3 babies and a senior

[Quinnathin]

Hi! I have a female senior guinea pig, Luna who is 5 years old. Recently her bonded partner Elara, passed away due to a rare and aggressive cancer. As recommended by my vet, I ended up adopting some babies, ensured they are female as I've read and was informed that bonding Luna with babies would work better than trying her with another adult. I ended up with 3 because they were the last 3 that were in the store and they wouldnt get friends until a couple weeks later.

The babies, Sage, Paprika, and Cinnamon have been with me for 2-3 weeks now and I'm wanting to start the bonding process.

I dont want Luna to get overwhelmed at the start by 3 babies so i was thinking on introducing one at a time for a few hours, with breaks for Luna in between, and am wondering if this is the best choice. Luna has been with me for about 3 years now and I want this to go as smoothly as possible so any advice would be greatly appreciated

I have a neutral space with hay and water bottles ready to go

 

[CTWC]

Hi there I have no experience especially with girls but didn't want to just read and ignore you I am sure someone will be along soon to offer great advice and I look forward to following your journey.
Are the three new arrivals living next door to Luna at the moment?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! I have a female senior guinea pig, Luna who is 5 years old. Recently her bonded partner Elara, passed away due to a rare and aggressive cancer. As recommended by my vet, I ended up adopting some babies, ensured they are female as I've read and was informed that bonding Luna with babies would work better than trying her with another adult. I ended up with 3 because they were the last 3 that were in the store and they wouldnt get friends until a couple weeks later.

The babies, Sage, Paprika, and Cinnamon have been with me for 2-3 weeks now and I'm wanting to start the bonding process.

I dont want Luna to get overwhelmed at the start by 3 babies so i was thinking on introducing one at a time for a few hours, with breaks for Luna in between, and am wondering if this is the best choice. Luna has been with me for about 3 years now and I want this to go as smoothly as possible so any advice would be greatly appreciated

I have a neutral space with hay and water bottles ready to go

Hi and welcome

Please keep Luna right next to the babies with interaction through the bars so they can get to know each other with a divider (if necessary in the bonding area) but introduce and bond them all together. Babies want to belong and they crave guidance.

Either just lift the divider or put Luna first into the bonding pen and then the babies at the far corner with the hay in the middle. The babies already have a hierarchy between each other and have created a group.

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated Bonding Dynamics and Behaviours

 

[Quinnathin]

Hi there I have no experience especially with girls but didn't want to just read and ignore you I am sure someone will be along soon to offer great advice and I look forward to following your journey.
Are the three new arrivals living next door to Luna at the moment?

Yes I have this large enclosure, and theres a clear panel I've been using as a barrier between Luna and the babies so they can see each other and I have also been switching their hides around so they get used to each others scents. The first week i had the babies in a separate enclosure before moving them into this one

 

[Quinnathin]

Hi and welcome

Please keep Luna right next to the babies with interaction through the bars so they can get to know each other with a divider (if necessary in the bonding area) but introduce and bond them all together. Babies want to belong and they crave guidance.

Either just lift the divider or put Luna first into the bonding pen and then the babies at the far corner with the hay in the middle. The babies already have a hierarchy between each other and have created a group.

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated Bonding Dynamics and Behaviours

Ok I did and the smallest baby, Cinnamon, lunged at Luna after about 10 minutes and I had to separate them. I'm giving them all a break now in their normal enclosure and the barrier up. Should i wait a few hours or just try again tomorrow? I really want this to work but dont want to rush them or cause more distress

 

[Wiebke]

Ok I did and the smallest baby, Cinnamon, lunged at Luna after about 10 minutes and I had to separate them. I'm giving them all a break now in their normal enclosure and the barrier up. Should i wait a few hours or just try again tomorrow? I really want this to work but dont want to rush them or cause more distress

Give them a few days more next to each other but give them time to sniff through the bars. Lunging is defensive fear-aggression behaviour; the ultimate form of 'stay away from me and don't invade my space'.

