Introducing A Younger To An Older

[The Vickster]

One of my rescued guineas (brienne, yes the GoT thing I know) was alone and in a cage her whole life - dont know her exact age, but I imagine shes not very old. Shall I bring in another girl pig to keep her company?
She goes out with my other 2 rescue girls, whenever the weather is safe, and their cages are next to each other.
Am I doing the right thing?

Also, as money was super tight, I made her cage look as nice as I could - should I get a new one?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! Please make sure that Brienne has ideally got constant contact with your other piggies for ongoing stimulation.

It would be good if you please added your country, state/province or UK county to your details as any advice we can give you depends very much on your local options, especially if you have constraints. You want to make sure that you have as great a chance of success as possible. Please click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. Thank you!

 

[The Vickster]

No offence, but I don't feel very comfortable handing out my information. I live in close proximity to a few rehoming centres. I am more concerned if I should inteoduce her to someone or not.

 

[Wiebke]

No offence, but I don't feel very comfortable handing out my information. I live in close proximity to a few rehoming centres. I am more concerned if I should inteoduce her to someone or not.

The crucial bit is whether you have got access to a good rescue that allows you to bring your girl and introduce her to a potential mate at the rescue (this is usually called "meet and greet" in the US and "dating" in the UK). If you can do this, acceptance or not happens at the rescue under expert supervision and you know that they are very likely to get on - or not (in which case you do not come home with a new companion).
Otherwise, it very much depends on the individual personality mix - it can work or it can go completely wrong, depending on mutual liking and how dominant the two are. Going for a baby is also not necessarily working in all cases.
If you rehome on spec with intros at home, I would make sure in your place that you can take the newly adopted guinea pig back in case it doesn't work out, but you usually won't get the adoption fee back and not every rescue is happy to take a guinea pig back, so you will have to clear that issue pre-adoption.

It would be great if you could at least add your continent, as for instance medical brands differ, as well as as access to good rescues or vets. Our advice has to be by necessity a lot more general if it has to fit any possible situation.

 

[AuntyC]

You might like to pop into one or two of the centres for a chat with the staff that run them? Ask to see what other guinea pigs they have available and whether they have experience doing piggy introductions. If you think the piggies there look well cared for and in good sized, clean cages, if they get veterinary attention when required, if new arrivals are quarantined for both health and possible pregnancies, and the staff are well informed and knowledgable, then you are dealing with a decent rescue centre and I really hope you can get some excellent help from them. Maybe another girl to pair with your single, or a neutered boy who is at least 6 weeks post operation. All best wishes.

 

[The Vickster]

Ok.
I apologise if it came across rude . I am from South East Kent, in the United Kingdom.

 

[The Vickster]

Thank you AuntyC. I do apologise if it was rude, but I dont feel right giving out everything. I apologise again Wiebke.

 

[Wiebke]

Ok.
I apologise if it came across rude . I am from South East Kent, in the United Kingdom.

If you could travel as far as East Peckham Rescue, you will find that they offer residential bonding, i.e. your girl stays for several days, will allow her to have time to settle down and she can meet more than one piggy, but not all in one day, which can be stressful and lead to fear-aggressive reactions. It will also mean that when she comes home, the bond will be solid and you do not have to worry about. This is by far the safest way of bonding and worth travelling for in my own experience.
Here is our recommended rescues locator. If it is too far for you, East Peckham may be able to give you tips as to which of your more local rescues may be safe to go to for you and which to beware of. RSPCA centres usually don't do meet&greet as many branches lack experienced volunteers. Each branch is individually run and many are sadly not very small animal savvy when it comes to bonding single piggies.

https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/pages/guinea-pig-rescue-locator/
Unfortunately, anybody in this country can call themselves a rescue and the results can be accordingly; there is no licensing and no official control. This is why we have introduced our rescue locator on the top bar; we are listing all rescues whose good standard, practice and experience we can guarantee for.

PS: We also have a recommended piggy savvy vet locator on the top bar.

I hope that this helps you make sure that you have got a good experience and can find a friend of our girl's liking. Age and gender (sow or neutered boar) are by far less important than whether they click or not and whether they can sort out the dominance between themselves. Older sows can sometimes be rather tricky to bond; some are happier on their own. This is one of the reasons why I would strongly recommend to try rescue dating. All you can do is try and see, but ideally in a situation where you do not risk ending up with a rejected piggy on your hands.

PS: I have bonded piggies of all ages, but I have also had my fair share of bondings where two piggies didn't click or could not come to an agreement as to who would come top. Some older sows can on the other hand go overboard with dominance against a younger piggy because they feel insecure. On the other hand, love on first sniff is a wonderful thing to behold - whether that is youngsters, elderlies or piggies with quite an age gap.

 

[The Vickster]

Thank you for all the help .

 

[AuntyC]

Thank you AuntyC. I do apologise if it was rude, but I dont feel right giving out everything. I apologise again Wiebke.

Hello. No problem at all. I have occasional problems on FB so have tightened my security on there. But on the forum here everybody is really friendly and I have never encountered any difficulties.