Hi everybody! I've posted a few times so maybe you've seen my story. About three weeks ago, I adopted a two year old guinea pig, Tahdig, from some friends of mine who felt they couldn't take great care of him anymore. Before I took him, his two older brothers died in a short time. Tahdig was always skittish and the most likely to stay in his hiding place, but this behavior got more consistent after they died and continued once I had him.
About a week and a half ago, I got a one-month old rescue named Strudel. I put their cages next to each for about a week and then introduced via playtime three days ago. They got along really well, Strudel was chasing after Tahdig like a little brother, they were cuddling together in some of the cardboard boxes lining their play area, etc. I put them in the same cage (a big one) and they've been there since.
There has been barely and physical fighting at all. Strudel chases Tahdig around and tries to mount him, which is funny because I thought two-year-old Tahdig would establish dominance pretty quickly. Mostly, things seem good: they're both eating and drinking more. Strudel used to not like fresh veggies, but it seems seeing his big bro eat them changed his mind. They're both spending way more time out of their hiding places--not just when they're running around together, but always. Tahdig still hates getting picked up, but when I take Strudel out for play time, they look at each other across the cage bars and whine till they're with each other again.
Here's the thing: Tahdig is constantly purring with annoyance. He's not hostile, he just seems perpetually annoyed. I don't know if he's just such a passive dude that his annoyance hasn't resulted in violence yet, or if he's just not actually that mad? I'm just not sure if I should be concerned that his annoyance is causing him ton of a stress, since he's also been eating more, drinking more, running around more, and seemingly less afraid of me since Strudel was introduced.
Thanks!
About a week and a half ago, I got a one-month old rescue named Strudel. I put their cages next to each for about a week and then introduced via playtime three days ago. They got along really well, Strudel was chasing after Tahdig like a little brother, they were cuddling together in some of the cardboard boxes lining their play area, etc. I put them in the same cage (a big one) and they've been there since.
There has been barely and physical fighting at all. Strudel chases Tahdig around and tries to mount him, which is funny because I thought two-year-old Tahdig would establish dominance pretty quickly. Mostly, things seem good: they're both eating and drinking more. Strudel used to not like fresh veggies, but it seems seeing his big bro eat them changed his mind. They're both spending way more time out of their hiding places--not just when they're running around together, but always. Tahdig still hates getting picked up, but when I take Strudel out for play time, they look at each other across the cage bars and whine till they're with each other again.
Here's the thing: Tahdig is constantly purring with annoyance. He's not hostile, he just seems perpetually annoyed. I don't know if he's just such a passive dude that his annoyance hasn't resulted in violence yet, or if he's just not actually that mad? I'm just not sure if I should be concerned that his annoyance is causing him ton of a stress, since he's also been eating more, drinking more, running around more, and seemingly less afraid of me since Strudel was introduced.
Thanks!
