Piggielover333
Junior Guinea Pig
Hello everyone!
About two months ago I purchased two female guinea pigs and they have been getting along, ummm not that well. My bigger pig, Zula tends to bully my smaller pig, Zoey for long periods of time. Zoey was super shy but when she came out of the cage with Zula she started to reveal her personality and always popcorned. I figured she might be happier with another friend, so I headed to pick her up a new one (with the approval of my boyfriend . Long story short I came home with two more females, Zayda and Ziina (they were cage mates and I couldn’t bare to separate them, especially since they were headed into a stressful situation). They’ve been in quarantine and have been officially introduced (not sure if it’s successful yet, since it was only last night they stayed in the same cage). I cleaned out the cage first and got new fleece, and gave all the pigs a bath together to help neutralize any different smells. There has been some fighting for dominance, but nothing I don’t see as normal from what I’ve read.
My biggest question is, will my new pigs come around more and will my old pigs appreciate the bigger group now? I’ve read that piggies thrive in groups so I definitely hope this helps them all feel more confident and improves their overall quality of life. They all run around together and popcorn during floor time, it’s just when they are in the cage that they get a little squirrly and fight. Floor time is currently around 3 hours per night, so they have plenty of time to explore and ware off their young pig energy.
Anything else I should know about caring for four pigs versus two would be appreciated too.
Other info: they have plenty of toys and hideys. And their cage is made of two Midwest guinea pig habitats and I currently have a third one on the way. I give them a variety of veggies every day, and fruit weekly. They get unlimited oxbow Timothy hay and unlimited oxbow young guinea pig food and water. And they have two separate eating areas at opposite ends of the cage.
Attached pictures:
In the bathtub are the new girls (Ziina is black, Zayda is black and white) and the lap time Photo are the pigs I’ve had (Zoey is brown, and Zula is white). From what I’ve estimated with weight Zula is 10 weeks, Zoey is 7 weeks, Ziina is 7 weeks, and Zayda is 3 weeks old.
Any other guinea pig advice would be appreciated too!
Thanks everyone!
About two months ago I purchased two female guinea pigs and they have been getting along, ummm not that well. My bigger pig, Zula tends to bully my smaller pig, Zoey for long periods of time. Zoey was super shy but when she came out of the cage with Zula she started to reveal her personality and always popcorned. I figured she might be happier with another friend, so I headed to pick her up a new one (with the approval of my boyfriend . Long story short I came home with two more females, Zayda and Ziina (they were cage mates and I couldn’t bare to separate them, especially since they were headed into a stressful situation). They’ve been in quarantine and have been officially introduced (not sure if it’s successful yet, since it was only last night they stayed in the same cage). I cleaned out the cage first and got new fleece, and gave all the pigs a bath together to help neutralize any different smells. There has been some fighting for dominance, but nothing I don’t see as normal from what I’ve read.
My biggest question is, will my new pigs come around more and will my old pigs appreciate the bigger group now? I’ve read that piggies thrive in groups so I definitely hope this helps them all feel more confident and improves their overall quality of life. They all run around together and popcorn during floor time, it’s just when they are in the cage that they get a little squirrly and fight. Floor time is currently around 3 hours per night, so they have plenty of time to explore and ware off their young pig energy.
Anything else I should know about caring for four pigs versus two would be appreciated too.
Other info: they have plenty of toys and hideys. And their cage is made of two Midwest guinea pig habitats and I currently have a third one on the way. I give them a variety of veggies every day, and fruit weekly. They get unlimited oxbow Timothy hay and unlimited oxbow young guinea pig food and water. And they have two separate eating areas at opposite ends of the cage.
Attached pictures:
In the bathtub are the new girls (Ziina is black, Zayda is black and white) and the lap time Photo are the pigs I’ve had (Zoey is brown, and Zula is white). From what I’ve estimated with weight Zula is 10 weeks, Zoey is 7 weeks, Ziina is 7 weeks, and Zayda is 3 weeks old.
Any other guinea pig advice would be appreciated too!
Thanks everyone!