If the bonding is not coming off, consider splitting your sows into two pairs.

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated Bonding Dynamics and Behaviours

Guinea Pig Behaviours in their Context

Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

 

[Piggies&buns]

Instead of using clear/solid panels, do you have any actual grids with holes in?

Unfortunately swapping hides and scents is not recommended due to the problems it can cause when it comes to bonding.
Guinea pigs are highly territorial so smelling an item belonging to another piggy/another guinea pig in their own side of the cage is seen as an invasion of territory. When they then meet that piggy with that smell, they recognise them as an intruder which can cause negative reactions and hostility between them. It is possible for scent swapping prior to bonding, to hamper the chances of a successful bond.

 

[Quinnathin]

Instead of using clear/solid panels, do you have any actual grids with holes in?

Unfortunately swapping hides and scents is not recommended due to the problems it can cause when it comes to bonding.
Guinea pigs are highly territorial so smelling an item belonging to another piggy/another guinea pig in their own side of the cage is seen as an invasion of territory. When they then meet that piggy with that smell, they recognise them as an intruder which can cause negative reactions and hostility between them. It is possible for scent swapping prior to bonding, to hamper the chances of a successful bond.

I dont have any grids but can look into getting some, I've used the clear panels since I first got my guinea pigs

 

[Quinnathin]

I have put a grid as the barrier in my guinea pig enclosure for Luna and the babies to interact and sniff each other through the bars, so far Luna has just been teeth chattering at them. Thank you all for the advice, I will update when I retry this bonding!

 

[Wiebke]

I have put a grid as the barrier in my guinea pig enclosure for Luna and the babies to interact and sniff each other through the bars, so far Luna has just been teeth chattering at them. Thank you all for the advice, I will update when I retry this bonding!

Just give it a few days more to allow Luna and the pups to settle down.

 

[Quinnathin]

Quick update, Luna got an infection so I've had to keep them all separated for a while so Luna can heal. They've had the bars in between them and i haven't heard any teeth chattering and now that Luna has been healed up, I'm going to try again with bonding her with the babies and I cant help but feel anxious about it. Any tips for the bonding? I've already got a neutral space for them and know to watch for any blood/fighting, but are there other signs I should be watching out for so I can prevent a possible fight?

 

[Wiebke]

Quick update, Luna got an infection so I've had to keep them all separated for a while so Luna can heal. They've had the bars in between them and i haven't heard any teeth chattering and now that Luna has been healed up, I'm going to try again with bonding her with the babies and I cant help but feel anxious about it. Any tips for the bonding? I've already got a neutral space for them and know to watch for any blood/fighting, but are there other signs I should be watching out for so I can prevent a possible fight?

Hi
I am glad that Luna is over her infection.

I would strongly recommend that you read these guides here so you can learn to read guinea pig body language and understand behaviours. If there is a fight, then it is usually because the owner has not heeded previous warning signs and aborted in time, including understanding fear-aggression and its body language.
Establishing a working hierarchical and territorial group happens via dominance behaviours so being able to interpret the level, intensity and slant of a certain behaviour helps with assessing whether the bonding process is within acceptable behaviours or whether the body language has turned negative. By far not all failed bonding include fighting and open aggression; especially not with sows. They can be a lot more subtle.

This guide takes you through all stages of the bonding process, including key behaviours. It also looks at gender specific aspects: Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated Bonding Dynamics and Behaviours

This guide is the most comprehensive collection of behaviours and looks at them in their social context to help interpret them correctly: Guinea Pig Behaviours in their Context

This guide here also deals with post-bonding sow interaction and seasons: Sows: Behaviour and Female Health Problems (including mounting and ovarian cysts)

I hope that this information will help you to read the interaction during bonding better. Decades of group ownership and the experience from way over a 100 bondings (successful and failed ones) have gone into the guides.

Wishing you all the best. You are welcome to ask any questions during the bonding proper in this thread here (please bookmark).

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