mayam
Junior Guinea Pig
Hi, sorry this is a long read but I feel like the full content is important. TYIA 
So, I had a pair of bonded boars and recently one of them passed away. I've spent the last month and change trying to find him a new cage mate so he wouldn't be alone (they banned the sale of guinea pigs a couple years ago so there really aren't very many in the shelters- which overall is a good thing, but made finding a friend longer than expected). I was finally able to adopt a solo male who's about 1 (the fosters weren't sure of his age since the shelter's webstie said 3, but they said he had grown in the few months they had him so probably around 1) and my other guinea pig Felix is about 5. When I brought Maurice home I set up a large enclosure on my bedroom floor so they could meet in as neutral of an area I could provide and there was all the normal sounds and chasing. Felix had been the dominant male before and was trying to mount Maurice but he wouldn't let him. Maurice wasn't chasing Felix, but also wasn't being submissive either. I left them on the floor for about a week and they were getting along just fine and Felix's demeanor seemed to perk up with this new friend. Fast forward a week later I put them back into the cage I had always used for both my pigs in the past (2x4 c&c cage) and they were okay some arguing but fine. The next day, I left to go to the laundromat and Felix wouldn't leave his hidey, but Maurice was just chilling eating hay and not being aggressive. I ended up pulling him out bc I had to clean their cage and was worried about him and saw he had gotten bit on his lip while in the hour that I had been gone. I had always intended to make the cage larger but hadn't gotten around to it and space is already tight. I feel so dumb for not giving them more space before putting them back, but my boys had been fine sharing that space in the past. A few days later I set them on floor time with a divider and they were fine and built a larger enclosure to see if the extra space would help, but when i put them back Maurice began chasing Felix so much to the point that Felix with just stand against the cage frozen and then hide and not come out at all. After this Maurice would kind of leave him alone, but would occasionally try to smell his butt/gland area either while in the hidey or standing. I let them be for a bit since there wasn't active chasing happening, but when I saw Felix still hadn't left his hidey and was clearly terrified I tried to put a divider up but Maurice has knocked down every divider i tried to put up. I eventually moved him onto the floor in a mesh play pen for the time being while figuring out what to do next. Everyone says once blood is drawn, their bond is broken, but I don't have the space to give them two full cages side-by-side ( I live in NYC- space is limited lol) I only have my bedroom to work with. And i considered doing a stacked cage but was told that wont fulfill their social needs since they cant see each other. I don't want to surrender Maurice back to the foster, but don't know what else to do and I'm nervous about introducing another pig to Felix since I know all of this has been really stressful for him but don't want him to be alone either. Is there any chance at re-bonding the future? I know he's on the younger side so maybe wit hsome time and more space? Would a stacked cage provide what they need? Please help! This whole thing has been extremely stressful and would love some input, thank you! and if you've read this far thank you!
So, I had a pair of bonded boars and recently one of them passed away. I've spent the last month and change trying to find him a new cage mate so he wouldn't be alone (they banned the sale of guinea pigs a couple years ago so there really aren't very many in the shelters- which overall is a good thing, but made finding a friend longer than expected). I was finally able to adopt a solo male who's about 1 (the fosters weren't sure of his age since the shelter's webstie said 3, but they said he had grown in the few months they had him so probably around 1) and my other guinea pig Felix is about 5. When I brought Maurice home I set up a large enclosure on my bedroom floor so they could meet in as neutral of an area I could provide and there was all the normal sounds and chasing. Felix had been the dominant male before and was trying to mount Maurice but he wouldn't let him. Maurice wasn't chasing Felix, but also wasn't being submissive either. I left them on the floor for about a week and they were getting along just fine and Felix's demeanor seemed to perk up with this new friend. Fast forward a week later I put them back into the cage I had always used for both my pigs in the past (2x4 c&c cage) and they were okay some arguing but fine. The next day, I left to go to the laundromat and Felix wouldn't leave his hidey, but Maurice was just chilling eating hay and not being aggressive. I ended up pulling him out bc I had to clean their cage and was worried about him and saw he had gotten bit on his lip while in the hour that I had been gone. I had always intended to make the cage larger but hadn't gotten around to it and space is already tight. I feel so dumb for not giving them more space before putting them back, but my boys had been fine sharing that space in the past. A few days later I set them on floor time with a divider and they were fine and built a larger enclosure to see if the extra space would help, but when i put them back Maurice began chasing Felix so much to the point that Felix with just stand against the cage frozen and then hide and not come out at all. After this Maurice would kind of leave him alone, but would occasionally try to smell his butt/gland area either while in the hidey or standing. I let them be for a bit since there wasn't active chasing happening, but when I saw Felix still hadn't left his hidey and was clearly terrified I tried to put a divider up but Maurice has knocked down every divider i tried to put up. I eventually moved him onto the floor in a mesh play pen for the time being while figuring out what to do next. Everyone says once blood is drawn, their bond is broken, but I don't have the space to give them two full cages side-by-side ( I live in NYC- space is limited lol) I only have my bedroom to work with. And i considered doing a stacked cage but was told that wont fulfill their social needs since they cant see each other. I don't want to surrender Maurice back to the foster, but don't know what else to do and I'm nervous about introducing another pig to Felix since I know all of this has been really stressful for him but don't want him to be alone either. Is there any chance at re-bonding the future? I know he's on the younger side so maybe wit hsome time and more space? Would a stacked cage provide what they need? Please help! This whole thing has been extremely stressful and would love some input, thank you! and if you've read this far thank you!