In need of all the bonding advice!

KatieM

KatieM

New Born Pup
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I have two cages with two girls and one boy. One boy because his cage mate passed away, he went off his pellets so I panicked and got him a friend…3 weeks old and surprise it’s a girl…thank goodness I kept them separate side by side! Thankfully my adult boy is now eating.

I’d like to bond the baby girl with my adult girls (1yr 5 months both them), I’m not super worried about this. The baby is very submissive and shy and my girls are very nonchalant. They occasional rumble strut to each other but are very calm. My plan is to set them up a bonding pen and see how it goes! Hay in the middle and some time!

However here comes my worry…I’ve still got a lonely boy! I’d like to rescue him a buddy, he is however an alpha male, before his cage mate died he was mounting and everything still and his poor friend was ancient! He is 3years old, and fairly large. I will confirm this new one is a boy but I know boars are way harder to bond! So do I get a little baby? 7 months? A year? How long do I keep them side by side if I do get a much smaller baby? How long side by side in general seeing eachother through the bars? I know the teenage years are rough, I’m not worried about the baby girl since my girls are very non-hormonal…but a hormonal teenage boy…jeez!

So I want to make sure he gets the best shot at a match. The shelters near me will not do meet and greets so I have to go with my gut whom he might like…my plan is to get him someone more submissive but I obviously can’t predict the new one’s personality! And it really does come down to that! I did read the main forum on bonding so I think I can do the actual bonding part well…but I really want to give him a good shot at getting a friend!

So many questions these days…glad I found the forum. Thank you!
 
Welcome to the forum

Boars aren’t harder to bond, it’s a myth. They are exactly the same to bond as sows or mixed sex pairs. The difference comes that they tend to be more immediate and obvious in their failures to bond ie a fight is a clear indicator whereas sows don’t tend to outright fight.

The reality is that a successful bond all comes down to character, not age.
You are better off to get a piggy who is younger than him - a baby less than 16 weeks of age as he won’t challenge for dominance at that age (once hormones hit at 16 weeks of age things can change). Getting a baby of that age not a guarantee though - we do see adult/baby bondings fail on occasion.

If baby is under four months of age (which would be best), then there is no long term side by side time. Babies are desperate for social interaction and guidance so the bonding needs to take place straight away. You can put baby side by side for the day you bring him home (provided he is ok with it) if you need to and if needs to settle but the bonding would really need to take place the next day. If he isn’t coping like that then bonding may need to take place on the day you bring him home.

If you were to get a piggy older than four months of age, then you can do side by side for as long as necessary - days, weeks, a month even.

Good luck
 
Hi

We have got lots of helpful step-by-step guides on this forum; you won't find any other information resource on guinea pigs that has the same scope, depth, breadth and quality anywhere else.

Wiebke

Thread 'Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics'

1 Introduction
2 Pre-bonding
- Quarantine and sexing
- The need for a plan B
- The rule-breaker: Youngsters under 4 months (sub-teenage)
3 Setting up an introduction
- Getting to know each other
- ‘Buddy baths’ – why not
- Scent swapping - why not
- Setting up a neutral bonding area
- How to start the bonding
4 Acceptance phase: Do we like...
  • Like


You can find the guides at the top of our various Care sections and their sub-forums but we also have compiled some useful links collections, which you may want to bookmark so you can find them quickly whenever you want to have a read through first and then ask more targeted questions.
We also provide ongoing support if you'd like to run a thread for questions and feedback during your bonding (please be aware that we are mainly UK based re. time zones).

Unfortunately, we do not have a video upload. Pictures are best uploaded via the Attach Files button when you write a post; this works for all formats. We have a number of members who prefer to stay off social media or only have very limited access.
For the video upload, you ideally use a service without membership sign-in like youtube on a public setting and then copy across if you want us to comment on how the bonding is going.

Our forum is independent of social media and is run entirely as a non-profit by voluntary member donations. We all do this for free in our own free time. In our opinion, having total contro over our friendly little space is well worth that one drawback. :)

Wiebke

Thread 'New Owners' Essential Information and Practical Tips Starter Collection'

Contents Overview
1 What This Collection Is About
2 Guinea Pigs as Pets
- Family and Classroom Pets
- Sourcing Your Guinea Pigs, Common Pitfalls and Your Customer Rights
- Human Pet Anxiety: Practical Tips for Sufferers and Supporters
- Naming and Finding Out the Breed
- Guinea Pig Facts: An Overview
3 Living Environment
- Housing (with sourcing tips)
- Bedding (with...
  • Like

Wiebke

Thread 'Owners' Comprehensive Helpful and Supportive Information Collection'

Overview
1 Guinea pig species needs and human ownership
- Social needs of guinea pigs
- Family and classroom guinea pigs
- Naming considerations and finding out the breed
- Pet Owners Anxiety
2 Getting, settling in and interacting with new guinea pigs; pitfalls and customer rights
- Where to best get your piggies from and what to look out for in newly bought guinea pigs
- Settling in and interacting...
  • Like
 
I’ve only had boars. 😍

I’ve bonded a few times. Always with a baby and an older boy. They have always gotten on well.

