Bonding Advice!

KatieM

KatieM

Junior Guinea Pig
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Just welcomed a new boy home today….I had him in a split cage with my other boy. The new boy is very, very shy and nervous at 7 months old because of minimal socialization with pigs or humans. I’m laying down when I hear a slight disturbance from the pig cage. No crazy wheeking just running I go to check and well…my boy had broken into the side with the new boy and was chasing him around sniffing.

I separated them and am holding my boy now but shall I let them go ahead and try to bond? I was going to give new boy a couple days to decompress but my boy hasn’t had a cage mate in a few weeks he’s a bit excited it seems! I haven’t witnessed this new little guy eat or drink yet so I want to make sure I’m giving them both what they need!
 
Yes… I thought I had their divider super secure with Zip ties…my guy is not small I have no idea how he got to the other side. I can only assume manage to push the guess up a bit and go under?
 
KatieM said:
Yes… I thought I had their divider super secure with Zip ties…my guy is not small I have no idea how he got to the other side. I can only assume manage to push the guess up a bit and go under?
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Reinforced the divider and set them back in. Watching them on our camera since newcomer is scared of people. New boy (Spot) moved his hidey around the cage staying in it and eating (yay eating!), then he came out and greeted my boy and zoomed around. Retreating back to the hidey once more. Hopefully OG boy can take a chill pill and let this guy settle a bit more! He worried me busting in like that 😅
 
Glad you managed to stop the territory invasion!
Hope everyone settled down& no more escapees.

Fingers crossed all goes well when you do decide to try bonding your boys.
 
AidaB said:
Glad you managed to stop the territory invasion!
Hope everyone settled down& no more escapees.

Fingers crossed all goes well when you do decide to try bonding your boys.
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Thankfully no more escapees since! Underestimated how sneaky my older boy could be if he wanted to!

Thank you, I’m just kind of waiting and seeing how the younger guy gains confidence being around humans and pigs and hopefully I can bond them someday!
 
You can try to bond as soon as you like if either is in desperate need of company.
Ideally you would leave them side by side for a week and then carry out the bonding.

How he acts around humans or in a side by side cage is not giving any indication as to how the bonding will go.
Side by side is merely so the new piggy can settle in and then so they can get used to each other before bonding day
 
Piggies&buns said:
You can try to bond as soon as you like if either is in desperate need of company.
Ideally you would leave them side by side for a week and then carry out the bonding.

How he acts around humans or in a side by side cage is not giving any indication as to how the bonding will go.
Side by side is merely so the new piggy can settle in and then so they can get used to each other before bonding day
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Thank you! I guess I could say I’m waiting for him to settle in more than I am to gain confidence. My boy is more than ready for company but he’s the most social pig I’ve ever met so I’m not surprised 😅 The new pig came from a hoarding case with wounds on his back end from letting bigger pigs bite him (he was a baby at the time and they lived in a tiny cage, no surprise) so I want to make sure he feels secure!
They are still both very interested in meeting eachother so I’m going to start cleaning some two exit hides and getting ready for the big day!
 
KatieM said:
Thank you! I guess I could say I’m waiting for him to settle in more than I am to gain confidence. My boy is more than ready for company but he’s the most social pig I’ve ever met so I’m not surprised 😅 The new pig came from a hoarding case with wounds on his back end from letting bigger pigs bite him (he was a baby at the time and they lived in a tiny cage, no surprise) so I want to make sure he feels secure!
They are still both very interested in meeting eachother so I’m going to start cleaning some two exit hides and getting ready for the big day!
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Keep us posted on how it goes.
(Don’t forget, you don’t put hides in the bonding pen)
 
