General First time owner of two piggies under a year old, advice please!

[jjunta831]

Hi there,
I am a fairly new guinea pig owner since March of 2014. I first got Buddy, who was about 3 months old from a pet store. He was a single cavey up until just last week! I now added another little boy Elvis, only just born in September of 2014, [it took me alot of research and months to finally realize that caveys do better in groups, and I should probably adopt, rather than buy]. However I love my boys so much! . My husband and I spoil them with love and organic treats and hay by oxbow, and appropriate fruits and veggies. They also have appropriate sized self constructed cages, about 3x4 for each of them.
We introduced them little by little, and monitored their interactions, and they seem to be doing well the older pig Buddy seemed to assert dominance over the baby, Elvis and there was no fighting or anything dangerous.
It has only been about a week and I realize they may need more time, but Buddy seems to be very annoyed now at Elvis, as he tries to sniff him or get near him, he always runs away or ignores him. However Elvis is delighted to have Buddy's company, he wheeks very loudly and popcorns like crazy when he's around.
Any advice in what's normal in this situation? Is Buddy just used to being alone? Or does this relationship need more time to grow?
Any advice is helpful! Thanks so much!
JJ

 

[labgirl5]

By introducing them 'little by little' do you mean introducing them and letting them socialize for a while and then putting them back into their own cages? This is not the right way to introduce guinea pigs. You need to introduce both of them in a large, neutral area with plenty of food to much on, and after a few hours you put them in a clean (everything scrubbed down; no scents of either guinea pig) cage, and see how it goes. Separating them and re-introducing them is causing unneeded stress on both guinea pigs. Mounting, rumble-strutting, and teeth chattering is all normal dominance behavior - do not separate unless blood is drawn.

Just a heads up, your little 3-month-old pig will hit puberty soon, which may cause a great deal of dominance issues that are not present as of yet.

 

[jjunta831]

Thank you! So they should be living together 24/7 immediately? I have always given them plenty of space with neutral territory and food.

 

[ClemmyOddieIndy]

Yes, introductions are stressful it should be a one time thing and from there they live together.

ETA: I guess I shouldn't say it's a one time thing. If a pig needs to be removed from the cage (like for illness) you will need to redo the intros, but it should be a single event not multiple ones spread out over time.

 

[jjunta831]

Thanks so much! I hope it's not too late! I'm going to fix this right away!

 

[jjunta831]

Update! Your kind advice has been successfully and my boys are doing well learning to live with each other. They run around with each other, talk and eat together. It's so sweet for them to finally have a friend!

 

[ClemmyOddieIndy]

Glad everything is working out. Pigs are very social with each other, and I enjoy watching them interact with each other. They're luck to have a parent as loving and concerned for them as you are.