Introductions Experienced Trio Owners

I've had singles, pairs, trios and herds. I'm not fond of big herds because it's easy to miss illnesses. I loved my pairs but it's hard when they lose a companion and you try and introduce the one that's left with a new one. Last year, I had four pairs: a neutered and senior male, mom-daughter texels, a very dominant female with my most submissive female and a senior female with a pup. Sadly, the senior female that I paired with the pup died from complications from a bladder stone. She was scheduled for surgery but died. None of my others would accept her little companion because she was pretty outgoing and they didn't like it. My friend's guinea pig died, leaving her senior cage mate alone. We decided to try the pup with her and they bonded so she took her. That left me with three pairs. A month or so ago, my senior male passed leaving the neutered male alone. He used to be part of my herd that included my texels and most submissive female. I wondered if he would remember the submissive one so I decided to reintroduce them. They seemed to remember one another. I was worried about the dominant female because she's aggressive. She nipped at him and chased him but once I fed them, he protected his food and nipped back. She met her match and backed down. I have two food dishes now so they don't have to share. They all get along fine. I got another guinea pig on craiglist that appeared to be headed for being a feeder. She was free and the owner was desperate to give her up. I decided to try her with the texels. The mom loved her but the daughter was jealous. They get along fine now but mom and daughter are still very bonded and the little one sleeps alone. They don't nip or chase her, though, so it's worked out. I think the secret is to mix ages and personalities. If you have a very dominant one, pair it with a laid back one. Don't put two dominant ones in a trio.

I have to add that my newest one is also really tiny. The owner told me she was 10 months but she looked more like a pup. By her size, I thought she was about 8 weeks old which would make her about 6 months old now. She's still really tiny and I actually thought about posting a thread about whether there are dwarf guinea pigs. She's the smallest one I've ever had.

Well, Sugar seems really laid back and shy. So I don't feel like she would purposely disrupt what's going on between Sweetie and Lady.

I'm just nervous about adding a third because I read all the time that adding a third can potentially ruin your original pair.

MrWhistles said:

Well, Sugar seems really laid back and shy. So I don't feel like she would purposely disrupt what's going on between Sweetie and Lady.

I'm just nervous about adding a third because I read all the time that adding a third can potentially ruin your original pair.

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After adding a third wheel to each of my two pairs, there've been no negatives. The relationship between my dominant and submissive female has actually improved. The dominant one no longer barbers her and doesn't pick on her anymore. The three of them sleep together. The other trio gets along fine. The little one isn't bonded to the other two but they don't pick on her. She claimed the hay bin as her bed so I just scrub it out a couple of times a day.

That's feels more reassuring. Both Sugar and Sweetie have a more laid back personality. So hopefully Sugar will help balance out things between Sweetie/Lady.

The funny thing is that Ditto (my newest one) seemed really depressed when I got her. She'd run and hide and only wanted to eat carrots. I cut them out and offered better foods. She loves green peppers and hay now. She also comes running as soon as I open the fridge. She prairie dogs and nuzzles her face in our hands, looking for treats. It's like she's a completely different guinea pig. She just never grows, though. I wonder if it's due to a poor diet before we got her.

I had a single pig and adopted and introduced a bonded pair to form my trio. I have to say it's very clear who's dominant and who's not in my herd, but aside from usual bickering when someone's in heat, they get along great.

I find that with a bonded pair it's easy for one pig to get very nervous when the other one leaves. For lap time, vet visits, ect. Adding that 3rd pig makes sure that if you're working with 1, the other 2 still have eachother in the cage and won't panic as much.

I think she needs you and you should go rescue the little sweetie

How big are your cages @pinky and @2198lindsey?
Current girls are in a 2x5 but I feel like the width would be a tad too tight for 3 pigs and am planning to go 3x4

MrWhistles said:

How big are your cages @pinky and @2198lindsey ?
Current girls are in a 2x5 but I feel like the width would be a tad too tight for 3 pigs and am planning to go 3x4

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Mine is a 2x5, it's tight and I'm getting a loft on the 24th to provide some relief.