Spot (new boy) has been settling in well but is unfortunately slowly losing weight (vet appt on Friday!). He is just terrified to come out if I'm in the room (it’s my bedroom), I added a blanket over the cage and he feels a little more safe and has come out for his hay more often. Before he would use his hide as a shell and tote it around to his food bowl. And would dart out for his veggies and then back in the hut.
Last night and tonight he has shown great interest in getting over to the other side to my other boy, he chews and pulls at the divider. My older boy is calm with no reactions besides sniffing now which is much better than his invasion earlier in the week!
After reading through all the records I had from the animal shelter, I found out when he initially entered the shelter at 4 months old he was separated from his bully brothers and placed in an incubation isolation chamber for 2 weeks for bacteria in his bite wounds. Now at 7 months, he had been alone in the shelter cage with little human handling and no other pig interaction for 3 months 🥲 at a pretty vital growth period…of course he’s terrified! I actually met his other brothers and he was the most brave (which I needed for my other boy). I feel so bad for those other boys…only getting more scared as they wait in the shelter.

I’m going to attempt bonding with the boys tomorrow, although I’m worried my other boy will out compete him for food in a cage together (without meaning to), I am actually feeling hopeful about the opposite effect…that the older boy can show this guy how to be a pig! My older boy is the most social and happy piggy…I hope he will be a good influence!

His weight will continue to be closely monitored (I have read the guide) with his vet appt. Being moved up with any rapid weight loss or poop or personality differences.

Wish me luck! ❤️

Pictured below is Spot hiding in his cuddle sack during his very short handling time! IMG_4476.webp
 
I’m sorry to hear that.

You mention a food bowl and worrying about outcompeting for food -
Make sure you don’t use food bowls when they are bonded, and ensure hay is available in multiple areas around the cage so they can eat separately.
That way he won’t be able to out compete him for food.
Scatter veg and pellets around the cage floor and in loose hay piles instead.
That means that there is equal chance for each pig to wander about and get their share of food (the dominant cannot hog a bowl); and it also encourages natural foraging behaviour and keeps them occupied.

Good luck for the bonding
 
Piggies&buns said:
I’m sorry to hear that.

You mention a food bowl and worrying about outcompeting for food -
Make sure you don’t use food bowls when they are bonded, and ensure hay is available in multiple areas around the cage so they can eat separately.
That way he won’t be able to out compete him for food.
Scatter veg and pellets around the cage floor and in loose hay piles instead.
That means that there is equal chance for each pig to wander about and get their share of food (the dominant cannot hog a bowl); and it also encourages natural foraging behaviour and keeps them occupied.

Good luck for the bonding
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My pigs have always had bowls…didn’t even occur to me! Their hay and veg is scattered and in multiple places…but not their pellets, I’m not sure why. I’ll do that! I’m sure they’ll have fun with it too, thank you!
 
Spot (new) and Spence (og) met today! Not too drama filled so far, yay! There was (and still is) some definite dominance behaviors Spence attempting to mount spot…thankfully Spot isn’t just putting up with it (I was worried about this based on his past) he actually kicks..sort popcorns back til Spence walks away. Some teeth chattering, rumble strutting and little “pecks” on the butt but nothing that looks super concerning to me…to me this seems like normal figuring by out dominance! Leaving them in the bonding pen until Spence settles down or grooms…Spot already laid down next to him and groomed multiple times! Here are some videos of them…a few tussles as you can see but they calm down pretty quickly.

Spence and Spot meet

Spence and Spot meet 2

January 4, 2025

Spot has the most beautiful long train of fur…I’ve had him 5 days and hadn’t seen it! He’s never been this active since getting him…although they are still figuring things out I think he enjoys seeing another pig!
 
Spence is now grooming himself and attempting to groom Spot. Spot was a little confused by the gesture but didn’t pitch a fight…I’m not sure Spot totally understands piggie etiquette being alone when he was a baby but they have both separated and started to settle down…I definitely don’t think we have a failed bond here, yay!
 
Moved them to their cage, freshly cleaned with all new double exited hides. Unfortunately the tusseling has been almost non-stop for the last 45min. Gave them some distraction veggies and there is hay everywhere but my older boy is just on the other one’s tail everywhere he goes. They will settle and then start back up…no super violent fights though so trying to let them sort things out and hope it settles soon 🤞
 
How have they been since?
How long were they in the neutral territory bonding pen?

