New guinea pig

[siepiggies]

hello, I have recently rescued a eight month old male intact guinea pig about three days ago, he is currently in a 2 x 4 cage, and I am getting him used to me still. I have in the past had two guinea pigs at separate times, but I was in elementary school, so mostly my parents taking care of them. This is all still pretty new to me when it comes to bonding. So my question is since I just got him three days ago is it too early to get a second guinea pig to try bonding him with? if so how long should i give him before introducing a second piggy? I also will be building a bigger cage this weekend I was thinking of doing an L-shaped c&c cage 2 x 5 for each side.

 

[Roselina]

Hello and welcome to TGPF
We are a very friendly bunch who are devoted to guinea pigs
What is your Guinea pig called and we’d love to see a photo

I would let him settle for a few weeks and then get a new piggy to put side by side in the new part to start with
You would need a neutral area to bond the piggies ….or if you have a rescue near that could find your piggy a friend and do the bonding for you.
I’ve added the guinea pig info that will help you

Thread 'Behaviour, Bonding & Bereavement Guides'

Oct 30, 2017

Guinea pig constellations
Boars, sows or mixed pairs; babies or adults?
Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities
A Closer Look At Pairs (Boars - Sows - Mixed)
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?

Bonding and social behaviours
A- Z of Guinea Pig Behaviours
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
'Popcorning' and 'zooming' - joy and exuberance (videos)
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Bonds...

• sport_billy
• Replies: 0
• Forum: Behaviour, Bonding & Bereavement Guides

• 

 

[siepiggies]

Hello and welcome to TGPF
We are a very friendly bunch who are devoted to guinea pigs
What is your Guinea pig called and we’d love to see a photo

I would let him settle for a few weeks and then get a new piggy to put side by side in the new part to start with
You would need a neutral area to bond the piggies ….or if you have a rescue near that could find your piggy a friend and do the bonding for you.
I’ve added the guinea pig info that will help you

Thread 'Behaviour, Bonding & Bereavement Guides'

Oct 30, 2017

Guinea pig constellations
Boars, sows or mixed pairs; babies or adults?
Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities
A Closer Look At Pairs (Boars - Sows - Mixed)
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?

Bonding and social behaviours
A- Z of Guinea Pig Behaviours
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
'Popcorning' and 'zooming' - joy and exuberance (videos)
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Bonds...

• sport_billy
• Replies: 0
• Forum: Behaviour, Bonding & Bereavement Guides

• 

Thank you very much! the piggy is named Papua (like papua new guinea). Noted when I build the new cage I can put a divider in the middle where they have their own space and I will have extra C&C grids I can use to make a playpen that neither of them been in before so it’s neutral when they meet face-to-face. but i will wait a few weeks to let him settle in more on his own before introducing a second piggy.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Welcome to the forum.
He looks to be a lovely boy!

Definitely give him a little time to settle in. What you don’t want is to try to bond scared and unsettled piggies as they can overreact which can cause tensions and unsuccessful bonding.

Make sure the cage when he gets a friend is 180x60cm (that is 70x24 inches). Space, multiple of everything and that all hides have two exits is so important to boar pairs.

We can help with bonding information when the time comes!

What I would say for now is it that it looks like he has too many pellets in his bowl.
Pellets should be just one tablespoon per pig per day and never left with constant access to them. Pellets are the least important part of the diet, contribute too much calcium and can cause them to lower hay intake which will have long term negative health effects.
We actually don’t recommend the use of food bowls at all. We recommend veg and pellets are scattered into loose piles of hay on the cage floor (and that hay is not restricted by being in hay bags or racks; or that at least some of it is loose in a flat tray or on the cage floor).
Eating from a bowl doesn’t give any mental stimulation whereas if they have to search for their food through hay then it encourages their natural foraging abilities and keeps them occupied. It is very important that he is kept stimulated particularly while he is alone.
Once he has a friend, scattering the veg and pellets will also reduce the risk of any food hogging.
Mine get 5 pellets each and I hand feed them as a way of bonding with them. I actually only give pellets twice a week instead of daily.

Also, the hay tray with holes in the bottom is a risk to his feet. It would be safer for him if you could remove the white bit.