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Bonding Bonding a new guinea pig to an already bonded pair?

Simpsonspiggie8

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Hi guys,
I have a bonded pair of female 2 year old guinea pigs and i was thinking of getting another one. I was looking on adoption websites and then i looked on craigslist and found an ad for a lone biggie and would like to know if it is possible to bond a 3 year old skittish female who has been alone all her life to my pair. The ad for this guinea pig shows a horrible little cage and the bad type of pellets with all the junk added in and i really feel bad for this guinea pig and it also says that the guinea pig is skittish. Would it be easier to bond a single guinea pig to my pair or would it be easier to bond a pair to my pair. My Cage is 20 square feet so space isn't an issue but I'm definnatly scared that it won't work out. Also is it possible to tame a skittish guinea pig that is already 3 years old?
 

pigger123

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Age doesn't really matter at all with guinea pigs. Introducing her to your pair and taming her would be no different than with any other pig.

Whether or not a trio would work depends a lot on each piggy's personality. Your chances are higher since they are girls. I have a mother/daughter pair and I introduced a third girl, who was very submissive and almost 5 years old. The youngest would constantly bully the new girl to the point where I almost gave up on them ever working out, but after a few weeks they all tolerated each other and were fine.

If you get her, be prepared for the possibility that they won't get along. In that scenario you should be willing to adopt a fourth piggy to have two pairs, so that nobody's alone. If that's something you could do, it would be awesome if you could rescue her.


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sallyvh

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Like pigger123 said, personality is going to be what determines if they get along and unfortunately you won't know until you try.

I've had one failed attempt at a trio and also one success. Each time I did intros correctly but it's the pigs choice whether they can work it or not.

The first time for me I tried adding a 4 week old baby to my bonded pair of ~3 year old sows. The one adult was extremely aggressive to the baby and ended in a bite wound on the little one's shoulder. I decided to call it quits at that point. I ended up adopting another baby to have two pairs.

However, earlier this summer I got a 5 week old little sow, I introduced her to my 2 year old pair and everything went really smoothly, the 3 of them get along fabulously. I also recently a 1.5 year old sow to the trio this weekend, it took them a while to settle down but they have been together for a few days and seem to be doing very well with one another.

The biggest thing is being prepared if it doesn't work out. I suggest having a plan in place so you will know how to handle the situation if it arises.
 

Simpsonspiggie8

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Thanks for the replies! instead of going on craigslist and taking a gamble if it would work out I've decided to go to a rescue fairly close to me that i just found so that i will be able to bring my piggies and find a good match for them ! I still feel bad about the condition of the guinea pig i saw on craigslist and feel bad that I'm not going to be helping it
 
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