Finding Tofu A Friend

JaseChase

JaseChase

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As some of you might know, my piggie Tofu is recently bereaved after losing his brother Noodle. Tofu has been coping - eating, drinking, his weight is stable - but he has been quite dejected and sticking to one part of the cage (the place Noodle was last)

The good news is, we have a potential match for him! A lovely rescue has reserved another boy and I'm picking him up tomorrow (!) for me to attempt bonding them at home. I've never bonded guinea pigs before, but the rescue has been really helpful and I've been reading and rereading the guides on here, so I'm feeling fairly good about it. Any added advice is much appreciated ☺️

I've been busy setting up a temporary 4x2 C&C cage for the newbie today (and washing a ton of fleece 😅) - unfortunately this needs to be in a separate room to Tofu's permanent cage, because we have a dog at home and it's the best place that is totally securable. Current plan is to swap some fleece between them while new boy settles in and then attempt bonding them a few days later, probably at the weekend

Both Tofu and the new piggie are boars, not neutered. Tofu is three and a half, the new boy is approximately a year and a half, and they're both laid back piggies who tend towards the submissive. New boy has been successfully bonded before, Tofu is an unknown as he and Noodle were litter mates - though Noodle was the dominant

I do have a couple of questions - how big should the neutral bonding pen be? I'm guessing at least as big as their permanent cage, which is a 6x2 C&C. Also, does it matter which piggie goes into the bonding pen first?

Fingers and paws crossed that they like each other - I've told Tofu to be on his best behaviour! I think he's looking forward to having a new friend, he's been extra affectionate with me and giving lots of licks and cuddles, more than normal. I'm sure he's lonely <3

Here's Tofu, I'm sure I'll have pics of the new boy tomorrow!

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First, we do not recommend scent swapping. That can actually set them off in bad stead - they smell an unfamiliar pig in their territory and then when meeting the pig, recognise the scent and see them as an intruder from the very beginning. Scent swapping can introduce a source of stress rather than ease a bonding.
(Its better to have them side by side for a few days without scent swapping prior to bonding).

Bonding pen size - just as long as it is big enough for two boars - so a 5x2 is fine - but I’d personally do square rather than rectangle just so it’s easier for them to move past each other . I bonded recently in a 4x3.
 
Ah right thank you, I won't do the scent swapping then :) Square for the bonding pen is certainly doable and I've got enough grids for that size. I can't give them side by side time unfortunately, the only way to do that would be to split Tofu's current 6x2 and give them half each, but I believe that even cleaning out half wouldn't make it neutral enough for Tofu not to see it as his territory so I don't want to risk it

I'm really hoping they'll get along, and I'm set up to leave them overnight in the bonding pen if need be - but a plan B is in place if things don't go well
 
You could in fact split the 6x2 in half and put each pig in either side for a few days prior to bonding day
You must still move them to totally neutral bonding pen to meet.

After successful bonding - You can then either: swap out all the bedding in the main cage for fresh bedding entirely
OR
wipe the fleece with BOTH their scents (by rubbing the fleece on itself if you use one large liner or rub one liner on the other to transfer scent from one half to the other) prior to moving them back to the cage following successful bonding.
The key here is that it either smells of neither of them or that it smells of both of them. It cannot smell of just one of them as it then may be seen a territory invasion
 
I hope it goes really well can't wait, it's very exciting, nerve wracking but exciting 💙
 
Thank you :D I am nervous but excited! If they like each other it will make quite an awful week a lot nicer, and I'll be glad to give new boy a home if it works out, he sounds lovely

Piggies&buns said:
You could in fact split the 6x2 in half and put each pig in either side for a few days prior to bonding day
You must still move them to totally neutral bonding pen to meet.