I would say make sure you have at least two of everything in their space. Only use hides with two exits so they can’t trap each other. Good luck.
 
Piggies&buns said:
Welcome to the forum

Boars aren’t harder to bond, it’s a myth. They are exactly the same to bond as sows or mixed sex pairs. The difference comes that they tend to be more immediate and obvious in their failures to bond ie a fight is a clear indicator whereas sows don’t tend to outright fight.

The reality is that a successful bond all comes down to character, not age.
You are better off to get a piggy who is younger than him - a baby less than 16 weeks of age as he won’t challenge for dominance at that age (once hormones hit at 16 weeks of age things can change). Getting a baby of that age not a guarantee though - we do see adult/baby bondings fail on occasion.

If baby is under four months of age (which would be best), then there is no long term side by side time. Babies are desperate for social interaction and guidance so the bonding needs to take place straight away. You can put baby side by side for the day you bring him home (provided he is ok with it) if you need to and if needs to settle but the bonding would really need to take place the next day. If he isn’t coping like that then bonding may need to take place on the day you bring him home.

If you were to get a piggy older than four months of age, then you can do side by side for as long as necessary - days, weeks, a month even.

Good luck
Click to expand...
Thank you, all very helpful!
 
Wiebke said:
Hi

We have got lots of helpful step-by-step guides on this forum; you won't find any other information resource on guinea pigs that has the same scope, depth, breadth and quality anywhere else.

Wiebke

Thread 'Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics'

1 Introduction
2 Pre-bonding
- Quarantine and sexing
- The need for a plan B
- The rule-breaker: Youngsters under 4 months (sub-teenage)
3 Setting up an introduction
- Getting to know each other
- ‘Buddy baths’ – why not
- Scent swapping - why not
- Setting up a neutral bonding area
- How to start the bonding
4 Acceptance phase: Do we like...
  • Like


You can find the guides at the top of our various Care sections and their sub-forums but we also have compiled some useful links collections, which you may want to bookmark so you can find them quickly whenever you want to have a read through first and then ask more targeted questions.
We also provide ongoing support if you'd like to run a thread for questions and feedback during your bonding (please be aware that we are mainly UK based re. time zones).

Unfortunately, we do not have a video upload. Pictures are best uploaded via the Attach Files button when you write a post; this works for all formats. We have a number of members who prefer to stay off social media or only have very limited access.
For the video upload, you ideally use a service without membership sign-in like youtube on a public setting and then copy across if you want us to comment on how the bonding is going.

Our forum is independent of social media and is run entirely as a non-profit by voluntary member donations. We all do this for free in our own free time. In our opinion, having total contro over our friendly little space is well worth that one drawback. :)

Wiebke

Thread 'New Owners' Essential Information and Practical Tips Starter Collection'

Contents Overview
1 What This Collection Is About
2 Guinea Pigs as Pets
- Family and Classroom Pets
- Sourcing Your Guinea Pigs, Common Pitfalls and Your Customer Rights
- Human Pet Anxiety: Practical Tips for Sufferers and Supporters
- Naming and Finding Out the Breed
- Guinea Pig Facts: An Overview
3 Living Environment
- Housing (with sourcing tips)
- Bedding (with...
  • Like

Wiebke

Thread 'Owners' Comprehensive Helpful and Supportive Information Collection'

Overview
1 Guinea pig species needs and human ownership
- Social needs of guinea pigs
- Family and classroom guinea pigs
- Naming considerations and finding out the breed
- Pet Owners Anxiety
2 Getting, settling in and interacting with new guinea pigs; pitfalls and customer rights
- Where to best get your piggies from and what to look out for in newly bought guinea pigs
- Settling in and interacting...
  • Like
Click to expand...
Thank you! I’ve read those, I was mostly concerned with what age to get! Thank you for the heads up about the videos, that’s totally makes sense and I agree well worth it!
 
Zanzan said:
Would you consider neutering your boy and have him live with the girls?
Click to expand...
I have! I just do not have the correct cage space to have them all together, right now they live in c and c cages one on top of the other. I also cannot find a vet nearby who would neuter him…it seems to be very uncommon here in the US! Thank you!
 
weepweeps said:
I’ve only had boars. 😍

I’ve bonded a few times. Always with a baby and an older boy. They have always gotten on well.

I would say make sure you have at least two of everything in their space. Only use hides with two exits so they can’t trap each other. Good luck.
Click to expand...
Thank you, all of my hides have one exit…out they go after bonding! Great tip! Thank you for some positive experience, the boys have been so kind to me and are more personable they get such bad rap!
 
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