With boars it can be a good idea to get them through a lot of the second stage of bonding by leaving them in neutral territory for many hours - there is no issue with them being 24 hours in the bonding pen.
The guide of if they groomed and slept is ok but not fail proof. You really want boars to get through a lot of the next bonding stage before going to the cage, as going to the cage is new environment and can destabilise a bit.
 
Piggies&buns said:
How have they been since?
How long were they in the neutral territory bonding pen?

With boars it can be a good idea to get them through a lot of the second stage of bonding by leaving them in neutral territory for many hours - there is no issue with them being 24 hours in the bonding pen.
The guide of if they groomed and slept is ok but not fail proof. You really want boars to get through a lot of the next bonding stage before going to the cage, as going to the cage is new environment and can destabilise a bit.
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They’ve been pretty good since, still some moments of rumbling and teeth chattering/casing but then they settle down to sleep next to each other or eat…even if they run away from each other they keep ending up back next to each other.

There were in the pen two hours, unfortunately, it’s probably too late to put them back in there I’m thinking. I followed the guide to what I thought was the best of my ability before moving to the cage, I’ve never had to bond guinea pigs before this past week…let alone boars 😅
They’ve already been in the cage for hours now and I don’t want to disrupt them by taking them back out and starting over…it’s also very late at night where I am currently

They are however not even a foot away from my bed so I’ve been keeping an eye on them, listening for them and can intervene at any moment. They also have a camera on them so I can still watch when I leave the room.
 
It doesn’t sound too bad then.

You actually can move them back to neutral territory if you are concerned. What you cannot do is totally separate them as that is disruptive and means the whole process stops.
However a bit of rumbling and chasing isn’t concerning so as long as it stays as it is then it should be fine.


For information: Two hours may be ok but it can also be too short particularly for bonding boars - the longer they are in the pen the better.
Bonding comes in a few stages - acceptance can be a few minutes or up to around 30 minutes.
The next stage is deciding who is in charge and this can take several hours depending on how matched they are. This is the part which you don’t want to rush and why leaving them in the pen for a considerably long time (even 12-24 hours wouldn’t matter) is of benefit. Once they are sufficiently into this stage and have decided who is in charge you can then move them. If the owner isn’t sure then best to leave for several hours more.
The third stage then takes the following two weeks after bonding day.
 
Piggies&buns said:
It doesn’t sound too bad then.

You actually can move them back to neutral territory if you are concerned. What you cannot do is totally separate them as that is disruptive and means the whole process stops.
However a bit of rumbling and chasing isn’t concerning so as long as it stays as it is then it should be fine.


For information: Two hours may be ok but it can also be too short particularly for bonding boars - the longer they are in the pen the better.
Bonding comes in a few stages - acceptance can be a few minutes or up to around 30 minutes.
The next stage is deciding who is in charge and this can take several hours depending on how matched they are. This is the part which you don’t want to rush and why leaving them in the pen for a considerably long time (even 12-24 hours wouldn’t matter) is of benefit. Once they are sufficiently into this stage and have decided who is in charge you can then move them. If the owner isn’t sure then best to leave for several hours more.
The third stage then takes the following two weeks after bonding day.
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There hasn’t been anything so concerning to me I’ve had to intervene or that has made me feel like they need to be separated just the same rumbling, chattering, etc. over and over…but it is super good to know they can go back to the bonding pen and it not disturb their process.

That is really good to know for future reference 🙃 thank you!
 
First full 24hrs down…the rumble strutting and teeth chattering with some chasing continues. However, no biting or overly aggressive behavior. Spot (new guy) has never come out of his hide as much as he does now. He follows by older boy Spence around to see what he does…I think this causes the majority of the spats because Spence is definitely not used to a pig being interested in him. His former older brother left him alone mostly.
Anyways, here’s cutey spot! I’ve finally gotten to get a good look at him and he’s super long! And his face marking and little Mohawk make him look like a little rockstar! But he’s still not a big fan of mine…so getting pictures is hard ! IMG_4530.webp
 
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