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New Guinea addition

M

MaxThorpe

New Born Pup
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Hi,

Hope you can help. We have two 6 month old guinea pigs and we have just bought a new baby guinea pig. Currently we have created a barrier in between the two older ones and the new one but the two older pig have started fighting each other whenever the new one is near.

Is this behavior normal? They are all females.

Any advice on how to introduce them to each other properly would be appreciated.
 
Welcome to the forum :)

Hello, sounds like it is setting off the dominance between the two piggies, when you say fighting are they chasing each other and mounting?

I would advise putting the little pig in a separate cage away from your girls until you are ready to bond.

We have a guide to bonding Bonding: Illustrated Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics
 
First, you should quarantine the new piggy away from your current piggies in a separate cage in case she is carrying any communicable illnesses. Quarantine should be two weeks before she goes anywhere near your current piggies. You then need to double check the sex of your new piggy before you attempt bonding.
The presence of a new piggy can sometimes cause issues. If you have put her close to your existing piggies or within their cage (albeit divided), they may be feeling territorial and may now be re-establishing their hierarchy. There is always a risk when you buy a new piggy (as opposed to doing bonding at a rescue centre) that they won’t be character compatible.
In the bonding section of this site, you will find the bonding guides which show you step by step how to do a bonding. Important things such as making sure the bonding pen is neutral, the cage they will all live in needs to be throughLy cleaned and its layout changed so that nobody feels territorial; and that the cage is big enough.
 
Thanks for the info. The two older piggies have started settling down a bit and eating as normal. They are in a pen with a divider at the moment separating the two older ones from the younger. I think the young one we bought today is much younger than the 8 weeks we were told she is. Would this cause conflict over the older females with regards to maternal instincts?
 
Unlikely. It would just be a territorial/dominance thing.
Do ensure you quarantine the new one though. If she is carrying something that hasn’t yet produced symptoms, it would be much easier to treat one than have to treat all three.
 
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