Litter Box and Introduction Questions

[EANaquin]

I currently have a black guinea pig named Mon that I adopted. I got him but didn’t realize he needed friends at first. So I’m going to build a bigger cage and am about to introduce two new guinea pigs, Milo and Neeko, in a few days. These two have already lived together for a while and have no problem with each other. That brings me to my first question.
What’s the best way to introduce the three of them? They’re all males by the way. Should I introduce them separately? Milo and Mon, then Neeko and Mon? Or should I just let the three of them work it out? I don’t want Mon to feel like he’s getting ganged up on, but they’re all really sweet pigs so I don’t know if that’d be a problem.
And for my second question, I can’t find what I’m looking for anywhere. I’m going to litter box train the three of them, but I don’t know which litter to use. I read reviews on ‘Kaytee Small Pet Litter’ and all of the buyers who waited a while to see if it works said that when the piggies pee in the litter, it turns into goo. So I’ve been trying to think of what would be able to be scooped by a mini litter scooper such as sand and cat litter. I’m really iffy on the cat litter because I’m worried they’ll eat it. I’m leaning more towards sand because the grains are easy to scoop but I haven’t read anywhere about anyone trying that. I know they can’t have sand for bedding because it’s bad for their lungs, but I figure it won’t be harmful because they wont be in there too long.
Those are my questions so far. Thank you for any answers

 

[Fozzy44]

Have you looked into having three males together? Trios don’t really work very well on the whole and you can end up with big problems. There are some great guides on here for advise on piggy behaviours and relationships.
My two boys ended up having a huge fight and hurting each other and I had to split them up. I’m in the process of getting money together to get them both neutered so they can have a little girlfriend each for company instead. At the moment they’re living side by side in hutches so they can interact through the bars in the meantime.

Can’t offer any advice on the litter training front. Both of mine have their favourite spots to pee in so I just make sure to clean that area more regularly. They poop wherever they please tho!

 

[GuineaPiggy101]

In my opinion no one can 100 percent litter train. I know this from experience from my past piggy Jasper. What I did was use a cardboard box (short lipped) and layered it with newspaper and then put a layer of paper towel (the soft kind) because my guinea pig liked the feel of the paper towel. I would set the makeshift litterbox into the corner of the cage your piggies use the most as the bathroom. Then reward them every time you see them poop/pee in the box. Jasper never needed a reward because he just preferred to go in the spot and wipe himself after he peed onto the paper towel. Which, in my opinion, was the funniest thing ever. However, if your piggies don't use the litterbox no matter what you try, it might be better if you left the litterbox out. Those are my tips and advice.

 

[Merab's Slave]

Welcome to the forum
Boar trios rarely work and you are more likely to disrupt the bond between Milo and Neeko and end up with 3 single boars.
On the Behaviour and Bonding thread you will find some very helpful guidance on what works and what doesn’t.
There is a lot of other helpful guidance for new owners about housing and care of guinea pigs.
I’ve never tried litter training- mine happily poo and wee wherever they want to.
I would have thought sand a bit harsh on piggy bottoms- I use wood shavings which work well for mine.

Please can we see pictures of your boys

 

[EANaquin]

These are my piggies! Black one is Mon, blond is Milo, black and white fluffy one is Neeko. So what should I do with Mon since I might mess up Milo and Neeko? Should I get them neutered and get him a female? I’m worried Milo and Neeko would get jealous if Mon got a girl and it would make them fight. So I’d probably have to get a boy for Mon, right?

 

[Tangle]

Welcome to the forum, and well done for trying to find Mon some friendship .

Unfortunately, as @Fozzy44 has said, trios of boars very rarely work and in trying to create one you run the risk of breaking the bond between Milo and Neeko. Have a look at the Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not? guide for some more detail. On the plus side, if you can arrange their cages side by side Mon will be able to interact through the bars and that will be a big improvement on him living as a solitary guinea pig. In the UK there are a few rescues that offer a GP dating service - if you could find someone near you that did the same then you could take Mon to meet a few single boars and hopefully make a friend. This has the big advantage that you're pretty sure you have a compatible friend before you bring a new GP home. However I know rescues tend to be fewer and further between in the US than they are over here so whether you can get to somewhere that could help you in this way I don't know - but it would be worth a look.

re. litter training, sadly Guinea Pigs just don't really get it. Our experience (although with sows) is that they'll pee and poop wherever they're cosy and comfy. And that pee'd on, poop'd in hay is (seemingly) at least as tasty as fresh. We give them a gardening seed tray, lined with news paper and a big pile of hay - a reasonable amount of mess goes in there and the rest of the cage is fairly easy to clean.

Sorry that's not more positive for your plans, but at least you've found out about potential issues before you find them out the hard way. Do you have any pictures? We LOVE pictures

 

[Merab's Slave]

They are so adorable.
We will definitely need more pictures.