After successful bonding - You can then either: swap out all the bedding in the main cage for fresh bedding entirely
OR
wipe the fleece with BOTH their scents (by rubbing the fleece on itself if you use one large liner or rub one liner on the other to transfer scent from one half to the other) prior to moving them back to the cage following successful bonding.
The key here is that it either smells of neither of them or that it smells of both of them. It cannot smell of just one of them as it then may be seen a territory invasion
Click to expand...

I did ask the rescue about this and they said splitting the 6x2 might cut too close to Tofu seeing it as his territory - but I might see how things go. I'll start with new boy in his temporary cage, see how he settles in, and I can always split the 6x2 and give them side by side time for a couple of days before actually bonding them on neutral ground - unless that would upset anything to move new boy again? If I did this I assume I put grids in to divide the 6x2, and then clean one half out and use totally fresh fleece for the new boy? Tofu is used to roaming the whole cage so I'm nervous he'd be a bit put out by that

The room I'm planning to do the bonding in is somewhere Tofu has never been, and I've washed all my liners and sewn some fresh tunnels, really hoping they'll get along! If they do, I can use some of the fleece from the bonding pen in the permanent cage/to rub over the cage fleece to get both their scents together in there

Thank you for all the support, I've had so much help over the last week and I really appreciate it ☺️
 
I don’t think splitting the 6x2 would cause issues for tofu and his territory. Once it is split he can’t get to it, plus it won’t be his territory once they are both in it. He has to accept the new boy for it to work and he has to accept him in that cage regardless and thus why neutralising/marking with both scents is what needs to be done. If you split the cage, bond, then neutralise/or mark with both their scents prior to putting them both on it, that is the normal course of action.

From an upset of being moved point of view - it would mean he has two environments to get used to in a short space of time and one of them where he is alone but i can’t see it would cause too much of an issue if it is only for a short period, if that is what you would prefer to do.
Getting them side by side from the beginning would make settling him in easier re they would both have between the bars.
Either one works to be honest but it is quite key that they do get side by side for at least a few days before you put them in neutral.

If you can get the new boy beside tofu asap then that would be better for both of them in terms of through bar companionship but also from a bonding point of view. It gives them time to meet through the bars and get to know each other a little before being put in neutral. Where overreactions are likely to happen is if they go into neutral without never having laid eyes on each other.

I have had to jiggle cages around quite a lot to find a working solution since I lost one of my boys and then bonding the bereaved with one of my other single boys. It did mean putting a divide into a cage which was originally the territory of one of them to make one side a difference size to make it more suitable (ie the same outcome as splitting your 6x2) - none of mine were bothered by that.
 
Right that does sound like a good plan - and I very much trust your experiences! I could split the cage tonight to give Tofu more time to adjust to the smaller cage or does it not really matter? And I'll zip tie the divider in place just in case. That would also mean the bonding room would be even more neutral as the new boy's temporary cage was going to go in there (though I was always going to use different fleece/grids and a different part of the floor)

I am probably overthinking everything 😅 just want to give it the best chance at working. And it does sound like through the bars interaction is ideal, I remember reading that in the guide too

So: split the cage, they'll each have 3x2 C&C for a few days, with their own fleeces and no scent swapping, with through the bars interaction
Then a few days later move them up to the bonding pen in neutral territory
If all goes well, move them back into the cleaned-out cage with fleece from the bonding pen that carries both their scents in both halves (it's an L shape so there are two liners usually, I can rub one over the other) - and I presume wash all fleece that only carries one of their scents before giving it back to them

I've got newly sewn fleece for the carrier to bring new piggie home in and I'll pop that in his half of the cage so he's got some of his own scents there too. I was going to cover his temporary cage with a blanket to give him time to settle in, I can do that over his half without impacting Tofu I think - the cage is in the living room so there's quite a bit of movement and noise for new piggie to adjust to

Nerve wracking! Though I'll be happy if Tofu has through-the-bar company sooner too because I do think he's lonely at the moment
 
Definitely zip tie the grids. But in terms of timing it probably doesn’t matter.

