Introductions Behaviors, intros, personification; advise me

Lady Amelia · Jun 24, 2015

Backstory:
I have a mom and baby pair that I bought from a local petstore after a few months of dead ends on the adoption front. They are doing well but are in an unsuitable cage.
I was later contacted back by one of the people I was attempting to adopt from, and took in her trio of skinnys (mom and older babies). I've fostered a lot of animals in my day so I took them without thinking twice. I think they don't like eachother. The mom and the one with least hair are always snuggled up and the werewolf (the one with more hair) is always by herself, the odd one out. I wonder if they think she is strange (since she is so fuzzy) or if I'm just applying my human emotions to their situation. I also wonder if the moms don't like being forced to stay with their babies. They are in (of course) a cage that is way too small for a trio and that is probably causing (my observed) dislike for one another. I considered rehoming the mom and her companion and keeping the werewolf who is my favorite. I really enjoy all of them although 5 is a lot of mouths to feed. I have been able to afford it. I don't drive so I am buying a bail of hay so I don't have to find a ride to the pet store every time I run out of the bag.

Ive ordered a C&C cage, the jumbo, and it should be here this wheek

. I want to intro them and get them in the new cage since they are all cramped. I also bought the "wall of silence" if things go badly I can separate them.

I'm not really sure exactly what I'm asking, but what would you do in my situation?

Paula · Jun 24, 2015

In my experience, moms tend to not have any problem staying with their female pups for life. One thing that's different about hairless guinea pigs (and other animals, I suppose) is that they really rely on each other for warmth, so you'll often see them huddling together/cuddling/etc. Hairy pigs don't have that same need - so you aren't as likely to find them cuddled with a companion the same way ... That doesn't mean, though, that they don't like each other or aren't getting along. The different need for close body contact for heat does seem to make them bond a bit more closely, but I wouldn't separate a group that is otherwise getting along because you don't think they are as strongly bonded as two hairless animals.

bpatters · Jun 24, 2015

Ditto @Paula.

lunarminx · Jun 24, 2015

With the 2x6 you ordered, you could break apart the cages and use those panels to make it even longer. That is if you have the room, that way all the sows would be together.

Lady Amelia · Jun 25, 2015

Great. Thank you for advising me. That makes sense about the snuggling. I can't wait for them to have more space. My little herd.

Amanda Marie · Jun 25, 2015

I hope it all turns out well. Pictures of them and the new cage? Maybe

Lady Amelia · Jun 26, 2015

Amanda Marie said:
I hope it all turns out well. Pictures of them and the new cage? Maybe

Pix for sure Amanda! The cage should be here today. Tomorrow I will do the introducing and cross my fingers that everything goes well! I'm a little worried about the skinnypigs tender skin. One of my haired girls is a little nippy!

Lady Amelia · Jun 28, 2015

So we did the introduction lastnight. It went fairly well. Wow that's stressful. The Dom piggy, Lucy, is so mean! There was lots of chasing and chattering. No mounting but incessant chasing and the hairless girls have scratches on their behinds. I know I need to be patient and wait it out but I feel so bad for the skinny girls. There hasn't been and screaming or brawling so I think that's a good sign. They spent the night in their new cage which is huge! I just wanted to update and get a little reassurance that the scratching is ok and that I don't need to separate Lucy as of yet.

bpatters · Jun 28, 2015

Don't separate. Do rub some cold pressed virgin coconut oil into the scratches, and keep a close eye out for any infection.

Lady Amelia · Jun 29, 2015

Another seemingly uneventful sucessful evening with the girls. The poor skinnypigs, though. More scratches on their precious little behinds. Oiled them all up yesterday and I think that made them feel better. All of them except the haired baby Dolly, lost weight. I will keep weighing them every day.

Lady Amelia · Jun 29, 2015

Here is a *tiny* pic of the before and after cages

surlypiggy · Jun 30, 2015

You may need to trim your furry pigs' nails down a little bit more if you haven't already. I'm jealous you have skinnies and a werewolf! I keep looking, but haven't found either. Good luck!

Lady Amelia · Jun 30, 2015

surlypiggy said:
You may need to trim your furry pigs' nails down a little bit more if you haven't already. I'm jealous you have skinnies and a werewolf! I keep looking, but haven't found either. Good luck!

Thank you! They are super precious. I did trim all of their nails about a week or two ago. Great suggestion, though! I might need to do it again. I used to have a hedgehog, so I was very confident about doing it and it went well. I wish I could figure out how to post bigger pictures so I can show them off more

Another successful evening! I weighed them all and oiled them up. I was very pleased to see they are gaining weight. They had lost some during this stressful time so I wanted to keep a diligent eye on that.

Something I observed and not read about was a strange behavior displayed by the skinny mom, Nellie. She was walking low to the ground, all stretched out, with her butt in the air, making a purring noise, and squirted pee behind her about 8 inches or so. That was strange! I think she was trying to say, "Back off!" Anyone else ever seen this?

bpatters · Jun 30, 2015

That walking low, butt in the air, purring, is called rumblestrutting, and it's a very typical guinea pig behavior. Sows are famous for squirting pee, and she IS saying, "Get your nose out of my rear!"

Lady Amelia · Jun 30, 2015

Thank you @bpatters I was hoping you'd chime in! I was hoping this wasn't some kind of mating ritual and was tempted to re-sex the bunch even though I'm positive they're all females

I've been so thankful for my boyfriend through out all of this. He has been very level headed and reminded me to heed all of your advice, when I was tempted to remove mean Lucy mama.

BaconAndEggs · Jun 30, 2015

Glad all is going well! Introductions are so nerve-racking, aren't they?

Lady Amelia · Jun 30, 2015

BaconAndEggs said:
Glad all is going well! Introductions are so nerve-racking, aren't they?

It really is! I had no idea. Like I said, so thankful for my bf reminding me I am human and they are the piggies. They get to decide how things go. Thank you for the encouragement!

bluebutterflies · Jul 3, 2015

I recorded a video of my piggy and want to share it with my friend,but it won't play , I google on the internet that I might need a video converter, but there are so many video converters such as any converter, Bigasoft Total Video Converter , have anyone ever use this before? Do they work?

Lady Amelia · Jul 13, 2015

Just wanted to send an update that everything seems to still be going well. No more but the occasion scratch on the skinny pigs. Something I had not encountered so far- Mounting! I about had a heart attack thinking is that a boy!?!? Pulled everyone out to triple check even =P The mounter was one of the skinny pigs so it was quite obvious she is not a boy

But way to scare the caretaker, the last thing I need is 30 piggies haha!

Ok a question, When can I, or can I even, Put single entrance hides back in the cage?

Pigglet_pose · Jul 13, 2015

If I were you I would just get a bunch of 2+ holed hidies. Even if they start getting along, with that big of a herd there are bound to be here and there scuffles, especially when the babies grow up.

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Introductions Behaviors, intros, personification; advise me

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