Got A New Piggie (4 Months) Need Help

[Spacedcakes]

I put him in the cage with my 10 month old & the 4 month old won't stop mounting my older one. The cage is 3 x 4. It is clear to me that they have completely different personalities. My older one is very shy and the younger one very feisty. It is only his first day and he is already chewing on the cage and trying to escape. I have some information about safety and such. But a few questions remain, such as how stressful is this on my original pig and how likely is it that they will work something out? The younger one won't leave my older one alone (younger one follows the older one) and while the older one makes the purring noises the younger one chirps (which my older one has never done). What do these noises mean?

 

[biscandmatt]

is the cage a neutral territory?

 

[Freela]

When you introduce guinea pigs, they need to work out the social hierarchy- which guinea pig is going to be the boss, which is going to be second in command. It sounds as though your younger pig is asserting dominance (mounting is typically a dominance behavior.) Much of the behavior should settle down once the guinea pigs agree on who is boss. Nothing you've described sounds out of the ordinary to me and it isn't likely to be terribly stressful to either- it is the normal way that they communicate to work out a hierarchy, which is a totally normal behavior and the way that all guinea pigs relate socially. I would keep an eye to make sure there is no outright fighting and (if you haven't already) make sure they are in neutral territory. It often provokes more territorial behaviors if you introduce pigs on someone else's home turf. Even washing down an old cage and reorganizing the items inside can trick pigs into accepting it as a whole new environment.

Incidentally, I also have a current pair where the much older very shy pig is completely subservient to the baby, more assertive pig. After my older pig's extremely bossy companion passed away, I figured she would finally have her chance to rule over a younger minion, but no, she is plainly not remotely interested in being the boss, and it was very amusing seeing her play second fiddle to a baby who was, at the time, about half her size!

 

[Spacedcakes]

Thank you all for your help. I went ahead and returned the little piggie since he was harassing my first born.