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Tabybim

Tabybim

Junior Guinea Pig
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Jul 27, 2015
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Hertfordshire,England
I'm getting a 12 week old skinny pig on Sunday and would like to introduce him to my boy Kenneth. They are both male and around the same age ( I was hoping if they got on okay that they might even live together ). Kenneth is a lovely gentle chap who loves my 4 other pigs ( even though they don't all feel the same about him☹️) but in the past introductions haven't gone very well . Any advice? Also I don't want Kenneth to feel left out , I really hope they can be friends but I've never had two males live together before ( I've heard they can make good cage mates but I've not experienced this.) obviously a lot depends on the nature of the new piggy as well .
 
Ive just bonded my two boars- though it was an older boar with a younger and much to my surprise it went...great! I messed up at one point and separated when it wasn't neccessary and even after that they were ok.

I would find a neutral place to put them- the bathroom floor or the lawn for example. And then put down a pile of hay and veg. Now I've heard of people washing piggies before the introduction so they smell the same but I would do this as a last resort because no piggy likes a bath! Lol. Then place the piggies in - I put Mo in first because he's the dominant one and then the new boar. You'll know straight away if it's going to work or not. Expect- mounting, wheeking, rumbling and some chasing. This is absolutely normal and they are merely establishing who is boss. However if you see lunging or biting which is drawing blood etc (any scenario where it looks like a piggy is getting hurt) then it probably isn't going to work. I'm sure your piggy wont feel left out- I thought the same with Mo and if anything he loves me more and is always coming to my hand for a cuddle. (I'll admit he gets cuddles first.)

Good luck x
 
Tabybim said:
I'm getting a 12 week old skinny pig on Sunday and would like to introduce him to my boy Kenneth. They are both male and around the same age ( I was hoping if they got on okay that they might even live together ). Kenneth is a lovely gentle chap who loves my 4 other pigs ( even though they don't all feel the same about him☹️) but in the past introductions haven't gone very well . Any advice? Also I don't want Kenneth to feel left out , I really hope they can be friends but I've never had two males live together before ( I've heard they can make good cage mates but I've not experienced this.) obviously a lot depends on the nature of the new piggy as well .
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Please take the time to read our very detailed bonding guide: Illustrated Bonding / Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics

Take your time for the run up to the bonding proper and let the boys get comfortable with each other through the bars so there are as few extraneous stress factors in play as possible when you initiate the bonding. Some more people friendly long term single piggies can struggle with bonding as they feel very insecure with their own kind.

In any case, as always when you conduct intros yourself, make sure that you have got a plan B at the ready if thisng don't work out.
 
Thanks for all the advice. The new piggy is coming with a cage so he doesn't have to live with Kenneth if they don't get along, and they can take their time getting to know each other. I'll let everyone know how it all goes.
 
Okay well new piggy , Jeremy, arrived Sunday. He's a lovely boy but a lot smaller than I thought he'd be at 12 weeks. At first he and Kenneth seemed to get on well but just recently Ken has been trying to nip Jeremy and me occasionally, nothing serious and he doesn't seem angry, no fur raised on his back no chattering. Anyway Jeremy's living in his own cage near Kenneth for now.
 
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