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Introductions Worried Momma - New Cavy owner: Intros for my girls!

sportygurl0206

New Member
Cavy Gazer
Joined
Jul 2, 2016
Posts
2
Joined
Jul 2, 2016
Messages
2
Hi All!

*long post alert - apologies in advance*

I am a very new owner of 2 beautiful girl piggies. Never had guinea pigs before in my life! Penelope is a 1.5 (est) year old rescued abby and Pequot is a 8 month old adopted crested. Fell in love with them both instantly. I had Penelope about 3 weeks before deciding to get her a friend. I went to an adoption agency and let her have her pick. As evening drew close I separated the two because clearly I couldn't monitor them in my sleep. In the morning, I fed them and tried to re-introduce and they got into a fight :-(. I threw a towel over them and removed Pequot.

I admit I did it completely wrong. I put Pequot in Penelope's cage and this was the worst idea. I thought since they got along at the adoption agency the night before that all was well to house them together the next day. I'm sure Penelope felt invaded and threatened. And since she is a rescue I have no idea if she has ever had a friend before. It was only for about 20 minutes and once I realized my error, I removed Pequot right away. No blood or anything during the fight. Either way, I felt terrible I had done this. My hands were shaking! And now I am a bit apprehensive of introducing them again but I know I have to. I just don't want to see them fight again, and am nervous if I can't stop it soon enough. I also don't want to stop anything too soon. It seems to be such a fine line between normal behaviors and boom a fight. Whew! I now know to have a neutral area, hay and veggies and to keep a close eye on them. I also know this could be a long process but I truly want them to be friends and hope I didn't ruin the chance of this working out for them.

Currently, I have them in separate cages, side by side. Is this okay to do? They can see and hear one another and I see them doing the normal "dominance" actions to each other through the cage. Lots of talking, teeth chattering, Pequot started biting the cage pretty intensely seeing Penelope on the other side so I blocked her view at the moment. I figure this will be the intro to introducing them. But I would definitely appreciate feedback since I am new at all this.

I plan to buy a large gate, have some fresh fleece down, veggies and hay and put them both in the kitchen (neutral territory) and try it again. Towel ready in case something escalates (I also heard of a dustpan?). Can anyone please help me out with some tips to get this closer to being a success? Your experiences on pairing new piggies and what worked for you. Thanks!
 

bpatters

Moderator
Staff member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Posts
29,251
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
29,251
Thanks for rescuing the pig.

Here's the bible on pig introductions: https://guinea-pigs.livejournal.com/3002707.html. Do it when you've got plenty of time to leave them together in the neutral area, and once they've worn themselves out there, then you can put them in a thoroughly cleaned cage.

Since you're a new pig owner, here's some reading material for you:

-- https://www.guinealynx.info/healthycavy.html
-- https://www.guinealynx.info/emergency.html
-- www.cavyspirit.com
-- the stickies at the tops of the main forums here
-- https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum...us-Plants-List for what you can feed and how often
-- https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum...ur-guinea-pigs!
 

sportygurl0206

New Member
Cavy Gazer
Joined
Jul 2, 2016
Posts
2
Joined
Jul 2, 2016
Messages
2
Thanks for rescuing the pig.

Here's the bible on pig introductions: https://guinea-pigs.livejournal.com/3002707.html. Do it when you've got plenty of time to leave them together in the neutral area, and once they've worn themselves out there, then you can put them in a thoroughly cleaned cage.

Since you're a new pig owner, here's some reading material for you:

-- https://www.guinealynx.info/healthycavy.html
-- https://www.guinealynx.info/emergency.html
-- www.cavyspirit.com
-- the stickies at the tops of the main forums here
-- https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum...us-Plants-List for what you can feed and how often
-- https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum...ur-guinea-pigs!

bpatters, thank you for the links and information. I have read through the introductions link and am now moving to the others. I feel more confident now when I go to do this with my girls. Thanks!
 
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