Introductions not going well, when to give up?

[Sakuranohana]

Hello everyone!

I am new to this forum and I hope I can get some assistance.

I adopted a male piggy about 2 months ago from a pet store. It was love at first sight , he would cuddle all the time. I read a lot and wanted to get him a buddy since they are very social animals, and my hubby and I came across a really cute piggy that loved to cuddle around my neck. We estimated he was 1-2 months younger than ours.

We tried introducing them properly in neutral territory with food and lots of space and places to hide. After 24 hours, they were still going at it with periods where they will have a "nose face off" and chase mouth open. No clear bites or blood but unable to settle yet. We decided to try to put them in another location further away from our original piggy's cage, where no guinea pig has been before, and it was a total disaster. After a few minutes, they were doing the "tornado" and tuffs of hair started flying. No blood to our knowledge but we used oven mitts and separated them.

Does this mean it's over? we have the chance of returning the new piggy to the store today if there is little hope we can't keep them separately.

Thanks for your help!

Edit: the new piggy was with 2 other boars at the store and he was the 2nd most dominant.

[Eimear]

Hello!

I went through the exact same thing when I introduced a new guinea pig to my first two, I had to throw a towel on them to break up fights a few times, after about a week the chasing and fighting stopped and they have been getting along brilliantly since then.

My advice would be to keep a close eye on them and be patient. It could take a long time for them to accept each other but as long as you dont see any blood or wounds I wouldnt separate them.

Good luck!

[Eimear]

also its a good idea to have two of everything; hay racks, food bowls, water bottles, and hideys so they dont have to fight over them. And make sure they are both getting enough food.

[Sakuranohana]

Thanks, I will keep trying

[foggycreekcavy]

How large is the cage? The larger the cage the better chances are that they will get along. No houses with only one entrance.

[sugarbunnies]

Thanks, I will keep trying

I am just wondering how things are now? I am faced with the same problem!!!!

[KassysFurryFrds]

I have a large male herd and I know how hard it can be to introduce a new male to another...
This is what I do and im not sure if this will work for u but u can always try I first clean out the cage make sure there is nothing of the male that was in it first I clean the toys,hay racks,food dishes,hideys....EVEYTHING!!!! then I make a pen that is neutral grounds with new smells and things for them to do such as fresh veggies not pellets veggies are more temting then pellets.....once all that is ready then I run a small bath for them and put them both in it I find during a bath they are less likely to fight and bond better because they are both a little nervouse together...wash them both with the same shampoo so they smell the same dry them with the same towl so theres no chance of a nother sent then put them in the pen together and see how that goes....
My male heard is 6 and one to be introduced tomorrow and I do this every time and it works perfect...now of course there is fighting but thats normal with males as long as there is no blood then I would just keep them together they will sort things out.
Also the bigger the cage the better that way they have room to walk away from each other and do there own thing
LOL Male piggy drama but Males are easier to introduce then females I find.....

[RodentCuddles]

See these links, maybe they'll help.
Guinea Pigs Social Life
http://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=46468

[sugarbunnies]

Well I gave them some time and just yesterday I cleaned EVERYTHING and then gave them a bath and dried them together in a towel. They then sat on the table on towels and ate hay together for almost an hour while my daughter watched them and I finished the cage. We put them in the cage and they were okay for about 45 minutes and then they fought. *sigh*

[jacqueline]

it's hard to be patient, but it really can take weeks for them to settle down. even then, i have three boys an they still occasionally chase each other around the cage, teeth chattering and all!

[sugarbunnies]

I put the "divider" up again between them. I'm wondering now if I should have given them more time. I just can't watch them 24/7 and I don't want anyone to get hurt. My youngest piggie got a bloody eye that's why I had to separate them originally. They didn't fight at all while eating their hay they did so well I thought it was going to work and when it didn't I was so bummed.