Hi,
One of my guinea pigs died 10 months ago due to cancer and my other guinea pig has been alone since. We will be adopting new baby guinea pigs.
We have built a new cage and plan to introduce them in there. We are also home for the week. I have read multiple articles and asked different people and they say adults will except baby guinea pigs straight away as there is no dominance issue. Do you thing my idea will be ok? Also I have some tunnels and stuff that have my guinea pigs scent on will this be ok to put in the cage in the introduction? Should I just put them in as soon as I get home? Please reply ASAP!
Hi and welcome
Can you please give us a bit more information. Are you introducing sows or boars? How old are your 'babies'?
It is not quite as straight forward as all babies are accepted - key to any successful bond is mutual liking and character compatibility. While babies are desperate for the company and reassurance of an older piggy that doesn't necessarily mean that they will be best of friends in the long term.
Especially with boars, character compatibility is vital once the babies go through the teenage months. Boar trios with mainly sub-adults have a very high fall-out rate and are no a good idea unless you are planning ahead for a second cage right from the start.
Not all boars will accept all babies. We have seen quite a few cases where a rescue dated boar didn't accept the first baby but went happily home with another one he gelled with straight away. If you can get to a good rescue, dating (i.e. introducing piggies) at the rescue under expert supervision is well worth the extra effort as the piggies can have a say whether they get along or not, and you only come home with a pair where acceptance has happened. By using one of our recommended rescues, you can also be assured that all piggies are fully quarantined/vet treated, properly sexed and guaranteed not pregnant.
If your older piggy is 10 months old, they are still in the teenage months.
While boars mellow with age in the degree their testosterone output is fizzling out, sows can become much trickier to bond and rebond the older they get. That means while boar bonding can be wilder, sows generally tend to bond much easier at this age.
Please take the time to read these guides here; they will tell you what to look our for at any stage.
If you can, keep your piggies in a divided bonding pen at first, so they can meet sniff each other out before you start in earnest. NEVER stick a piggy into another piggy's territory, i.e. cage or hutch!
All piggies have to go through a dominance phase as they establish the hierarchy that underpins all social life. You will usually find that youngsters are very emphatically put into their place, but this phase is not lasting as long as when you are bonding teenagers or adults. Because babies are so vocal and dramatic, it can sound a lot worse than it actually is - especially the submission squeaking (which is NOT pain).
ALWAYS double-check the sex of any piggies before you start bonding. Mis-sexing is a lot more common than you would think.
What to check and look out for in new guinea pigs (vet checks, sexing, parasites&illness)
Bonding: Illustrated Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
