I have two female piggies, one is just under 2 years old and one is about 2 months old. I'd like to try and bond them but I could use some advice. I've had the older one for about 6 weeks and the younger one for about 2 weeks. How long should I wait until I try and introduce them to each other, and will they both need a vet check before I let them meet? I was thinking of introducing them in a play pen as it would be too difficult to make my room guinea pig safe but I'm struggling to find any good ones online, so if anyone has any suggestions for what I could get for them that would be helpful. I have quite a lot of floor space and ideally I'd want something easily collapsable and suitable for regular floor time. Any other tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!
Please bond them asap. The two month old piggy is too young to be alone, and any piggy under four months of age should be bonded on the day or within a couple of days of being brought home. Youngsters need the companionship and guidance of other piggies all the time
You will need to put them in a neutral area and leave them together for several hours. See how things go between them. If all goes well, then clean out the cage they are to live in and move them to it to live together from then on. It will take around two weeks for them to fully form their relationship.
The guide below explains the bonding process in detail. It can be done in a bathroom if it’s secure but you don’t have a playpen yet, or even in a bath itself if necessary.
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Make sure the cage they are to live in together is big enough - that is a recommended 150x60cm for two sows (120x60cm at an absolute minimum) or a 2x4 c&c cage.
In terms of a playpen, my boys live in my shed but need to come indoors during hot weather. For their temporary pen I simply have c&c grids cable tied together (all except the two ends). It concertinas up for easy flat(ish) storage and unfolds quickly when needed. I put a plastic sheet down, unfold the grids and pop on a couple of connectors to join the two ends, lay down some bedding and the cage is built within five minutes.
You will need to put them in a neutral area and leave them together for several hours. See how things go between them. If all goes well, then clean out the cage they are to live in and move them to it to live together from then on. It will take around two weeks for them to fully form their relationship.
The guide below explains the bonding process in detail. It can be done in a bathroom if it’s secure but you don’t have a playpen yet, or even in a bath itself if necessary.
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Make sure the cage they are to live in together is big enough - that is a recommended 150x60cm for two sows (120x60cm at an absolute minimum) or a 2x4 c&c cage.
In terms of a playpen, my boys live in my shed but need to come indoors during hot weather. For their temporary pen I simply have c&c grids cable tied together (all except the two ends). It concertinas up for easy flat(ish) storage and unfolds quickly when needed. I put a plastic sheet down, unfold the grids and pop on a couple of connectors to join the two ends, lay down some bedding and the cage is built within five minutes.
Oh no I din't realise you had to bond them so soon, everything else I read mentioned a quarantine period but I guess that's just with older piggies. I can try bonding them tomorrow. I could probably guinea pig proof my bathroom, or do you think a temporary set up with cardboard boxes would be okay? It would be easier for me to keep an eye on them that way. And if I put them in the bathroom would putting down a couple towels be okay for bedding?
I have a 2x4 c&c cage for them. If the bonding is successful and I move them into the same cage should I remove any hideys that only have one entrance for now to be safe? I'll be working from home next week so I can keep an eye on them most of the time anyway but don't want either of them to end up hurting each other.
And that's a good idea for the play pen, I think I'll just pick up some extra c&c grids and give that a try.
Don’t worry.
But yes, Quarantine only applies to piggies over four months of age.
It depends what you mean by a set up with cardboard boxes? They need a large enough area for the bonding pen.
Towels on the bathroom floor would be absolutely fine
Yes definitely remove the one exit hides - they aren’t recommended to be used - only ever use tunnels or hides with two exits
I was thinking of sticking a few cardboard boxes together to make a big enough space in my room but it might just be easier for me to block off behind the sink in the bathroom and put them in there.
Oh I see. Yes blocking the bathroom may be easier!
Good luck. Keep us posted on how things go - there is usually somebody around if you need help and the bonding guides in the behaviour section can help also
I've introduced them today. It's seems to be going pretty well apart from the occasionally head raising and some nipping, but they seem to have settled down with that now. It looks like they are napping together in the same hidey which I didn't expect to see this early, is that normal? If they continue with the dominant behaviours but no outright fighting should It be safe to put them both in the same cage?
Siikibam
Senior Guinea Pig
Sounds like it’s going well. However, there shouldn’t be any hides in the bonding area so I would remove it. The dominance behaviours can continue for up to two weeks as they settle into their new hierarchy/bond. Nipping is a form of dominance so that’s fine. So yes, it will be safe to put them back in together after some hours. Rearranged and thoroughly cleaned.
I removed the hides from the bonding area and monitored them for a few more hours before moving them into the clean cage. They seemed to have both calmed down a bit now, although Toffee my older one is still occasionally nipping the younger one and showing the dominant behaviours.
All sounds good. Nipping is a gesture of power and is normal
Engel
Adult Guinea Pig
Sounds as if things are going well. 
I thought things were going well but now I'm not too sure. Toffees started rumble strutting and keeps trying to steal food from Popcorns mouth whenever they have pellets and veggies and Popcorns been whining quite a bit. I'm not really sure what to do now, would it be worth moving them back to the bonding pen for a while? Does this mean they aren't going to get along or is this just normal dominant behaviours?
Thats normal - they will take around two weeks to fully establish their relationship. You are going to see dominance behaviours throughout life - establishing and, later, reinforcing their relationship, when they are in season etc. Taking food from each other is also very normal
It can take several weeks for the dominance behaviours to settle down. A while back I introduced a surviving single into an existing trio. It has taken well over a month for me to stop hearing submissive squeals (which sound far more dramatic to us than they are to the piggies) and nipping behaviours. All is now peaceful.So I thought that Popcorn was the submissive piggy but all of a sudden she’s started showing a lot of dominant traits. She keeps chasing toffee and trying to mount her, puffing up her fur, rumble strutting and trying to steal food from her mouth. It seems like all these behaviours have just came on really suddenly. Is this normal?
They are still within the two weeks establishing period and it may also have coincided with her coming into season. The first season post bonding is usually quite dramatic. Keep an eye on things