Felix and his new friend. Advice needed.

[Precia]

Hi there, I am fairly new to guinea pigs but have been doing extensive research online. A couple of weeks ago I brought home Felix, my 2 month old boy. Since then I have been searching for a friend for him. So many people have told me that boars should be housed separately but I know that Felix needs another boar to be happy.

I have looked through every adoption center in my area. Felix has met several different pigs and none of the introductions have gone well. My options dwindled and I was faced with the sad truth. I could either wait for another pig to come into the adoption centers or I could buy one from a pet store. If I waited I knew Felix would suffer, and I couldn't guarantee one would come in soon... or that it would be male... or that they would get along. But if I bought one from a pet store I would be supporting the breeding mills.

So today I broke down and brought Felix to a pet store with me. We met a 8 month old black and white American pig and they both got along well. No mounting, very little teeth chattering, and they sat next to each other quietly. They even nuzzled each other and sniffed all over. It was very nice compared to the other pigs we had met at the adoption centers.

When I brought them home I bathed both at the same time, clipped the new ones nails (He was so good for this!), and let them run on the floor while I cleaned and set up the cage. During this time they mostly stayed to opposite end of my room, content to not really be close to one another.

After I put them in the cage they both hid in separate houses. The new one started to venture out and discovered the food and hay. (I am not sure he has ever had timothy hay, the poor thing.) He wandered over to Felix's house and then the trouble began. Felix began chattering and puffing up his fur. New Boy went back to his house and stayed there for a minute and then went back to Felix. After they did this a couple of times Felix flew at New Boy and I had to separate them.

I figured that I put them in the cage too quickly and put them back onto the floor. They are separated but can still see each other across the room. New Boy has settled down and is exploring but Felix hasn't move a muscle. I am worried that I screwed up their introductions too badly to fix it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[spy9doc]

Just curious.........did you scrub the cage and everything in it? Did you then rearrange the cage so that it would seem new to Felix? It sounds to me that the trouble started when you put them in the cage......which was not neutral territory in Felix's thinking.

I'm sure that you will get lots of advice about this, but a couple of quick thoughts. If the cage is large enough, you can put a divider in the middle and let them become accustomed to each others presence and smell.

The other thought is that you have to give them time to work out their dominance issues.......in their own time, and not yours. If there is no blood drawn, then leave them together. Believe me, you will be more frightened than they are. You absolutely have to let them work it out.

[Precia]

Just curious.........did you scrub the cage and everything in it? Did you then rearrange the cage so that it would seem new to Felix? It sounds to me that the trouble started when you put them in the cage......which was not neutral territory in Felix's thinking.

I'm sure that you will get lots of advice about this, but a couple of quick thoughts. If the cage is large enough, you can put a divider in the middle and let them become accustomed to each others presence and smell.

The other thought is that you have to give them time to work out their dominance issues.......in their own time, and not yours. If there is no blood drawn, then leave them together. Believe me, you will be more frightened than they are. You absolutely have to let them work it out.

Yes, I scrubbed the cage and everything in it. I also rearranged everything. I have been thinking about making a divider too. I would need to get another water bottle though. (I have 2 f everything except the water bottle. oops.)

I changed the fleece, took out everything except the water bottle, food, and hay and put them back in. They are doing a little bit of the dominance dance, and then ignoring each other. It is such a process.

[Kelsie]

Congratulations on the new addition. However shouldn't the new pig have been quarantined for 3 weeks before introducing him to Felix. Coming from a petstore you never know if he could be incubating any conditions that he could pass to Felix.