Laaaauren
Junior Guinea Pig
Hello, I’m in need of some advice. This might is a little long, so apologies.
In June we lost our dear boar Casper. To say he was the glue that held our piggy trio together is an understatement. Our two sows (Cookie and Crumble) were pretty torn up about his passing, especially Cookie, who had been with him the longest.
Regardless, we did not intend to get another piggy, as the girls seemed to get on alright for the most part, with the odd minor disagreement here or there. However, a local piggy rescue that I volunteer at had a boar that I fell in love with called Nugget. They asked me if, rather adopting him, would I like to foster him instead as he requires attention that the rescue are unable to fully give due to the number of animals in their care. So I brought him home in the hopes of bonding him with our two girls so he can live out his life happily here.
I have bonded quite a few piggies in the past and it’s always been successful. I follow all the steps: keep their hutches next to one another, have playtime on neutral ground, allow the new piggy to work out their place in the herd etc.
However, I seem to have hit a bit of a roadblock. To begin with things seemed to be going well; there was the odd rumble strut and mounting, but that’s all fairly commonplace and harmless. Then all of a sudden they seem to have taken a step backwards. Nugget and Cookie seem to get on for the most part, with Cookie mainly uninterested. But Crumble appears quite hostile and upset by him, even when he is nowhere near her. The past couple of playtimes she has been chattering her teeth very loudly and raising her face towards Nugget, so much so that I have had to breakup a possible fallout. In fact, she chatters so loudly that it sets the other two piggies off and I worry there will be an all out fight.
Does the loud teeth chattering and mouth raising suggest that the bonding may not be working out? Or should I persist with it and see if it gets any better?
Any advice is appreciated.
In June we lost our dear boar Casper. To say he was the glue that held our piggy trio together is an understatement. Our two sows (Cookie and Crumble) were pretty torn up about his passing, especially Cookie, who had been with him the longest.
Regardless, we did not intend to get another piggy, as the girls seemed to get on alright for the most part, with the odd minor disagreement here or there. However, a local piggy rescue that I volunteer at had a boar that I fell in love with called Nugget. They asked me if, rather adopting him, would I like to foster him instead as he requires attention that the rescue are unable to fully give due to the number of animals in their care. So I brought him home in the hopes of bonding him with our two girls so he can live out his life happily here.
I have bonded quite a few piggies in the past and it’s always been successful. I follow all the steps: keep their hutches next to one another, have playtime on neutral ground, allow the new piggy to work out their place in the herd etc.
However, I seem to have hit a bit of a roadblock. To begin with things seemed to be going well; there was the odd rumble strut and mounting, but that’s all fairly commonplace and harmless. Then all of a sudden they seem to have taken a step backwards. Nugget and Cookie seem to get on for the most part, with Cookie mainly uninterested. But Crumble appears quite hostile and upset by him, even when he is nowhere near her. The past couple of playtimes she has been chattering her teeth very loudly and raising her face towards Nugget, so much so that I have had to breakup a possible fallout. In fact, she chatters so loudly that it sets the other two piggies off and I worry there will be an all out fight.
Does the loud teeth chattering and mouth raising suggest that the bonding may not be working out? Or should I persist with it and see if it gets any better?
Any advice is appreciated.
