Introducing new baby guinea pig?

Question

I am introducing my new guinea pig which i think must be 12-13 weeks old to my 4 year old female guinea pig.

they are both females.

i put them on a towel together and they didn't do anything apart from both just sit there so i put them in the cage and i havent seen them do anything.

My 4 year old sits in the igloo and when i go look the baby one isnt in it but sitting by it.

Is this okay?

Answer 1

you are correct in putting a baby with an older piggy, this is perfect. now all you need to do is keep an eye on them. there will be some mounting and brrrrrrr noises while the older pig lets the baby know she is the dominant piggy. the rule is if there is no bloodshed then leave them alone. (if blood is shed then seperate immediately and they will never be able to live together) and within a few days they should be best buddies. girls can be tricky sometimes and a bit stroppy but usually all goes well.

Answer 2

Keep them separate at first (even separate rooms!) for 3 weeks to ensure that neither has a new illness that can spread to the other. Once assured that both are healthy, take your first pig out of his cage. Clean the whole cage out, including washing the bottom and hard edges with a vinegar-water solution, effectively killing the smell. Also rearrange the objects in his cage; for example, maybe you'll put a hidey-hut on the other side.

Make sure the cage has at least 2 places to hide. This will be critical.

Now, take both of them to neutral ground. I've used a couch before, and it worked fine. Bring a dustpan, a towel, and work/gardening gloves with you. I'd also recommend putting a separate towel on the couch in case of any "accidents."

Place each guinea pig on separate ends of the couch. Don't push or prod them to meet; they'll find each other soon enough. Expect some initial noises and smells. Some guinea pigs will immediately get along, and come together happily like they were long-lost best friends. But, most won't.

Guinea pigs are not only social animals, they are hierarchical. They need to establish dominance. If you interfere, the process starts from square one, so only interfere if you ABSOLUTELY MUST.

Expect the following sounds and behaviors:

-Nose contests. Each will attempt to place his nose higher than the other's. Highest nose signifies dominance.

-Mounting. In any way possible. Mounting is a sign of dominance. It isn't sexual.

-Shaking their butt while making a low rumbling sound. This is called rumblestrutting, and it's telling the other piggy to back down. It's not necessarily aggressive, per se.

-Chattering their teeth. This can be a sign of aggressiveness. If your gloves aren't on, put them on and get the towel ready, but don't intervene.

-Minor scuffles. Enough to pull off some fur. These aren't a problem, really. They aren't hurting each other.

-Showing their teeth. Just as chattering, be ready.

-Rising up on their haunches. When this happens, a full-scale battle is ready. Intervene.

-Fighting in a ball of fur, biting hard enough to draw blood. Intervene.

Intervention:

With your gloves on, throw the towel over the guinea pigs. This disorients them. Wedge the dustpan between the two of them; they won't be able to get through. Immediately separate them.

If you must intervene, try the introduction again later. If the results are the same, put an inch or so of warm water in the bath tub along with a towel on the bottom of the tub. Place both of them on the towel and rub each of them with a light shampoo (killing their scents). After a nice little bath (during which they are experiencing what is, in their eyes, a huge crisis), dry them off with a towel and try the introductions again, this time with some hay to share. Expect a lot of shakings to get dry, a lot of munching from opposite sides, and the same dominance behavior. In my experience, though, they won't be fighting violently after the bath; it kinda bonds them together. That's not to say that they'll get along right away, but as long as they aren't hurting each other any more, you've made a small success.

Once they've worked things out for themselves, place them both in the cage (which, not having scents, can be considered neutral territory for their purposes) and, as long as they don't get intervention-level violent again, leave them to their affairs. They should have things *completely* worked out within a few days

Answer 3

I don't like the idea you are trying to introduce a fully grown, adult guinea pig to a baby. Firstly, once they do realise they're both in the cage to stay, that poor baby will get pushed around and hurt by the older one. You will be extremely lucky if they both immediately get along. It was good that you introduced them on neutral ground though. Put them back on the towel, and wait 5 minutes. Notice any sniffing or movement. If it looks like the adult is about to attack, remove the baby immediately. Another bad thing about having a baby and adult together, is that they require different diets. Babies need to be fed alfalfa hay and pellets, while adults need timothy hay and pellets.

Continue the introduction. If no violence or aggression is shown, then you're very lucky. Observe them very closely in the cage so you know what they're up to.