Bonding 2 piggies

[Madisonmc]

Hi! So I’ve had my guinea pig Nutmeg for half a year, and decided it was time to get her a friend. The new guinea pig, Coco, is definitely the dominant one. But even when Nutmeg is submissive and squeaks to say “leave me alone”, Coco follows her and instigates fights.
I want to put them in the same cage, but they nip each other even with being in a neutral room with treats. I don’t want either to get injured. Any advice? Or are they just not a good match?

 

[squeaksandcarrots]

Take a look at this thread: Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Hope it helps

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! So I’ve had my guinea pig Nutmeg for half a year, and decided it was time to get her a friend. The new guinea pig, Coco, is definitely the dominant one. But even when Nutmeg is submissive and squeaks to say “leave me alone”, Coco follows her and instigates fights.
I want to put them in the same cage, but they nip each other even with being in a neutral room with treats. I don’t want either to get injured. Any advice? Or are they just not a good match?

Hi and welcome!

Nipping is normal dominance behaviour. Please be aware that the bonding is not done and dusted in a just a few hours; it takes on average about 2 weeks to fully establish a hierarchical working group, which is at very heart of piggy society and how piggies see the world. give your girls time to work through the bonding manual. Move them to the cage once the really rough bit is over. They deal with it in rounds with little rests in between.
Please read our bonding guide carefully; it covers the whole bonding process in practical detail and not just the introduction on neutral ground.

When moving to the cage, either leave out hideys or only use ones with two exits until the girls have fully settled together.

In addition to the link in the previous post, you may also find this link here helpful; especially as your girls will come into season at some point and it is likely to be a strong one:
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)