Bonding 2 Guinea Pigs

[Hammy.Hamms]

Hello! I'm not exactly sure what section to put this post in, because I already have a guinea pig, but I'm getting another one soon.
Hammy (Female) has been living on her own for a while now, (about 2-3 months) and I really want to get her a little friend to play with. I am just TERRIFIED of the bonding process.
I don't have an extra cage, and the cage I have, can't be separated into sections, So I'm not sure where to keep the new baby when I first get her. Could she temporally live in a plastic storage bin? (with holes of course so she could breathe). I keep Hammy in a bin while I clean her cage, and she can't escape, so would that work?
I've watched many videos of how to set up floor time, so they can meet, but I don't want to keep them in the same cage first, in case they fight. I really don't want them to fight, because I need them to get along.
I'm scared that the new guinea pig will bite Hammy and that they will hate each other. There is a 14 day satisfaction thingy, where if I don't like the guinea pig, or it gets hurt, dies, or comes home sick, I can take it back and get a refund.
Please give me tips! Can they live together on the first day? Should I let the new guinea pig settle before introducing it to Hammy? PLEASE HELP AND GIVE SUGGESTIONS!
Thank you all soooooo much!!!

 

[Wiebke]

Hello! I'm not exactly sure what section to put this post in, because I already have a guinea pig, but I'm getting another one soon.
Hammy (Female) has been living on her own for a while now, (about 2-3 months) and I really want to get her a little friend to play with. I am just TERRIFIED of the bonding process.
I don't have an extra cage, and the cage I have, can't be separated into sections, So I'm not sure where to keep the new baby when I first get her. Could she temporally live in a plastic storage bin? (with holes of course so she could breathe). I keep Hammy in a bin while I clean her cage, and she can't escape, so would that work?
I've watched many videos of how to set up floor time, so they can meet, but I don't want to keep them in the same cage first, in case they fight. I really don't want them to fight, because I need them to get along.
I'm scared that the new guinea pig will bite Hammy and that they will hate each other. There is a 14 day satisfaction thingy, where if I don't like the guinea pig, or it gets hurt, dies, or comes home sick, I can take it back and get a refund.
Please give me tips! Can they live together on the first day? Should I let the new guinea pig settle before introducing it to Hammy? PLEASE HELP AND GIVE SUGGESTIONS!
Thank you all soooooo much!

Have you considered looking whether you have got a guinea pig rescue within your reach that allows meet and greet sessions at the rescue to let the guinea pigs decide whether they want to get on? That is the first and most important hurdle done before you bring a new guinea pig home.
These are the good standard guinea pig rescues that are recommended for the US; they all only put healthy, proeprly sexed and guaranteed not pregnant piggies up for adoption, which makes them the safest place to rehome from.
Guinea Lynx :: Rescue Organizations

Please take the time to read through our very detailed bonding guides at the top of the bondning and behaviour section, to which I have moved this thread. Give any new guinea pig time to get its bearings before you start bonding; that cuts enormously down on fear-agressive issues. Most aggression happens in defense when a guinea pig is feeling very much out of its comfort zone. If the piggies can meet through the bars beforehand and can get used to each other that way for a few days, that will help the bonding along a lot when you start it unless you have taken that hurdle at the rescue. Even then, I would recommend to conduct a bonding session on neutral ground and not in the cage, unless it is a new one that is not the home of one of the bonded piggies.

PS: Sows rarely bite, unless they are freaked out; hence my tips above. But once you have committed to a bonding, you have to see it through. You cannot bond guinea pigs in 5 minute instalments!
Illustrated Bonding / Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics
Introducing And Re-introducing Guinea Pigs
Sow Behaviour

 

[Hammy.Hamms]

@Wiebke I've actually looked it up a ton, and I couldn't find ANY shelters near me. I am horrible at looking things up. If you could help me that would be great. I'm looking for a shelter somewhere near Richardson, Texas, USA. THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!

 

[Elisabeth]

I think I have successfully bonded my baby boar to his quite unfriendly uncle.

I followed Wiebke 's advice and can't stress enough the importance of letting them through bars for a few days. It really helped my boys bond. If you could borrow a cage until they bond? x x

 

[Wiebke]

@Wiebke I've actually looked it up a ton, and I couldn't find ANY shelters near me. I am horrible at looking things up. If you could help me that would be great. I'm looking for a shelter somewhere near Richardson, Texas, USA. THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!

