I adopted 1 more guinea pig but I failed... badly

[Megamon]

So let me explain the situation. I have two few months old guinea pigs that I've had for a couple months now. They're still scared of my hand when I put it in their cage to clean it and stuff like that. Yesterday I made the mistake of adopting a new guinea pig without reading up on how to introduce new guinea pigs to the herd, which I really regret. Once I found out how, I arranged a space where they can meet outside of the cage, but I made the horrible mistake of picking them up with my hand forcibly rather than with a tunnel or something that I can lure them into, including the new one. When I put them down, they all froze, not moving a limb. After a couple minutes I decided to put them back in their cage. My old piggies are fine now, one of them is a little scared now though. However I handled the new one a couple more times to move him into the spot I arranged for him and now he's been hiding in the hidey spot that I arranged for him ever since. I'm afraid I really messed up, how do I go about this? I really regret being so reckless

 

[Lady Kelly]

It's normal for piggies to freeze as they are prey animals and will "play dead" in the hope that predators get bored and go away.

Unfortunately the biggest issue you may have is your intention to introduce another boar to a pair of boars. Trios of boars rarely work especially if some or all are yet to go through the teenage hormones. Personally I would look to keep them as two pairs

 

[Piggies&buns]

They will calm down when the realise they are ok and nothing is going to happen to them.
The main issue is that you mention ‘he’. I am assuming they are all Male. This is going to cause you problems, I’m afraid, it is very difficult to get boar trios to work and they have a high fall out rate. Not only do you risk the third Male not being accepted, but it can also cause the original two males bond to break so you then end up with three single pigs all needing new friends.
It is best to keep your newly adopted pig away from your original pair. The new pig will need a new friend of his own for the long term.

 

[Megamon]

They will calm down when the realise they are ok and nothing is going to happen to them.
The main issue is that you mention ‘he’. I am assuming they are all Male. This is going to cause you problems, I’m afraid, it is very difficult to get boar trios to work and they have a high fall out rate. Not only do you risk the third Male not being accepted, but it can also cause the original two males bond to break so you then end up with three single pigs all needing new friends.
It is best to keep your newly adopted pig away from your original pair. The new pig will need a new friend of his own for the long term.

I'm not exactly sure if it's a he yet, I've yet to go to the vet with him. If he is though, I guess I'm getting a new guinea pigm Thank you so much for the advice!

 

[Piggies&buns]

If the new pig ends up being female, then obviously he/she cannot be left with two boys anyway as there is a risk of pregnancy. Also though you cannot keep two males with any females as there will then be a huge fight over any girls (one Male to multiple females is fine but absolutely no more than one male). Either way, you now need to get new piggy a friend of his/her own.

 

[Merab]

Don’t panic.
I can’t add to the advice about bonding males but regarding them feeling scared - give them all time to settle again.
Talk to them, be gentle and patient with them, bribe them with food and they will all settle down.
Don’t beat yourself up - we all make mistakes and learn from them

 

[Reenie]

I wouldn't worry - no harm done. I made the mistake of getting three boars, with the intention of letting my fostered piggy choose which one he wanted for a pal. I did this by putting all four boars in together. You can guess how that turned out. Pine had to go back to the sanctuary, still on his own, and I was left with a boar trio. Fortunately they somehow manage to tolerate each other most of the time....and then I ended up getting another pair who live separately lol

 

[Freela]

The first thing to do before putting pigs together is make sure of all the gender involved (as you mention you're not sure if the new one is a male.) Guinea pigs can breed very early, and it truly only takes a minute to end up with an unplanned litter. You can post pictures of your pigs' parts her for advice on determining gender, and there is a sexing guide with photos on the Pregnancy page.