New friend for Elvis.. how to bond?!

Lymaine

Lymaine

Junior Guinea Pig
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Ok so Elvis is 4 & half and lost his lifelong friend Freddie on Friday.
Today is Tuesday and we have just adopted a 3 month old boy to be Elvis friend… but I’m scared! I’ve never done this before! All pigs I’ve had have already been bonded when I got them.

I have Elvis upstairs in a large c&c and the new baby (Branston… because he is my pickle 🥰) in a large basic cage downstairs.
I plan to take Branstons cage upstairs tomorrow night into the same room as Elvis and leave him in there in the separate cage for a couple of days.. then at the weekend clean out and rearrange the C&C and introduce them in the kitchen. If all goes well, they will then live together in the C&C. Is all this ok? What can I do to make this easier on them both? Should they go straight to living together after introducing or should they have a few play dates? Help!


Edit- I should add that Branston was removed from his herd for treatment for sticky eye and then the herd refused to let him back in! Poor thing! He is extremely shy and nervous.
 
I highly recommend you have a good read of the bonding thread.
It is very helpful in guiding the process.
Be aware that successful bonding comes down to character compatibility so if Elvis and Branson don’t like each other the bonding won’t work out.

Guinea pigs don’t do play dates - it’s all or nothing so make sure that you have the time for the bonding session and a Plan B just in case.

Hope it goes well for you.
You will need to have some treats on hand - for yourself!
Bonding can be very stressful for the humans.
 
I would start here:
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

Read, re-read and then read the threads again.

Honestly without them I would have separated and interfered far too much during bonding.
The threads really helped me to know what to expect.
I think key is having a large and neutral bonding area with nothing in it except piles of hay and multiple water bottles.
Be prepared that is the bonding is looking a little uncertain they may need to stay in the bonding pen overnight, so position it accordingly!

Keep the new cage very simple and make it completely different to how it was previously so it feels like a neutral space when they go back in.

And good luck - I hope the boys will decide to be friends.
 
Thank you everyone. I’m so nervous! Concerned about the “neutral” situation.. going to bring the outside run in and put it in the kitchen on a blanket with a load of hay and two hideys and two water bottles… Elvis is used to the kitchen so I’m worried it won’t be totally neutral but it’s a small house and he’s wandered round all of it so there is no totally neutral space! We are going to start in the morning on Saturday so they have all day Saturday to hopefully bond… how long does it usually take? Just as an average lol..

I have read the info and read it out to my husband and also sent him the link.

So I’m still confused about if it is a good idea to let them sniff each other for a few days before or not? Elvis can already smell the baby I think because he is running around upstairs and sniffing the air a LOT 🤣
 
Lymaine said:
Thank you everyone. I’m so nervous! Concerned about the “neutral” situation.. going to bring the outside run in and put it in the kitchen on a blanket with a load of hay and two hideys and two water bottles… Elvis is used to the kitchen so I’m worried it won’t be totally neutral but it’s a small house and he’s wandered round all of it so there is no totally neutral space! We are going to start in the morning on Saturday so they have all day Saturday to hopefully bond… how long does it usually take? Just as an average lol..

I have read the info and read it out to my husband and also sent him the link.

So I’m still confused about if it is a good idea to let them sniff each other for a few days before or not? Elvis can already smell the baby I think because he is running around upstairs and sniffing the air a LOT 🤣
Click to expand...

Hi!

'Neutral territory' means a space that is not part of either piggy's regular territory so they can meet on a herd and not on a group setting. I use run in the kitchen successfully even though most of my piggies have been there before. But it is not part of their daily life - and that is the crucial bit.

Guinea pigs are wired to live in small territorial groups in a cluster but they move all together twice daily to and from their feeding areas. For the intro, we are making use of this shared 'herd' eating and sharing common ground outside a denning area/group territory which is jealously guarded and if needs be defended against any intruders - the better the denning area, the greater survival chances as a group.
This is complex social wiring is behind our advice. ;)
 
Wiebke said:
Hi!

'Neutral territory' means a space that is not part of either piggy's regular territory so they can meet on a herd and not on a group setting. I use run in the kitchen successfully even though most of my piggies have been there before. But it is not part of their daily life - and that is the crucial bit.

Guinea pigs are wired to live in small territorial groups in a cluster but they move all together twice daily to and from their feeding areas. For the intro, we are making use of this shared 'herd' eating and sharing common ground outside a denning area/group territory which is jealously guarded and if needs be defended against any intruders - the better the denning area, the greater survival chances as a group.
This is complex social wiring is behind our advice. ;)
Click to expand...
Thanks. Do you think I should let them sniff each other for a few days beforehand?
 
When bonding you shouldn’t have hideys at all. Should be just a big pile of hay and a water bottle/bowl. Good luck and everything mentioned so far is spot on.
 
Lymaine said:
Thanks. Do you think I should let them sniff each other for a few days beforehand?
Click to expand...

You can put a divider in the cage so they can live side by side for a day but please accept that every meeting is a full-on bonding session for guinea pigs. They don't do play dates.
 
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