Guinea Pigs?

Question

What is the best way to introduce a guinea pig to another guinea pig i have one female and im gonna buy another one so i want to know what the best way for them to meet each other is

thanks

Answer 1

well you shouldn't set the other one in the other ones cage. you could set them on your lawn or floor and let them get to know each other there.. but watch them and make sure they don't fight of course. That's what I did when I got my 2 female guineas

Answer 2

we introduced ours on a the floor with food for half an hour a few times a day then at night the new one would sleep in a separate run, this went on for 2 nights, then evenutually after lots of meeting on the floor we decided to put him in to their run.  there was a lot of dominating to start with and i hardly slept as i was worrying about them but they were fine.  just check for bite marks etc. goodluck x

Answer 3

I think the best way is to have someone else with you holding the new piggie and then you old your origional piggie, and let them sniff each other, etc.. Don't just plop the new one into the cage, it's a really bad idea. Or, if you have a floorpen, put them both in it, just stay close in case any fighting starts. Also, before you put them in the cage together make sure you get it totally cleaned out so it doesn't smell like your origional piggie! Also, be sure to quarintine the new piggie for a while. I was not informed of this when I got my 2nd piggie and it turned out she had mites, so they both had to be treated for that. Good Luck!

Answer 4

its really probably that two female guinea pigs get along really wellbut in case they fight then separate them they may figth for dominance but i dont think thats probably,but its good you are buying a new one so they can be each others company,wish you luck

Answer 5

Females are generally easy to introduce. Fights rarely occur. With males - that's a whole other story!!

This is the best way to introduce in my opinion :)

Get a large bath towel or two.

Put the towels on the couch (neutral, unfamiliar territory).

Spread them out over the middle of the couch.

Each person holding a pig, sits at opposite ends of the couch.

Make sure the towels are between you and there is a good amount of space (it helps to have a big couch!). Floor works, too. Keep kids quiet and out of reach. No other distractions.

Let the pigs find each other on their own time.

You may need to nudge them in the right direction. Have another towel handy to toss on the pigs if you need to separate them.

Let the games begin!

More often than not, pet owners want to break up guinea pigs exhibiting normal dominant behavior. Everyone looks worried and asks, "Is that normal?" And be prepared to answer the question, "Mommy, what are they doing?"

How long and what next?

Usually, the first 15 minutes is just getting acclimated to the new surroundings and the idea that there is another guinea pig there. It's the next 15 to 30 minutes that can get interesting. The nice thing about being on the couch is it makes it easy for them to run to you when they get uncomfortable. But, keep your interactions and interference to an absolute minimum.

When animals are introduced to each other and pairs or groups are established, there is an initial period during which they work out their social relationships (dominance ranks, etc.). There may be aggressive interactions; however, when conditions are right, the social organization will stabilize. Once the hierarchy has been established the interactions are subtle, and based more on avoidance or ritualized threat than overt aggressive action. If their daily routine is disrupted, if resources such as food or resting spaces are limited, or the animals are poorly grouped, the hierarchy becomes disestablished and the number of aggressive interactions increases.  The animal's well-being is threatened when:

a) space is insufficient for maintaining behaviorally adequate distance;

b) feeding or resting space for all individuals is insufficient; or when feeding and resting cannot be accomplished concurrently;

c) regrouping is performed so frequently that animals must repeatedly undergo the stabilization process; and

d) group sizes are inappropriate for the species.