ruthie1982
Junior Guinea Pig
I think my local rspca would be to far away . So it would probably be more likely a baby one from my local pets at home store . What would I have to do to bond a baby
Sudden loss
- Thread starter ruthie1982
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The bonding process is as per my previous explanation and as per the guide I linked in.
You have to put tango and the new baby into a totally neutral bonding pen (with just hay and water; do not add hides), - you cannot bond them in tango’s cage; that is her territory and if you just put the new baby into there then tango may then fight the baby - and leave them in there for a day (even overnight if needed) to see if they can bond.
If they get on, then at the end of the day they are ok, you clean out tango’s cage so she no longer sees it as her space and then move them to that cage together. You can add hides back in at that point.
They will then spend the next two weeks formalizing their hierarchy.
If they do not get on in the neutral territory bonding pen, then the bonding has failed.
If that happens then they can never share a cage together and you will have to keep them in separate cages so they can never physically be together but the cages need to be side by side so they can still see each other between the bars so neither get lonely
I’ve added the guides below again as they explain the whole process including what behaviours you need to see to know the bonding is successful (and behaviours that you do not want to see and would mean the bonding failed)
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated Bonding Dynamics and Behaviours
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
ruthie1982
Junior Guinea Pig
Is it good keeping guinea pigs in a double floored hutch
Two sows together need a hutch which measures 150x60cm (a 5 foot hutch).
Being double storey does not double the space - only the bottom level counts as living space as piggies are ground roaming creatures who are not natural climbers (meaning they prefer single level living). Double storey may work for some piggies but they won’t for others - so they aren’t good or bad per se but it must be the right size hutch (on a single level) most importantly.
If tango is ok in a double level hutch then that is fine but do be aware that the new baby won’t be used to climbing ramps. Some piggies do learn how to do it but some don’t so you may find the baby piggy ends up being ‘trapped’ on one level unless and until she learns how to do it (so that would be bad given the piggies need to be together). Some people end up finding they have to remove the ramp and either keep the piggies just on the bottom level or keep them at the top level but block the ramp hole up; if one piggies never learns how to use a ramp
Cage Size Guide
ruthie1982
Junior Guinea Pig
How can I let tango sniff the other guinea pig if I only have one cage and she is in one of the hutches I have
You don’t let them sniff, you have to bond them properly.
You have to take tango out of her hutch and put her in a neutral territory bonding pen in your house - the ‘pen’ can be the bath tub, a bathroom floor, any kind of indoor place space you may be able to make which is safe with no gaps piggies can squeeze through; it must be somewhere tango does not see as her own territory so bonding cannot happen in the hutch . The baby has to go into that same bonding pen for them to meet and bond for the day.
Once the bonding is done and successful after one day in the bonding pen; you then clean out tango’s hutch and then move her and the baby back into the hutch at the end of the day for them to live together
If they don’t get on then they have to live side by side but as you have a hutch it makes a failed bonding much harder to manage - hutches don’t lend themselves to side by side living due to the solid sides (as a failed bonding means two piggies cannot live in the same hutch, you would have to have two hutches but their solid sides means separated piggies wouldn’t be able to see each other and would then lose communication)
ruthie1982
Junior Guinea Pig
Could u use the base of a cage for bonding them
What do you mean by a base of a cage? Do you mean you have an indoor cage as well as tango’s hutch? If so, Does tango go into the cage?
Bonding has to be done somewhere that is secure but also that is somewhere tango does not view as her territory.
If tango lives in the hutch and in the cage (base) then you cannot use those as tango sees them as her territory
ruthie1982
Junior Guinea Pig
I’m trying to think about how I can bond them both
Yes I know - as I said you can use a bath tub, bathroom floor, kitchen floor etc (provided there are no gaps they can get through or you can block gaps) - just anywhere secure that tango does not normally live
ruthie1982
Junior Guinea Pig
Would u have to sit with them
Yes. Bonding is an all day event that you need to be present for. You need to watch them for at least a few hours to ensure the process is going well, to ensure they are interacting and to ensure they are not fighting.
Once they are a few hours in and you are sure they are ok; then you can step away (but still stay at home) from the bonding space (provided they are safe in there) so they can get on with the stages of bonding before its time for you move them to the cage at the end of bonding day
ruthie1982
Junior Guinea Pig
Maybe an hour or a couple of hours
No. Bonding will take all day
You will have to watch them through the early stages of bonding for a few hours as if acceptance doesn’t occur you have to be able to step in immediately so you can’t leave them
ruthie1982
Junior Guinea Pig
Should u close all other doors to other rooms
ruthie1982
Junior Guinea Pig
ok what room would recommend using
It doesn’t matter - whichever room is easier for you
ruthie1982
Junior Guinea Pig
Yeah I just find them
Hard to catch
Hard to catch
Then you need to use a secure playpen or even the bath tub and not an entire room
To pick up piggies you should herd them into a carrier or box. Piggies don’t like being picked up with bare hands as it cuts close to prey instinct
ruthie1982
Junior Guinea Pig
I don’t have a indoor playpen I only have an outdoor run
Can you bring the outdoor run inside? If so, then you can use that.
You could do the bonding outside in the run but it would obviously have to be a warm and dry day, you would have to sit with them all day.
And importantly if the run is on grass, you would have to cover the grass with a blanket so the baby could not get access to the grass (access to grass has to be built up slowly over a couple of weeks (and that goes for every piggy every year) due to the risk of bloat)
ruthie1982
Junior Guinea Pig
Is grass not good for guinea pigs to eat
Grass is fine for them to eat but they have to have access built up slowly each year after a winter off of the lawn. Spring grass is rich and can cause fatal bloat on unprepared digestive systems
That means that a new baby piggy from a pet shop will not be used to grass (they won’t even be used to a variety of vegetables so the same gradual introduction to veg applies) be able to have access to grass all day if you use the run as a bonding pen outside.
It will take a week or so of handpicking grass for you to feed to the baby in the cage before you can give it lawn time.
Therefore to use an run outside as the bonding pen you will have to cover the grass so the baby cant eat it on bonding day given bonding has to happen on the first day you bring the baby home
Feeding Grass And Preparing Your Piggies For Lawn Time
ruthie1982
Junior Guinea Pig
Could u put an outdoor run on concrete
Yes but you would still need to put a blanket down or cover the concrete with hay, as being on concrete all day would not be good for their feet
ruthie1982
Junior Guinea Pig
Do older sows generally bond well with babies
I have already answered this question a couple of times earlier in the thread
Babies can’t challenge the hierarchy so can be well accepted;
however any bond comes down to character compatibility and mutual liking and sometimes older sows can become less accepting of change and new companions so not all will take to a baby - therefore while babies are well accepted, there is no guarantee of success when bonding without the help of a rescue centre
As explained, you would have to try to bond them and with any luck it would be ok, but if it doesn’t work then they would have to live in separate cages but be side by side (which as I also explained is a problem when you use hutches).
ruthie1982
Junior Guinea Pig
Fingers crossed tango will take to a baby one
Yep, all you can do is hope for the best (but have a backup plan in mind in case it doesn’t work)