Wanted to introduce ourselves

Our3pigs · Jun 6, 2013

Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to take a minute to introduce ourselves. I am a mom to three awesome kids (9,7,7). Each child has a GP that we just got. Two of them we received through a friend who was afraid that they pig's weren't' getting enough attention and he was looking for a home that would love on them more. They are boys and 2 years old, Chewy and Smore. Very sweet and docile. I wasn't expecting them to let us pick them up and for them to be so calm. They just graze on the grass and lounge around with us. They are, however, VERY overweight! I am looking for any advice as to how to put them on a diet.
Our third GP, Hershey, we just got and he is 4 weeks old. He is the sweetest little thing.

We are hoping to be able to house all three of the GP's together. We have had gp's in the past and had a very large c&c cage. We will be doing this for these piggies too. The two older boys came in a traditional cage and we are leaving them in there for the time being as we begin to introduce them, one at a time, to the baby. I don't know if this is going to work but we are keeping our fingers crossed. Right now we are just giving each older GP floor time alone with the baby with one of the kids sitting with them. I have no idea what to expect. If I remember correctly I shouldn't build our c&c cage and house the big boys and then add the baby later. Is that correct? I should put them all in at one time, right? If it doesn't work I will just have to put a divider in it so they can see each other and smell each other but can't hurt each other. The one is already starting to mount the poor baby.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Thank you,
Wendy and Kids

Wildcavy · Jun 6, 2013

I'll let the experts answer the questions, but I wanted to welcome you to the forum. I would love to see pigtures

bpatters · Jun 6, 2013

Welcome to the forum!

You're correct in that you should put them all together at once, and probably the sooner the better. But don't be surprised if the new arrangment upsets the apple cart with Chewy and Smore. That seems to happen rather frequently.

Are you positive they're all boys? See www.cavyspirit.com/sexing.htm to confirm that.

How overweight are they? Most weights listed for guinea pigs on the internet are too light, and the pigs themselves vary widely by how large their bone structure is. I have two sows that weigh in at close to three pounds, and they're just fine. Many overweight pigs are fed too many pellets -- the older ones should only get 1/8 cup per day while the baby needs either unlimited alfalfa pellets or additional high-calcium foods until he's six months old.

koalamissy · Jun 6, 2013

Welcome to the family!!! Definitely would love to see pigtures when you have the chance. Hope all goes well with the intros. Keep us updated.

Michele

puddin18 · Jun 6, 2013

Like bpatters said, just make sure they are all boys. Sometimes its hard to tell when they are little.

Our3pigs · Jun 6, 2013

Well, I just weighed the big boys and Smore weighs in at 2.6 lbs. and Chewy is 2.5 lbs. They look HUGE to me; bigger then the ones we had many years ago. So maybe they are just fine. I am sure there is a sticky post about uploading photos. I will try to figure it out and get pictures up. lol

Bpatters - I know the brothers are just that, brothers. But Hershey is only 4 weeks old and it's the pet store owner that said he's a boy. Before anyone jumps on me I know all about not getting pets pet stores. This one happens to not be a chain but a small-ish private pet store that is amazing! So please, no one read me the riot act.

We introduced them all a few times today. First it was just one on one then this evening we did all three and it went well. Chewy is the one who looks bigger, but by weight is slightly less, and he must be the dominate one of the two brothers because he tried to mount the baby quit often. So nasty but I know it happens so I dealt with it. We just kept taking him off of the baby and setting him next to him. Eventually he stopped. All three of them are squeaking away when they are near each other but not all housed together. The brothers are making there ticked off sound when put in the floor pen just now that the baby has been in when not being held. Not sure if it's because they smell him or what.

Does anyone have suggestions as to how long to keep them living separate before we build the C&C cage and put them all together? How will I know when it's time? Hershey is so tiny I can't imagine him surviving if one of the boys lay on him. lol

Thank you for any help!

bpatters · Jun 6, 2013

From what I've read, the batting average of pet store owners on getting the sex of a guinea pig right is somewhere near zero. At the very least, turn them all over and compare their private parts. If they're not the same, don't put them together.

Please don't put them together and then separate them, over and over again. You're doing nothing but stressing them out. They have to establish a dominance order -- it's hard-wired into them to do so. Every time you separate them and put them back together, they have to start all over again. Here are two articles to read: https://www.cavyspirit.com/sociallife.htm (the introductions section is about halfway down) and https://guinea-pigs.livejournal.com/3002707.html.

Dont "deal with it" by moving the pig that's doing the mounting. It does nothing to help the situation. Just don't put them together at all until you're ready for them to live together. Unless one of the older males is just really aggressive, the baby will survive and they'll all adapt. Don't interfere unless there's bloodshed or one of them is harassed to the point that it can't eat or drink and is losing weight.

puddin18 · Jun 6, 2013

I agree with bpatters about the pet store getting the sex wrong. Sometimes I think some pet stores do it on purpose so you will sell the babies back to them.

I thought my she was a he for almost a year. That may sound really naive, but I didn't realize the males anatomy was so obvious. Luckily she was the only one and she and her brother, who I got back a few months ago, are in separate cages.

Good luck getting them acquainted.

codoggydr · Jun 6, 2013

Hi Wendy,

I'm new around here, as wel,l and thought it funny to see another mom to twins plus one! We have not yet gotten our piggies, but will be getting 3 (1 for each kiddo.....ages 11,9 and 9) at the end of the summer. We have just built our C and C cage and are having so much fun sewing to get ready for the pigs. Hope your boys work out the pecking order and you can house them together!

Take care,
Jenny

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