New pig

[RinT]

Hello! My boar is currently 2 weeks post op and we originally planned for him to get a girlfriend around October 20th - my cousin works in a vet and recently had around 33 guineas pigs surrendered to them. Monday 17th October will be exactly 6 weeks post op, but as far as I know he has been alone without a friend his whole life (around 2 1/2 years). I read online that having two cages next to each other can be a good idea and can help with bonding. I'm just wondering if this is necessary as I am getting him a baby (I have heard that as babies don't know how to be dominant you don't need to always do scent swapping?). His cage is currently on a table as he likes to be more level with us (Around my stomach height) but her cage would be on the floor, so I don't know if this would just upset him more as she would be mostly out of sight anyway.

Any advice please?

Thanks!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Yes it is necessary for single piggies to be side by side - it does help with bonding (babies generally don’t challenge for dominance but that doesn’t mean they dont need to be side by side) but in this case it’s also because she is a baby.

For her - Babies under four months of age should not be alone and they need constant interaction. As they cannot be bonded yet, then that interaction must be through the bars so their cages must be side by side. If hers is below his cage, then neither can interact with each other.
For him - If he has always lived alone, then being side by side before bonding will be beneficial for him to learn how to speak guinea pig and as they already will ‘know’ each other. It’s not just about dominance.

So for the purposes of the next few weeks and once you’ve got the new girl, it would be a good idea if you can bring his cage down to be level with hers. However, You must make sure his cage is secure (if it’s a c&c, add an extra grid height along the join side he can’t climb over) as a boar can be very determined to escape a cage and get in with a sow.