Bonding

Livia Rabideau

Livia Rabideau

Adult Guinea Pig
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Feb 14, 2018
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Kentucky, U.S.
I am a nervous wreck right now. I am attempting to bond my two does with my new baby skinny pig. It's been almost two hours. There has been a little teeth chattering from my one sow. The skinny pig ran from her and there was a squeal from the skinny pig. There has been lots of following and a bit of chasing. They are eating together off and on. They have both been Licking the skinny pig off and on. I hope it works out.
 
Bonding is not for the faint hearted. Sit it out. I’m an old hand at bondings and I still feel anxious about it. It all sounds much more dramatic than it really is, but in reality it’s just normal pig behaviour. Hang in there.
 
The baby just squeaks any time they get near her. She is so scared. They are just trying to lick her. She runs and the one chases her a bit. I think they are just getting to know each other. How long should I keep them here before moving them into the cage?
 
How long have they been together?
Have they had food?
Have they had a sleep?
I don’t move them to the cage/run until they are comfortable with each other, have eaten and had a snooze. I put in open cuddle cups (one each) into the bonding pen so they can relax. Those beds then go into the clean cage so their scent is transferred with them.
 
Livia Rabideau said:
They have been together over two hours. No sleep yet.
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Have they got somewhere to doze? Like a cuddle cup each? I’ll be honest, my usual rule is never to put them in the cage until they’ve done all I said above. The reason for this is that after they’ve had food and a nap it is either ok or once they wake up from their naps it all kicks off big time. No one comes to harm being in the bonding pen longer. Better to be sure. I have even left mine in the pen overnight when I wasn’t absolutely sure.
 
VickiA said:
Have they got somewhere to doze? Like a cuddle cup each? I’ll be honest, my usual rule is never to put them in the cage until they’ve done all I said above. The reason for this is that after they’ve had food and a nap it is either ok or once they wake up from their naps it all kicks off big time. No one comes to harm being in the bonding pen longer. Better to be sure. I have even left mine in the pen overnight when I wasn’t absolutely sure.
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I just put some beds in there. Unfortunately I just realized one of the girls is urinating blood. Darn it! Is this going to ruin the bonding taking her to the vet?
 
Livia Rabideau said:
I just put some beds in there. Unfortunately I just realized one of the girls is urinating blood. Darn it! Is this going to ruin the bonding taking her to the vet?
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Is it blood stained wee or fresh blood coming out and are there any other signs? Do you think it could wait until tomorrow or is it a same day emergency vet appointment?

With sows you can always stop a binding and start again another time. It isn’t ideal but it isn’t fatal.

Is your vets close by? How long are you likely to be gone? Can it wait til tomorrow for a vets appointment?
 
She is peeing a lot. It is pink. Coming out that way. I will be gone maybe an hour tops. It seems to be going pretty well. She is croaking when she pees. I don't want to wait.
 
It's been almost 6 hours now. They are snoozing near each other. They have woken up and seemed relaxed. Hoping it's a match. Just have to take the one to the vet. I plan on putting her back in after I get home and monitor them some more to make sure it didn't hurt anything taking her out. Planning on putting them together in the cage later tonight hopefully.
 
The vet thinks it's a simple UTI. All three are in the cage for about half an hour so far. The baby skinny will not stop popcorning. Bringing tears to my eyes. No teeth chattering or anything yet. Hoping it works out.
 
Oh my gosh my older girls are taking turns napping with the baby. There is still a bit of chasing every now and then as the baby is still skittish with them sometimes, but seems to be going well so far.
 
Betsy said:
It sounds as if they are going to be good friends. Well done! Velvet has just finished some yukky Baytril for a UTI.
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Thank you! I hope so. They have been in the same cage for 24 hours now and are still doing well. Sorry about velvet! Hope she feels better soon!
 
Glad the bonding had gone well @Livia Rabideau .
Having bonded 2 pairs last year I decided it has to be one of the most stressful experiences ever.
The bonding threads and ongoing forum support kept me sane.
Looking forward to pictures of your new herd
 
Merab's Slave said:
Glad the bonding had gone well @Livia Rabideau .
Having bonded 2 pairs last year I decided it has to be one of the most stressful experiences ever.
The bonding threads and ongoing forum support kept me sane.
Looking forward to pictures of your new herd
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I am still a bit nervous. She runs around and they chase her. Lol. They aren't hurting her, but she is so small and no hair. One scratch or nip could be bad for her. Lol.
 
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