Need advice on bonding

Gayles Piggies

Gayles Piggies

New Born Pup
Joined
Mar 23, 2023
Messages
22
Reaction score
24
Points
160
Location
Cincinnati, OH
I had three piggies until about 3 weeks ago. Our older lady is Coconut (spayed) who we tried to bond to a young male. It went well until he was neutered and then she tried to kill him. So, we put them in an 8 foot C&C kennel that was split in half with a fence between them. They got along famously - through a fence. Grooming each other's ears. Muffin (the male) developed a urinary tract stone and we lost him. We adopted a bonded pair in January - who are in my avatar - they loved each other and the three of them got along well - again with a fence between them. Nutmeg - the multi-colored with Fig (black one) had some GI issue that the exotic vet thought had to do with bad microbiome. He ordered some probiotic that he thought would help, but over the weekend Nutmeg developed intestinal torsion and we had to humanely euthanize her.

It took Fig about 2-3 days to realize that Nutmeg wasn't coming back. She had a problem with her teeth as well so we had to separate them twice a day for an hour for fresh food because Fig ate all of Nutmeg's food -she couldn't eat very quickly. So Fig was used to Nutmeg coming and going.

She seems to be recovering and I was hoping to get her a friend or two (I can extend her part of the cage) but after the failed bonding with Coconut, I'm a bit unsure of this process. I've read through most of the posts about bonding after bereavement. The place where we originally adopted Nutmeg and Fig is a vet assistant school. They routine get guinea pigs surrendered to them and they work hard to find them good homes. The head of the program is willing for me to bring in Fig for a "date" to see who she seems to get along with - but I'm confused as to how we should go about this.

I'm sorry about the long post! I want to do what's best for Fig because without Nutmeg, she doesn't seem interested in Coconut at all. The picture below is after Nutmeg was gone for most of one day for an ultrasound. The dog is laying there too :)
 

Attachments

  • Welcome home.webp
    Welcome home.webp
    63.5 KB · Views: 9
I'm sorry - should have mentioned, Fig is less than a year (that's all we know about her age) and it was just Nutmeg with the gut microbiome issue, not Fig.
thank you!
 
I’m sorry for your losses.

Dating is a good way for her to find her friend. That way she can pick for herself rather than you picking one for her. That’s the way we recommend finding new buddies for current piggies. Do they have any neutered boars you could try her with?

You say the bonding failed with Coconut. Did you try bonding her with Fig again, or is it that Coconut didn’t seem to accept either of them?

Hope the dating goes well and she can come home with a friend. Trios can be a slightly tricky because one can become the ‘third wheel’ or the odd one out.

Let us know how you get on 😊
 
Thank you Siikibam - could you tell me a bit more of how dating goes? Like how long together (assuming it doesn't deteriorate in minutes) before we know it's a good possibility? I'm reading that as long as they do well together for several hours, I shouldn't be worried about them together overnight? ANY advice you can give me would be appreciated!
 
to bond piggies, they go in a neutral territory pen for several hours. They go through several stages of the process during those hours. Provided all is well for those several hours they can then move into their cleaned out cage together. It then takes two weeks for their relationship and hierarchy to fully form.

The dating part of it depends what the place you get the new piggies from offers. Sometimes it can be a speed date which is not the full bonding session - this only allows them to get through the first stage, acceptance, but nothing more. You would have to put them back on neutral territory to complete the full bonding when you get home.
 
Thank you! I thought that was the process but I couldn't find it well spelled out in any of the other longer pinned posts. How long should they be in neutral territory before I move them into the cleaned out cage? I believe I can stay at the rescue for several hours, until they take their first nap. Getting there at 10:30 and they are open until 3pm. I have a small cage that I use to transport my piggies to the vet - would it be safe to transport them home together or should I separate them for the car ride and then back to neutral territory when I get home? Keep them in neutral territory overnight?

I'm sorry about all the questions!
 
It’s several hours - can’t be more specific as each bonding is different but generally once they have woken up from their nap if things are still ok then that is a good sign.

How you bring them home - it depends on how long they are in the neutral territory bonding pen at the rescue. If it’s a short meeting which only allows them to get through the initial acceptance stage, then they should be brought home separately and you then put them back on neutral territory when you are home.
A longer meeting which allows them to go through several stages of early bonding and they may be able to come home in one carrier.
It does just depend though because obviously what you don’t want is for an incident to occur when they are in a small space and you’re driving
 
Thank you so much for all your advice! I'll go prepared for both situations and have the neutral territory ready at home.
Thank you!
 
We went on Friday to the rescue and chose one baby pig (about 2 months) that was not bonded to any others. All her sibs had been adopted, so she was the only one left -which, now as I'm writing this could have meant she had bonded to a sibling but had been separated. Anyway, we introduced her (Pumpkin) and Fig on neutral territory and stayed there for about 2.5 hours. I've watched multiple videos showing introductions and this was nothing like the videos :)

It was calm! We brought hay, lettuce and few other fresh foods. Pumpkin had never had anything but carrots so she was more interested in Fig than food, and true to Fig's personality, she was more interested in the food. Pumpkin sniffed around Fig, pulled on her hair, nuzzled her side and Fig just ate. When the food was gone, Fig showed more interest in Pumpkin but there was no chasing, mounting, nipping, chattering or .... anything. So we brought them home and put them in a playpen area that hadn't been used in months for several hours. They napped several times and interacted just a bit but nothing again. So we put them in the C&C cage 4X2.5 and watched for several more hours before going to bed. It's been two days and they've been fine.

They don't appear to have a friendship per se, but they are getting along swimmingly. They sleep on the same side of the cage together and don't fight over food. Pumpkin is still skittish (of course!) and doesn't come out for pictures, but she's eating, drinking, peeing and pooping. She didn't run away this morning when I gave them their vitamin C treat and she ate it! Progress :)

THANK YOU for all the information you have on the forum and advice I've received. Fig doesn't act depressed any longer, and I'm hopeful that in the weeks to come they will have a closer relationship.
 
That sounds like a good start! Please do be aware that what we may perceive as lack of closeness and friendship may be the exact opposite. They don’t have to be all cuddly and sleeping in the same area/always together to be well bonded. And remember it’s just one day. They will take two weeks to sort out their relationship but its a very good start.

PS I would cut back and then completely eliminate the vitamin c treats. They should get enough from their diet - hay, pellets and veg. If the new girl hasn’t had veg before, I would slowly introduce it. Perhaps start with coriander/cilantro as that’s am mild on the tummy. Hopefully she will catch up soon once she sees what her companion is eating.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top