on neutral ground and then put them in their cage, and that was that.

Read this for more information on introductions:
Introducing And Re-introducing Guinea Pigs

Because you have boars, read this for additional advice:
Boars: A guide to successful companionship.

And for more information on dominance behaviors, read this:
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

Good luck!
 
I don't have any real experience with boars, only having sows myself. However, I do know that for both genders it is stressful to do off-and-on bonding where you put them together and then separate them and then put them together again. It causes them to have to restart the dominance process every time they are reintroduced. If you want them to share the new cage on order, I would wait for it to arrive, get it ready, do bonding on neutral ground, and then move both boys to the cage and let them work out their hierarchy in there. Lots of luck- love his pic in your avatar! So cute!
 
Hi

Sorry about getting back to you all, been away with work.
Many thanks for the posts and for the kind comments.

I'll review all the links tomorrow and will keep you posted on how we get on.
Only one week left of quarantine then it's show time.... :hug:
 
Hi
They did get along pretty well, but i then had to split them up as i didnt realise about the quarantine period etc.
1 week to go before they get to share a new cage! Hopefully they get along.........


Buddy (about 14 months old)
IMG_5693.webp IMG_5694.webp Ernie (only 7 weeks approx)
 
How lovely! I am rooting for you-really hope they end up getting along well. I know those boys can be quite a handful. Good luck!
 
Thanks 1GuineaPig1
Fingers crossed.
New hutch all ordered and will be here mid-week. Then another couple of days and the quarantine will be lifted.!
Better keep a hold of the old cage too..... :mal:
 
Evening folks
Well, that's them in.!! No prob's whatsoever! :P

We let them get to know each other for about an hour and then put them in their new cage.
Just a bit of deep purring and quite a fair bit of humping (from the wee one)...... :eek:
The other thing, which led to a difficult conversation with the kids, was due to the young piggy leaving a....... i think we'll call it a white deposit on the older piggy's face of all places!:mal:
I think he was excited.!

Anyway, just the odd bit of purring from the cage now, but hopefully they'll be fine.
 
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