My neighrbors moved in about 4 months ago and for a while kept them on the front porch. Which observing them daily gave me the want to get piggies so I got my piggies. Well neighbor seen my piggies and informed me her female was pregnant ( must not have done her research) and asked if i wanted any of the babies. I am going to take some females. I wouldnt say Rosey and Mona are a bonded pair. I think they just tolerate each other. Never any aggression towards each other. They dont sleep together at all but will take food from each others mouth. I would really like each to have a cage mate they are bonded with. So my question is I would like to bond each of them with a baby. Can you bond a older pig with a baby? Is it safe to do so? Or should i just bond the 2 babies in their own srt up. I dont want to do all 4 in one set up to avoid any fall outs
Hi and welcome
Please be aware that by far not all guinea pigs are snuggly with each other; that is actually just a minority. Food snatching is not an unfriendly behaviour. Young guinea pigs learn what is safe to eat from their elders by snatching offd from their mouths. Most piggies tolerate this behaviour well unless they are malnourished and it is a fight for survival.
Your girls are still solidly bonded. You can try to bond them all as a group - adding two babies usually works well as they go from a pair to mini-group dynamics. Your two older piggies will gain in consequence and therefore usually tolerate the addition well. Babies cannot challenge for the hierarchy, so your older girls are no challenged in that way.
What you have to brace for is that any babies are very firmly put in their place at the bottom of the hierarchy as soon as they lose their protected status and become full members of a group. Because they are so vocal, this can look and sound a lot more dramatic (and painful) than it actually is. Dominance behaviour is actually very carefully judged; it is a show of power and the answer is loud protest and hurt.
Please take the time and carefully read this bonding and behaviour guide. it tells you exactly which behaviours you need to look out for at the different stages of any bonding. The whole bonding process takes about 2 weeks until the dust has fully settled.
Illustrated Bonding / Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics
Cage Size Guide
What you need to make absolutely sure of is that your girls (or any sows of your neighbour's) are not together with any boar (either dad or brother) that is over 3 weeks old. Boars can start making babies from 3 weeks onwards. Sows come into season for the first time between 4-6 weeks. The earliest documented pregnancy between brothers and sisters is 24 days (just over 3 weeks).
Mums come into season again within hours of giving birth. Not to mention the fact that you do not want a randy boars chasing mum right across newborn babies, back-to-back pregnancies are very hard on the mums and take it really out of them. The already relatively high risk of things going wrong with a pregnancy/birth increases for both babies and mum considerably because of that. Please give your neighbour this link if necessary. We have seen proof of babies resulting from these facts sadly all too often in our pregnancy section!
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/pregnancy-guide.109375/
You also need to make absolutely sure that you only take in girl babies, or you are in very deep kimchi very quickly with three pregnant sows! This guide contains a very good sexing link, but you are also welcome to confirm the gender before any bonding by posting a sexing thread in our pregnancy and sexing section.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/sexing-separating-baby-boars-and-rehoming-babies.109391/
We also have got a very helpful guide collection for new owners, which contain tips on how understand piggy behaviour to make friends with them by a spot of guinea pig whispering and how handle new guinea pigs safely. It also helps you to learn what is normal and what not, so you can sport any illness and problems early on.
Please note that with four guinea pigs you and your parents to need to save up weekly for a vet fund, so you can afford vet care whenever necessary. It is the highest expense your will encounter when keeping any pet, and it NEVER happens at a good time! Vets in the US demand upfront payment. With a serious problem, treatment and especially an operation can quickly cost you several hundresds of dollars.
New Owners' Online Starter " Booklet" For Really Helpful Advice
