Help woth bonding! I'm new

[MapleSyrup2026]

Hello everybody, I am kinda new here and needed some help. I have a maybe 10 mo the old guinea log, and a 2 month old. We are trying to bond them, as our 10 month seems lonely. We started with both of them, on the bed. The older one was super happy, and she was purring low. The young one was kinda frozen. They got along. I out the older one in the younger ones small but temporary cage they they got along great! But then I put the younger one in the older ones cage, and the older one with her, and she started to kinda chase the other ones butt, and make a different weird purring noise. It looked and sounded bad so I took the little one and moved it back to her cage. I dont know what to do, what happened, or how to get them to like eachother again. Please help

 

[MapleSyrup2026]

Hi I'm new, and I posted this like 5 minutes ago but I cant see it pop up. I'm not sure but anyways, help!

I have a 10 month old girl and a 2 month old girl.
I'm trying to bond them as the older one seemed lonely

What I did what put both of them on my bed. The older one was low purring and seem so happy. She even rubbed noses. The young one was somewhat frozen

I then proceeded to put the young one back in her snall but temporary cage, and put the older one in it. They got along, are together, purred, and seemed happy. So then, I moved the older guinea pig back to her big cage, and brought the little one to. She started the follow the little one and kinda nip or get on her butt. She also was making like a purre like noise but it was different. The little one ran around trying to get away.
I separated them and put the little one in her smaller temporary home.
What happened, was It bad, how do i help, can I still bond them?

 

[Piggies&buns]

All bonding must be done on neutral territory and you must not put a piggy directly into another piggy’s cage as it will seen as a territory invasion

What you need to do is put them somewhere neither see as their usual territory. You put them in the neutral bonding area with no hides, only a pile of hay and some water and leave them in there for several hours to establish their relationship.
If things go well, you then clean down the cage they are to live in so that it is also neutral and the original piggy who lived in that cage no longer sees it as her space. You then move both piggies into the cage for them to continue to establish their relationship and hierarchy. It takes them around two weeks to establish their hierarchy. You should not separate them after a successful time in the bonding pen as it interrupts the process.

You will see dominance behaviours such as chasing, rumblestrutting (the purring you have heard) during the first two weeks and that is entirely normal.

Please read this guide as it explains how to carry out a bonding, along with all the signs you are looking for

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

Further behaviour guides which will be helpful to you.

Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)