Getting a new piggie. Does and don't.

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andthislittlepiggie

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Firstly, there is a lot of amazing advice on this forum. So please point me to the pertinent threads. I am trying to reconcile all the information!

In short, we had x2 guinea pigs - both bought from Pets at homes. Both males. After 2 years, one of them sadly died a few weeks ago. Leaving the larger boar lovely.
I've been reading around, and it seems clear we must get 'Bruce' a new little companion.

1. I believe a good option is getting a 'newborn' male piggie?
1.1 I believe 'taking Bruce' to piggie dating is a good idea. The problem I wonder is 'given COVID' - Are these essential journeys?

2. Then, of course, going through the introductory period (we have quite a large C&C cage, plus our piggies are free-roaming piggies round the flat!). - I have no concerns about space, and we have x2 of everything (bottles, hay racks, and can separate them for the short term)
 
I’m sorry for your loss.

It’s not quite right that getting a baby piggy is best. Character compatibility is vital to a successful bond which makes dating the best option. He can choose his own new friend based on character - he may choose an older piggy but the fact he has chosen his own new friend will mean they will be compatible. If you buy a piggy then you are taking a risk that they won’t be.
If you buy a baby piggy then while they may be ok while the baby is a baby, once baby hits his teens he will have his own ideas on dominance and that may cause problems between them if the baby decides he wants to be dominant as well. While more boar pairs make it together than not, if you buy a piggy without dating then you need to have a plan b of separate but side by side cages in mind in case of problems.

Yes travel for animal welfare purposes is allowed during COVID lockdowns. Whether you can find a rescue offering dating at present is very dependent on the rescue though.

You do need to be guided by Bruce though. If he is struggling to be alone, and you can’t find a centre with piggies available or offering dating, then buying a piggy may be your only choice for the sake of Bruce’s happiness.

The bonding needs to be carried out in neutral territory - a place Bruce does not consider to be his own space. What you cannot do is put a new piggy into a space Bruce considers to be his as it will be seen as a territory invasion.
Once piggies have been introduced, And if it is successful, then they must remain together from then on. Bonding is a one time thing which must be seen through to conclusion.

if you do buy a baby piggy, then you must not quarantine the new piggy. Babies under four months of age are desperate for company and need for be bonded with your piggy straight away when you bring him home.
You must also check the sex of any new pet shop piggy yourself as you do not want to end up with a mixed sex pair.

this guide details how to carry out a bonding Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
 
Piggies&buns said:
I’m sorry for your loss.

It’s not quite right that getting a baby piggy is best. Character compatibility is vital to a successful bond which makes dating the best option. He can choose his own new friend based on character - he may choose an older piggy but the fact he has chosen his own new friend will mean they will be compatible. If you buy a piggy then you are taking a risk that they won’t be.
If you buy a baby piggy then while they may be ok while the baby is a baby, once baby hits his teens he will have his own ideas on dominance and that may cause problems between them if the baby decides he wants to be dominant as well. While more boar pairs make it together than not, if you buy a piggy without dating then you need to have a plan b of separate but side by side cages in mind in case of problems.

Yes travel for animal welfare purposes is allowed during COVID lockdowns. Whether you can find a rescue offering dating at present is very dependent on the rescue though.

You do need to be guided by Bruce though. If he is struggling to be alone, and you can’t find a centre with piggies available or offering dating, then buying a piggy may be your only choice for the sake of Bruce’s happiness.

The bonding needs to be carried out in neutral territory - a place Bruce does not consider to be his own space. What you cannot do is put a new piggy into a space Bruce considers to be his as it will be seen as a territory invasion.
Once piggies have been introduced, And if it is successful, then they must remain together from then on. Bonding is a one time thing which must be seen through to conclusion.

if you do buy a baby piggy, then you must not quarantine the new piggy. Babies under four months of age are desperate for company and need for be bonded with your piggy straight away when you bring him home.
You must also check the sex of any new pet shop piggy yourself as you do not want to end up with a mixed sex pair.

this guide details how to carry out a bonding Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Click to expand...
Great advice. Thank you. We are emailing plenty of places nearby (Lichfield), to see if there is an option of piggie dating! :-)
 
andthislittlepiggie said:
Great advice. Thank you. We are emailing plenty of places nearby (Lichfield), to see if there is an option of piggie dating! :-)
Click to expand...

The RSPCA Walsall only offers mixed gender or sow dating but doesn't do full boars; they would be your closest rescue.
Coseley Guinea Pig Rescue in the Black Country and Neville's Nest by Leicester are not on our list of recommended rescues but they are not too far off and would be your best places to try in the circumstances. The Potteries Guinea Pig Rescue is currently closed for adoptions, like most rescues.
You can ask whether you could go on a waiting list; bereaved guinea pigs will usually be given preference re. dating and rebonding as soon as this is possible.

