getting another guinea pig question...

[burrito]

Hi guys, I have a 20 month old guinea pig(got her August '06) and wanted to get another female guinea pig. I just purchased a 27x71 C&C cage and I'm sure its an adequate size for 2. However, I'm worried that they will not get along or what not. I really want to add another guinea pig to the cage and wanted to hear some suggestions and advice on this. Thanks alot!

[steve_and_pigs]

Some rescues do piggie matchmaking. You could also consider adopting a very young cage mate for her. I've read that sows of different ages are more likely to get along. There is also personality. Matches are best when one is dominant and one is submissive.

I'm not sure how to judge your pigs personality when you've never seen her interact with another pig.

Be sure to read the cavyspirit.com info on social life, quarantine and introductions.

http://www.cavyspirit.com/sociallife.htm

Be extra careful to verify that the piggie you adopt is indeed another girl! Pigs are commonly mis-sexed at pet stores, so a private owner re-homing their pig may have it wrong. Same with some shelters.

[PigWooBus]

I'm in a similar situation right now... I have 3 boars, and Piglet was the dominant pig. Woodstock is submissive. I wanted to get one more and got Buster, as a baby. When he got old enough to fight Piglet, he did. One morning I woke up and there was a lot of commotion and Buster was attacking Piglet, and there was bloodshed, Piglet was terrified, and it was just horrible.

So now they are separated--Piglet is living alone. At first I tried to separate Buster, but he just went crazy, and chewed on the bars until I was afraid he would break his teeth, and Piglet began picking on Woodstock. Buster and Woodstock are living together and best buddies now, but I am worried about Piglet, because I am sure he is lonely.

I'm also worried about bringing another pig in to live with Piglet, though, becuase if that doesn't work out, I will end up with 3 cages and I can't have that. The rescue in my area, Metropolitan Guinea Pig Rescue (MGPR), told me to bring Piglet to the adoption and we will introduce him to the pigs so it's like he gets to pick... hopefully if he chooses who will be his friend everything will work out!

[fourboys4now]

Pigwoobus, I wonder if maybe he would get along with a spayed female? Maybe that would make him less aggressive.

[PigWooBus]

That's what I am thinking, and my friend at MGPR agrees. In a few weeks, Piglet is going to meet some ladies.

[Char-x]

Originally Posted by burrito

I just purchased a 27x71 C&C cage !

Thats huge .

Steve - is the match making where you take you're piggy to the rescue and see who they get along with? I've always wondered about that because surely what about qurantine and risk of catching infections etc? I was thinking about doing it for my male but wasn't sure...

[steve_and_pigs]

Originally Posted by Char-x

Thats huge .

Steve - is the match making where you take you're piggy to the rescue and see who they get along with? I've always wondered about that because surely what about qurantine and risk of catching infections etc? I was thinking about doing it for my male but wasn't sure...

I think they introduce them. There might be rescues that just take a good look at your pig, and make a guess without introducing. I don't know.

I think it is the responsibility of the rescue and be adopter to verify the health of their pigs. Rescues typically keep new piggies for several weeks before making them available for adoption. I'm not sure how they interview the potential adopter to judge the health of their matchee. I haven't gone through the process myself.

There is definitely a risk in offering this service. An irresponsible adopter could cause big problems. There are certainly arguments for and against matchmaking, but those are probably best discussed in the kitchen. A debate over rescue policy is likely to attract strong opinions. Those with rescues also don't often appreciate the opinion of those without rescues, for obvious reasons. They have first hand experience, and have to deal with the consequences. So do their pigs.

[clotho]

I have been fostering a baby male piggie for a rescue here. A potential adopter put in an application for him - his name is Zack. This adopter has two males already. What we did was take Zack over to meet with the two piggies, and they are "fostering to adopt" Zack. This means they will foster him and see how he gets along with their two piggies, and if all goes well they will adopt him. If it turns out he absolutely cannot get along with their piggies, then Zack will be back with us.

Now in this case, the people have adopted through the rescue before, so it's already an approved home.

I would always observe proper quarantine unless I was going through a highly reputable rescue. For me personally, if I were to take in another boar, I would be prepared for the eventuality that they might not get along and make sure I had the resources to have a separate cage, etc. I think that's just something you take on when you deal with males. I believe in the same thing with females, but in my experience the females have been much easier to match up and fight less.

[PigWooBus]

Hi,
I worried about the health issues with match making too, but the rescue I go through (MGPR) takes all their guinea pigs to the vet and makes sure they are healthy, has them spayed/neutered, and keeps them for several weeks before they are available for adoption. So I think all their pigs are healthy. I took my Piglet to the vet for a check-up last week (since we are going to be adopting a companion for him soon) and he has always seemed healthy to me, and the vet confirmed that. I guess if you are worried about the quarantine thing, you could try this approach... make sure all their pigs have been seen by a vet and are healthy, and take your pig(s) to the vet and make sure they are healthy.

MGPR never explicitly stated to me that I had to take Piglet for a check-up, but they do verify that you have a good vet who can treat guinea pigs. In my case, I did have a vet who could treat guinea pigs, but it was someone I was not thrilled with. I told them that. So I picked one of the vets they partner with and made an appointment for Piglet. It went great and I love our new vet. MGPR had asked me to let them know how the appointment went and what I thought, and after that, they approved my application. So they might have been waiting to know that Piglet was healthy, I don't know.