new here

[3littlepigs]

Hi everyone!
I have been using this site for info. for the past few weeks and thought I'd finally register. A few months ago my family and I decided we would like to adopt a guinea pig or two. We searched locally for a few months with no luck, and then ended up "rescuing" Lily from a local pet shop. She was in with two large males and several full size bunnies. Since she was only 4 weeks old I just couldn't leave her there. After waiting a few weeks to make sure she was not pregnant we have arranged to adopt two other females (each about a year old) who need a new home, this weekend.
Any advice on bringing in two older with a youngster??? I've been searching but have not seen this scenario before. Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks!

[katiecavyNC]

Girls tend to be more mellow than boys - GENERALLY - there are always exceptions. Hopefully they will take to each other right away when it is time for introductions.

You should quarantine the new ones for 3 weeks just to make sure they are not carrying anything that will make your other piggy sick or vice/versa. That means separate cage in another room, or two separate cages if the new girls weren't together already. If you have left over grids you can make a temporary cage from grids and a shower curtain for a liner.

As far as introductions, neutral ground is best. When you are ready then floor time with lots of snacks and room to run and hidey houses would be a good place to start. They may get along great right off, but a large neutral ground will give them a chance to get to know each other and do their dominance dance while giving them room to run and hide if they need to back off.

Good luck with the new girls!

[3littlepigs]

Thanks for the advice! We got the girls yesterday afternoon. I did end up building them a temporary cage out of the leftover grids from Lily's cage since they came in a small store bought cage. I may have to try your shower curtain tip later today since right now I just have a temporary piece of extra chloroplast (the bottom fits the dimensions but I did not have extras for the 6 inch sides) covered with towels and fleece. Unlike Lily who uses only her litterbox these girls are messy and seem to go everywhere!
How did you recommend attaching the shower curtain? Do you take it up the sides part way?
The girls (I think we are renaming them Poppy and Lolly) are doing pretty well adjusting so far. I am taking them the vet this morning though since it looks like Poppy at least has a case of the mites.
Thanks again!

[BabyGrl]

Welcome to the forum.

[katiecavyNC]

Might be too late for this tip, but you can attach the shower curtain to the top of the grids with binder clips like you get at the office supply store as a temporary thing.

[3littlepigs]

That is a good tip. Do you ever have problems with yours trying to eat the shower curtain?