What is not accepted is travelling across half the country for an adoption or pick-up of a reserved pet but getting a life-saving companion for an acutely pining guinea pig within your local area should be acceptable on welfare grounds.
 
SO!
We are going to Pets at home tomorrow.... We have searched emailed, telephoned many other places before settling on this option. No one (understandably), does piggie dating.

Bruce has these past couple of weeks become very needy. Which on the one hand I love to bits! But on the other hand I suspect it's because he is missing his buddy. He is probably the happiest he has even been.
Knowing that it's with some trepidation we go tomorrow!

For tomorrow morning, our plan is.....

1. We have set up a 'netural zone' with a new blanket and some hay. Now reading the differing threads we need to leave bruce and the new little piggie to sort out any key differences (not super looking forward to this mind) - I suppose my question here is. When will we know when the (hopeful), bonding has occurred. Simply when they stop potentially fighting? Sounds like something from gladiator :-(
2. Whilst the bonding is occurring, we will change the bedding in the C&C cage, install the new additional water bottle and hidey. Do we need to 'barrier off' the piggies in the C&C cage, or well point 1 take care of that?


Turning out to be quite a stressful event. "what if they don't get along" - especially as Bruce is acting like someone who has just discovered tinder
 
You have to do what is right for him and if he is struggling to be alone, then buying a new piggy has to be the thing to do. Waiting for dating could get a long way down the line given the current situation and that wouldnt Be fair on him. You will need to have a plan b in mind though given an on spec purchase does come with some risks of incompatibility.
As you are buying, then the new piggy is going to be young, so you will need to do the bonding straight away.

To be clear, if they fight, as in a full on fur ball rolling around, bites, blood drawing, then it’s over and they must not be put together again. What you will see is dominance - mounting, chasing, chattering - that categorically is not fighting.

You need to put them into a neutral territory bonding pen with hay and no hides. They will be in the pen for several hours to go through the early stages of forming a relationship. After several hours and if they seem to like each other, had a nap together, behaviours have been positive, , you will then need to clean down the cage they are to live in. Thoroughly clean it and rearrange it. You can then move them both together to their cage to live. Do not separate them or barrier anything off at all if things have gone well in the bonding pen - separating at this point will stop everything and then they will have to go through neutral territory bonding from the beginning all over again.
It will take a further two weeks of them living together for Them to fully form their relationship, so during this time you are going to continue to see lots of dominance behaviours.

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
 
Good luck today.
It's such a stressful time but so worth it when you have a happy, bonded pair.
 
Please let us know how it goes. I’m in the same position at the moment, sadly lost one of my boys a few weeks ago and wasn’t going to get another one (wanted to try and break the cycle) but I think Ziggy is a bit depressed and lonely 😞 so thinking I might have to get him a new little friend soon.
Good luck with the bonding, hope it goes well 🤞
 
So. New piggie picked up from a friendly hobby breeder in Walsall. Set up a natural ground bonding area. Not exactly love at first sight just let
 

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What do you mean not love at first sight? Did you double check the sex?
 
Siikibam said:
What do you mean not love at first sight? Did you double check the sex?
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Lots of running round, teeth chatting and Bruce (our older guinea pig) took a bit of hair out of the smaller one. Only been 20mins.
Didn’t check the sex on the basis the breeder said it was a male, and with Covid you kinda just pick them up and leave. Once the bonding (fingers crossed) settles down I’ll pick up the new piggie!
 
I would check the sex now to be honest. How is it so far? How is the new pig behaving?
 
Piggies&buns said:
You have to do what is right for him and if he is struggling to be alone, then buying a new piggy has to be the thing to do. Waiting for dating could get a long way down the line given the current situation and that wouldnt Be fair on him. You will need to have a plan b in mind though given an on spec purchase does come with some risks of incompatibility.
As you are buying, then the new piggy is going to be young, so you will need to do the bonding straight away.

To be clear, if they fight, as in a full on fur ball rolling around, bites, blood drawing, then it’s over and they must not be put together again. What you will see is dominance - mounting, chasing, chattering - that categorically is not fighting.

You need to put them into a neutral territory bonding pen with hay and no hides. They will be in the pen for several hours to go through the early stages of forming a relationship. After several hours and if they seem to like each other, had a nap together, behaviours have been positive, , you will then need to clean down the cage they are to live in. Thoroughly clean it and rearrange it. You can then move them both together to their cage to live. Do not separate them or barrier anything off at all if things have gone well in the bonding pen - separating at this point will stop everything and then they will have to go through neutral territory bonding from the beginning all over again.
It will take a further two weeks of them living together for Them to fully form their relationship, so during this time you are going to continue to see lots of dominance behaviours.