Otherwise You’ve got it with everything else
 
Sidney is home thanks to the lovely folks at Merrypigs rescue! He's a gorgeous boy :love: he and Tofu are about the same size, though I think Sidney might be a little bigger. I split the cage last night and Sidney has all clean/new fleece in his half

So far we've had lots of curious squeaks, one tiny rumble from Sidney, and lots of sniffing through the bars. They've been munching hay on opposite sides and investigating each other for a good half hour before they both went off for a nap

I have a good feeling so far! If all goes well, my partner and I are probably going to rename Sidney to Patches, thanks to that cute lil patch of cream over one eye

I'm smitten already, so I really hope Tofu agrees and they like each other!

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It sounds like he had a hard start in life, but with your wonderful care at Merrypigs he's settled in really well here - he's a confident lil guy! He and Tofu have continued to interact, lots of sniffs and rumbles at each other. I'm feeling cautiously hopeful

Gave them both a fresh pile of timothy hay (they've had meadow so far, but the timothy order just arrived) and they were both thrilled about it - I even caught Sidney having a little nap in the middle of it :love:

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Sidney just woke up, they were both nibbling hay beside the bars, had a little rumble at each other, and then Sidney did a series of big popcorns and set Tofu off doing one too! They've been doing some mutual grooming/face washing at each other as well

I won't do a play by play of the whole thing haha but safe to say I am completely in love :luv:
 
JaseChase said:
Sidney just woke up, they were both nibbling hay beside the bars, had a little rumble at each other, and then Sidney did a series of big popcorns and set Tofu off doing one too! They've been doing some mutual grooming/face washing at each other as well

I won't do a play by play of the whole thing haha but safe to say I am completely in love :luv:
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Aw, how lovely! I do hope the bonding goes well. Choose a day when you have as little as possible on 🤞🤞🤞🤞
 
Got some breakfast sniffs from Patches/Sidney 😍

He popcorned so much when I changed out their hay! Tofu does still popcorn but not this much, maybe it’s an age thing

Still some curious sniffs through the bars, though they’re both more relaxed today - lots of napping while facing each other (not directly against the bars). Tofu has also perked right up, this is the most active he’s been since we lost Noodle - I’m so pleased he has company and splitting the cage was 100% good advice so thank you

I’m hoping to do the bonding on Saturday - as suggested, I don’t have anything else planned for this weekend haha, and my partner will be home to help as well. Tbh I’m most concerned that they won’t pick a boss because they’re both so laid back and relaxed they’re just not bothered! 😅


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He seems to be settling in well!
Keep us posted on Saturday!
They will be fine - they absolutely will decide who is boss (it’s essential to piggy society) but it may just be that you can’t ever tell which one it is!
 
Piggies&buns said:
He seems to be settling in well!
Keep us posted on Saturday!
They will be fine - they absolutely will decide who is boss (it’s essential to piggy society) but it may just be that you can’t ever tell which one it is!
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I will do, thank you! As long as they're happy together I won't mind not being able to tell haha

Bill & Ted said:
I could never tell who was boss between Bill and Ted, they were so easy going, laid back boys and very happy to just rub along together
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Aww I love hearing about Bill and Ted - boars are amazing pairs when they're well matched. I would be thrilled if these two end up similar - so far I'm very hopeful but I don't want to assume it's going to work out just in case I jinx it 😅

Wheekallweek said:
How exciting! I'm glad the little man has had a good night - piggy popcorns are the best 😁
Click to expand...

He's so adorable! And so confident, he rubbed his face against my hand this morning demanding cheek scritches haha. A new one on me as Tofu and Noodle never really liked being pet in the cage. He's bigger than Tofu as well, and Tofu was always my chonky boy so I think Tofu is quite happy to be matched!

They're sharing hay between the divider now - and by 'sharing' I mean 'Patches/Sidney yanked one of the best strands through the bars, Tofu didn't react, so he kept yanking harder' 😂
 
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