2 Female Guinea Pigs Bonding Worries

[SamPickles]

Hey,

I'm Sam and just got became a new guinea pig owner. About a week ago I went to get Mabel, at Petsmart. They told me she was only 8 weeks old. Then today (a week later) I went to get Luna, another female guinea pig from Petsmart. When they are together in the same cage Luna just seems to be snacking on hay and minding her business, no squealing or other behavior. However, Mabel seems to be really distant from her and squealing a lot. I'm not sure what to do, or if it's normal. They are in the same cage but don't want to interact with each other, only Mabel squealing every time Luna is near. What should I do?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Did you introduce them on neutral territory before putting them in the same cage? The bonding guide below explains how to put them into a neutral territory to carry out introductions before moving them to a thoroughly cleaned out cage if introductions are successful.

Please check both their sexes to make sure they are indeed both female, pet shop missexing is common and you don’t want to end up with a mixed sex pair and a pregnancy.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/illustrated-sexing-guide-for-all-ages.156297/

The squealing is likely submission squealing which is normal and not of concern at all. It is literally one piggy saying to the other that she is not a threat to dominance.

It takes piggies two weeks to form a hierarchy and relationship following neutral territory introduction. When buying piggies on spec from a pet shop, you do need to be aware that they simply may not like each other.

The guides below explain how to introduce piggies to each other and what signs you are looking out for to gauge whether they are bonding.

Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

A Closer Look At Pairs (Boars - Sows - Mixed)