If you live in the UK some of the rescues do boar dating which ensures that Mon will choose a companion he likes.
That is probably a good first option for you.

You do sound like a very thoughtful and caring owner - your piggies are very lucky

 

[Tangle]

Ah - cross post! They're very very cute

You could look at getting Mon neutered and finding him a wifelet. If you're clever about their living arrangements Neeko and Milo might be pretty unaware (opposite sides of the room/ different room, and keep any sows on a lower level - and if they share a run space always put the boar pair in before the sow). In theory you'd only need to get Mon neutered in this scenario, but some owners don't want to take the risk of an unintended liaison and send any and all bows in the house the plum fairy before adding a girl - there's no right answer there.

 

[EANaquin]

Thank you all so much for the help! I live in the US and have looked around for places that let you adopt piggies but can’t find one. The big cage I'm making is going to take up a large amount of room so I was thinking maybe I could split it in half with a couple grates and make it to where the piggies cant see eachother, get Mon neutered and get him a girl piggy. But a question with that is would Milo and Neeko be able to smell that she’s a girl? And if they can’t smell that then when I take her out of the cage to play with her, will they be able to see her and tell she’s a girl? That part sounds kind of dumb, but I’m just really wondering how thatd work out. If need be, I can try to make two separate cages and have them on opposite sides of the room, but it’d be a bit trickier with how my room is set up. Would an adult male piggy be possible? If not, then maybe a baby male?

 

[GuineaPiggy101]

Welcome to the forum, and well done for trying to find Mon some friendship .

Unfortunately, as @Fozzy44 has said, trios of boars very rarely work and in trying to create one you run the risk of breaking the bond between Milo and Neeko. Have a look at the Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not? guide for some more detail. On the plus side, if you can arrange their cages side by side Mon will be able to interact through the bars and that will be a big improvement on him living as a solitary guinea pig. In the UK there are a few rescues that offer a GP dating service - if you could find someone near you that did the same then you could take Mon to meet a few single boars and hopefully make a friend. This has the big advantage that you're pretty sure you have a compatible friend before you bring a new GP home. However I know rescues tend to be fewer and further between in the US than they are over here so whether you can get to somewhere that could help you in this way I don't know - but it would be worth a look.

re. litter training, sadly Guinea Pigs just don't really get it. Our experience (although with sows) is that they'll pee and poop wherever they're cosy and comfy. And that pee'd on, poop'd in hay is (seemingly) at least as tasty as fresh. We give them a gardening seed tray, lined with news paper and a big pile of hay - a reasonable amount of mess goes in there and the rest of the cage is fairly easy to clean.

Sorry that's not more positive for your plans, but at least you've found out about potential issues before you find them out the hard way. Do you have any pictures? We LOVE pictures

I would have to agree. Jasper must have liked the litterbox because it was the comfiest spot in the cage. (I even found him once sleeping in the litterbox instead of using it )

 

[EANaquin]

Also, on the thread Tangle posted, it says a lot about a trio of young boars going through hormones and falling out but what about when they’re adults and hormonally stable? If it is even remotely possible, I want to at least introduce the three before seeing it absolutely won’t work. I’d separate them while I'm not home and when I am home, I’ll put them in a large territory neutral space to play around. I don’t want Milo and Neeko to separate, so I’d go with this slowly and carefully. If it looks bad, I’ll get Mon his own friend but I want to make sure the three of them absolutely aren’t compatible before I have to make other arrangements. Two large cages and looking for another piggy that’d be compatible is a lot to do with the space I have It’s possible but it’d still be a lot to do, I moved everything in my room to make room for one big cage. I hope my piggies get along... ;( Thank you all! I’m glad I now know about trio boars fighting or else I might have bigger problems not knowing that it probably won’t work

 

[Siikibam]

Piggies don’t do play dates - especially boars - so you can’t put them together then separate them. Most of us would strongly advise against trying to bond them. Even grown boars can fall out. Do you want to run the (high) risk of ending up with 3 separate boars? It’s about personality rather than being hormonally stable I’m afraid. But even then it’s difficult to find a trio that works. How old are your pigs?

There is someone on here who has females in a cage on the floor opposite boars. If I remember correctly she blocks the view. You could stack the cages instead of putting them side by side. Mono and his girlfriend can go on the bottom, and the boar pair above. That’s the setup I have with my girls and boys. You’d also have to remember not to handle the girl before the boar pair. They could smell her on you, and that way lies problems.

Just remember that boars need at least 150cm. Good luck.

 

[EANaquin]

Would having a grate separating them work? Then Mon wouldn’t be as lonely and I won’t have to worry about fights.

 

[Siikibam]

as Long as they can interact through the bars. That’s generally how separated boars live. He has to be in the minimum cage size.