Can you get across to Texas Rustlers guinea pig rescue in Lewisville? It is your closest good rescue and also located in the wider Dallas area. Perhaps they know places closer to you you can use if you cannot get to them?
The other guinea pig rescues I know of are in other urban centres (Austin, San Antonio). Unfortunately, there are huge areas in the US without much in the way of decent rescues.
Texas Rustlers Guinea Pig Rescue | Facebook

You can try petfinder, but any other rescue you find listed on there, you get a piggy from on your own risk re. health issues, potential pregnancy, mistreatment etc. Shelters will not medically treat any animals; if possible, they notify any proper rescues in their area to pull any guinea pigs.

If you cannot get to another good rescue where all the problem factors have ben taken care of for you and do not have the funds to cope with a piggy that may need medical treatment, then a shop is unfortunately the best option left. Going rescue on your own is great if you can physically and financially do it and you have the experience, but if you don't have that, please leave it be. It can be a very steep and expensive learning curve sd several members have found to their cost.

 

[Freela]

My basic bonding method: I do a quarantine when I bring the new pig home. It's just not worth the risk of passing an illness along, and the stress of moving can bring any simmering illness to the surface. I usually do this for a couple of weeks to make sure nothing is brewing. Yes, I had the cost of another cage, but I've had it for years, can use it whenever there is an illness, whenever there is a new pig, as a travel cage because it's smaller, etc., so it is a long-term investment. I do meetings on neutral territory (last time I put towels down in the bathtub- totally neutral!) and supervise introductions. There is a good resource about introducing pigs as a sticky on the behavior page, it's definitely worth a read and will tell you what to look for. If they accept each other, it's important to scrub down the cage you plan to use and make it smell new before you put both pigs inside. It will keep the previous tenant from feeling it's her territory that needs to be defended. Please don't let them meet and then separate them, let them meet and separate them. It will be stressful and force them to go through the whole hierarchy sorting process each time. Introduce on a day when you have time to sit and see the whole thing through in one day, which can take some time.

I'll be right there with you in a couple of weeks, we just got a new baby to introduce to Hadley after quarantine is over, and although I've done this a couple times before it's still nervewracking until they accept each other, as I'm not sure what I will do if they hate each others' guts!

 

[Hammy.Hamms]

Can you get across to Texas Rustlers guinea pig rescue in Lewisville? It is your closest good rescue and also located in the wider Dallas area. Perhaps they know places closer to you you can use if you cannot get to them?
The other guinea pig rescues I know of are in other urban centres (Austin, San Antonio). Unfortunately, there are huge areas in the US without much in the way of decent rescues.
Texas Rustlers Guinea Pig Rescue | Facebook

You can try petfinder, but any other rescue you find listed on there, you get a piggy from on your own risk re. health issues, potential pregnancy, mistreatment etc. Shelters will not medically treat any animals; if possible, they notify any proper rescues in their area to pull any guinea pigs.

If you cannot get to another good rescue where all the problem factors have ben taken care of for you and do not have the funds to cope with a piggy that may need medical treatment, then a shop is unfortunately the best option left. Going rescue on your own is great if you can physically and financially do it and you have the experience, but if you don't have that, please leave it be. It can be a very steep and expensive learning curve sd several members have found to their cost.

Actually, That rescue is only about 25 mins away! Are you saying that there could be health problems there?

 

[Wiebke]

Actually, That rescue is only about 25 mins away! Are you saying that there could be health problems there?

No, it is the one rescue where we can guarantee that all piggies are well cared for!
Texas Rustlers is on the Guinea Lynx list of rescues whose criteria for listing rescues are pretty much the same as we have for the UK. As far as I know, they are one of those rescues that hold adoption days, but you need to register beforehand and be approved by them. So you can do a good deed, but be sure that you also get a lot back for your adoption fee; including as much peace of mind as possible.

But, yeah, it is convenient to have a rescue so local! My own closest rescues are all much further. I have in some cases travelled for over 3 hours on the train for adopting piggies of mine! I have travelled several times well over an hour for dating.