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Click to expand...
They are in full on fur ball fighting :-(
3 hours in. Guess it’s time to split up the cage :-( :-( :-(
 
I’m so sorry that it hasn’t worked out. What is your plan going forward? Could you have newbie paired up and they live next door to your boy?
 
Could you change the cage to a square so they both have a 2x4 area? Living side by side will stave the loneliness but the young one would be better off with a live-in friend.
 
Hello! I'm from Lichfield to and couldn't find a rescue with any available girls when I lost Betty. I too ended up buying from a Breeder. Unfortunately, during these Covid times, we have to think of our remaining piggy.

Luckily, ours got on from the start but girls are generally much more accepting than boys.

Such a shame that they aren't getting along but side by side is definately better than totally alone xx
 
I'm sorry they've not got along. You did the right thing. I would've done the same in your situation.
They're fine living side by side for now but you could get them both neutered and obviously that would take a while with the post op wait of 6 weeks. Then hopefully when lockdown is over you could find them a sow each to live with or even before. Sows and boars tend to get on much better but if you wanted to be certain you could wait for a rescue to be open to do bonding. Best of luck whatever you decide. Xx
 
I too am a bit surprised that it didn’t go well. Every time I’ve lost a piggie and introduced a newbie, there has been no problem with the older boar accepting the youngster. I normally get one that’s about 10 weeks old as the older boars are more accepting of a baby. Do you know how old the youngster is? Is it worth trying again in a day or two, perhaps putting some tempting veggies in the area with them so they are not just focusing on each other.
 
valsie said:
I too am a bit surprised that it didn’t go well. Every time I’ve lost a piggie and introduced a newbie, there has been no problem with the older boar accepting the youngster. I normally get one that’s about 10 weeks old as the older boars are more accepting of a baby. Do you know how old the youngster is? Is it worth trying again in a day or two, perhaps putting some tempting veggies in the area with them so they are not just focusing on each other.
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Given it was a fur ball of fighting it’s not advisable to try bonding again.
 
So. I think the new piggie (Sergio) is older than I thought. I’m gonna blame COVID.
As I was in such a rush to take the new piggie, rather than clarifying the actual age (I think it said 11weeks on the advert, and kinda thought that was small enough) - but I just exchanged money quickly and left. He is a lot bigger than I remember our piggies being.

it’s Crystal clear they can’t be together. The new piggie is aggressively biting at the cage to get out and both of them teeth chattering

So frustrating, as given our tiny flat. I think we look after the piggies really well (we let them free roam!)

I’ve moved the cage around slightly see they can see one another more. Who knows. Fingers crossed.
 

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andthislittlepiggie said:
So. I think the new piggie (Sergio) is older than I thought. I’m gonna blame COVID.
As I was in such a rush to take the new piggie, rather than clarifying the actual age (I think it said 11weeks on the advert, and kinda thought that was small enough) - but I just exchanged money quickly and left. He is a lot bigger than I remember our piggies being.

it’s Crystal clear they can’t be together. The new piggie is aggressively biting at the cage to get out and both of them teeth chattering

So frustrating, as given our tiny flat. I think we look after the piggies really well (we let them free roam!)

I’ve moved the cage around slightly see they can see one another more. Who knows. Fingers crossed.
Click to expand...
Weighing him might give a good indication of age, I know weight can vary per piggy though. My 11-14 week old piggy weighed just over 500 grams for reference.
Unfortunately on ads, it can be so easy for them to bend the truth. It might also be a good idea to get him checked over by a vet just to make sure he’s healthy.
I’m so sorry the bonding didn’t work out though :( what a shame.
 
Little Ones said:
Weighing him might give a good indication of age, I know weight can vary per piggy though. My 11-14 week old piggy weighed just over 500 grams for reference.
Unfortunately on ads, it can be so easy for them to bend the truth. It might also be a good idea to get him checked over by a vet just to make sure he’s healthy.
I’m so sorry the bonding didn’t work out though :( what a shame.
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I've no doubt the owner was honest. Again, I think the rush of COVID. Remember the days you used to go to the supermarket, spend 5 minutes looking at items working out what was cheapest per kg. Now it's in, rush, out. Don't speak to anyone, shopping cost x2 more.
That's what, unfortunately, the piggie purchase was like. Missed the opportunity for a chat and to take time. Heyho. We now have two piggies or extremely differing personalities which is good :-)
 
Little Ones said:
Weighing him might give a good indication of age, I know weight can vary per piggy though. My 11-14 week old piggy weighed just over 500 grams for reference.
Click to expand...
Going via weight has its limits though. As you say it varies between pigs. My older boar was 429g at 11 weeks. My younger boar is only 9 weeks and is 545g.
 
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