Jellybean Needs A Friend.. Advice Please..

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Adrianne88

Adrianne88

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Hi all! I have a question for everyone, so my guinea pig, Jellybean lost her friend awhile back and I think she is passed her mourning period and I myself am ready to adopt another friend for her. But my question is, is it best to adopt a young guinea pig or a guinea pig that is her age which is 3 years old. I know I will need to quarantine the new one and take it to the vet to be checked but if anyone has suggestions on introducing them I would greatly appreciate it. I've attached a photo of Jellybean.

IMG_20170227_210547_184.webp
 
Hi and welcome, and sorry for the loss of your piggy.

Assuming you are adopting from a rescue, any good rescue will welcome the chance for you to bring Jellybean along to date with one of their pigs, and a good match will go on personality, not age. Whilst there's no right or wrong in age, babies are often (not always) easily accepted and will become the natural under-pig. However an under-pig may wish to become dominant when she hits the 'teenage' hormones and the once-happy pair can then fall out. Most matches done this way with sows stay happy, but there is a chance of the dominance struggle occurring so no-one can be sure of the outcome when bonding and adult and a baby.
However, when you get a successful bind between two adult pigs, their characters and preferences in hierarchy have already been formed, and are less likely to change. A successful match at this stage is likely to stay harmonious.

Illustrated Bonding / Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics
Introducing And Re-introducing Guinea Pigs

I have requested that this thread can be split in order for you to have your own thread. That way more people will see your post to welcome and advise you :)
 
Hiya,

Sorry to hear of the lost of Jellybean's friend... :( Run Free little one.. Please post a tribute in our Rainbow Bridge section..

:wel:to the forum..

We have created this thread for you..

Lisa & Ali..
 
Critter said:
Hi and welcome, and sorry for the loss of your piggy.

Assuming you are adopting from a rescue, any good rescue will welcome the chance for you to bring Jellybean along to date with one of their pigs, and a good match will go on personality, not age. Whilst there's no right or wrong in age, babies are often (not always) easily accepted and will become the natural under-pig. However an under-pig may wish to become dominant when she hits the 'teenage' hormones and the once-happy pair can then fall out. Most matches done this way with sows stay happy, but there is a chance of the dominance struggle occurring so no-one can be sure of the outcome when bonding and adult and a baby.
However, when you get a successful bind between two adult pigs, their characters and preferences in hierarchy have already been formed, and are less likely to change. A successful match at this stage is likely to stay harmonious.

Illustrated Bonding / Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics
Introducing And Re-introducing Guinea Pigs

I have requested that this thread can be split in order for you to have your own thread. That way more people will see your post to welcome and advise you :)
Click to expand...



Thank you so much! I did adopt a guinea pig yesterday. She's 3 months old, she's all set up in her cage and seems to be adjusting very well already. I'm really surprised. She's got a no fear kind of attitude and is very curious. She's eating pellets and hay normally. But I haven't seen her drink any water yet. I got her a small piece of romaine lettuce and she nibbled at it and she had a little taste of parsley and seemed to like it. But she only had a little bit of both. I read that you shouldn't rush to give too many different veggies right away.
I put the cages side by side and Snickers(my new guinea pig) and Jellybean were able to see each other and both seemed quite giddy. Jellybean started popcorning right after seeing Snickers. I know quarantine is only for 2 weeks but I'm wondering if I should possibly do it for longer. And she has an appt to see the vet in 3 weeks for a full check up. I was wondering if I should take her in sooner than that but I want to give her some time to settle in before rushing her to the vet.

I attached a photo of Snickers.

IMG_20170304_195858_980.webp
 
Aw she's beautiful :) It's nice that she has a confident personality too :)
 
Thank you! She already has my heart. So far she is adjusting nicely, but I noticed she was itching a lot and had a small bald spot near her eye, so she is going to the vet tomorrow to see if it is a fungal infection. I'm hoping for the best.
 
Adrianne88 said:
Thank you! She already has my heart. So far she is adjusting nicely, but I noticed she was itching a lot and had a small bald spot near her eye, so she is going to the vet tomorrow to see if it is a fungal infection. I'm hoping for the best.
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Hope she is okay and that they both get on well! I am in the process of bonding my two girls and it has took a long time due to cages and money! The c and c cage should be delivered this week, so I am super excited for them to finally be together properly instead of just interacting through their cages and in their run! Hope everything goes okay for you, be sure to post lots of pictures ❤❤❤
 
ChloeCee98 said:
Hope she is okay and that they both get on well! I am in the process of bonding my two girls and it has took a long time due to cages and money! The c and c cage should be delivered this week, so I am super excited for them to finally be together properly instead of just interacting through their cages and in their run! Hope everything goes okay for you, be sure to post lots of pictures ❤❤❤
Click to expand...

How exciting! I can't wait to put my girls together. My Jellybean is super excited to be with Snickers. She looks at her like she thinks shes her baby.
I took Snickers(the one I just adopted) to the vet today and found out she has lice and a respiratory infection so the quarantine period is going to take awhile longer sadly. The vet didn't see the lice moving, he said it looked more like dry skin, but just to be safe she had a revolution treatment and will go back for another one in 10 days. He also said she looks like she might have been in a fight with another guinea pig prior to me adopting her. Makes me so sad, she's so sweet and I just want her to get better. She had her first dose of antibiotics tonight and she did great. I think she actually enjoyed the taste. As soon as I upload pictures to my tablet, I'll post more pictures of her.:)
 
pnwgranny said:
Your Jellybean is beautiful and I am happy others had answers for you as I am still learning.
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Thank you! I've had guinea pigs since I was 12 and I'm now 28, but I always learn something new and this website is so helpful and every one is so nice and friendly.
 
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