MichelleM
Junior Guinea Pig
We have a six year old boar named Ganon. Ganon and his cagemate Dibbler have been together their entire lives. Dibbler passed away in December. Ganon wasn't showing signs of depression. He was still eating, drinking, pooping, and interacting. But he sought attention more frequently and begged for treats more often, so we thought he might be lonely, especially since he was home alone a lot during the day since my husband and I both work.
We decided to adopt a younger boar as a companion for him. Nes is about one year old and was a single guinea pig at the rescue. We set him up in a cage next to Ganon's pen so they could acclimate to one another. I began switching fleece around between them so they could get used to each other's scent. Nes was very eager to meet Ganon, and Ganon was curious about Nes, sniffing around Nes's cage during floor time.
After about a week of this, we introduced them last night in a neutral area on a new area rug that didn't have either of their scents on it. Ganon was the dominant one between him and Dibby, and since Nes is younger we hoped he would just take Ganon's lead. But Nes decided he wanted to be dominant, humping Ganon all through their 2-hour introduction. There was no rumbling from either of them, just Nes chasing, humping, and taking food from Ganon's mouth. Ganon made no moves to be dominant back. After about 2 hours, they calmed down, we put them into the pen together, and they ended up on the top level of the hutch sleeping next to each other for the night.
Today, Nes started up with the humping and chasing again. Ganon took a nap in the fleece tunnel, and when he wandered out, Nes made a beeline for him and began chasing and humping again. When Ganon goes into a hidey, Nes follows. When Ganon moves to a different hidey, Nes follows. Ganon is generally able to eat, but Nes has chased him from the hay pile a couple of times. They are currently together in a hidey napping. They have a huge amount of space with a 2-level rabbit hutch surrounded by a penned in 4ft x 7ft area for them to roam, with at least 7 hideys and plenty of toys.
My concern is whether or not this is too stressful for Ganon since he's a senior pig. Maybe I'm just projecting, but ever since Dibby passed I'm terrified by anything Ganon does that may show he's unhappy, and I'm terrified of this literally stressing him to death.
I want Ganon to be happy so badly, I felt terrible that he was alone all day after Dibbler passed. But now I'm second guessing myself and am afraid I'm making him unhappy with a new companion. Does this sound like normal bonding behavior? Should I be worried? Please offer any advice that you can. Thank you!
We decided to adopt a younger boar as a companion for him. Nes is about one year old and was a single guinea pig at the rescue. We set him up in a cage next to Ganon's pen so they could acclimate to one another. I began switching fleece around between them so they could get used to each other's scent. Nes was very eager to meet Ganon, and Ganon was curious about Nes, sniffing around Nes's cage during floor time.
After about a week of this, we introduced them last night in a neutral area on a new area rug that didn't have either of their scents on it. Ganon was the dominant one between him and Dibby, and since Nes is younger we hoped he would just take Ganon's lead. But Nes decided he wanted to be dominant, humping Ganon all through their 2-hour introduction. There was no rumbling from either of them, just Nes chasing, humping, and taking food from Ganon's mouth. Ganon made no moves to be dominant back. After about 2 hours, they calmed down, we put them into the pen together, and they ended up on the top level of the hutch sleeping next to each other for the night.
Today, Nes started up with the humping and chasing again. Ganon took a nap in the fleece tunnel, and when he wandered out, Nes made a beeline for him and began chasing and humping again. When Ganon goes into a hidey, Nes follows. When Ganon moves to a different hidey, Nes follows. Ganon is generally able to eat, but Nes has chased him from the hay pile a couple of times. They are currently together in a hidey napping. They have a huge amount of space with a 2-level rabbit hutch surrounded by a penned in 4ft x 7ft area for them to roam, with at least 7 hideys and plenty of toys.
My concern is whether or not this is too stressful for Ganon since he's a senior pig. Maybe I'm just projecting, but ever since Dibby passed I'm terrified by anything Ganon does that may show he's unhappy, and I'm terrified of this literally stressing him to death.
I want Ganon to be happy so badly, I felt terrible that he was alone all day after Dibbler passed. But now I'm second guessing myself and am afraid I'm making him unhappy with a new companion. Does this sound like normal bonding behavior? Should I be worried? Please offer any advice that you can. Thank you!
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