Bonding Tips?

[Kiwi_girl]

Hi guys, we just got two new skinny pigs! We have done 1 introduction with new guinea pigs in the past about 2 years ago now and it went fairly well but there were some tussles. At that point we were introducing three different groups together, two pairs of bonded females and one female that was on her own. The whole introduction process took about 8 hours and one guinea pig did get a little bit hurt. Regardless, they lived happily together for a time and then one died leaving us with four. Now, about 1.5 years later, we have gotten two new baby skinny pigs and I was wondering if anyone has any good tips on bonding them to our existing group. I am concerned that because they have no fur that they may be at a higher risk of getting hurt, so if anyone has any specific tips on that we would appreciate it. The two babies are still in quarantine for another week or two but we wanted to be prepared. Do you guys think it will be as difficult as the last time? Or will it be easier because they are babies being introduced to adults? I just don't want the babies to get hurt, the adults are....opinionated lol.

 

[spy9doc]

I'm sure that there are others who have far more knowledge of bonding than I do. Just a couple of ideas that I have learned over the years of being acquainted with some top notch breeders as well as long-time cavy owners.

First of all, when mixing hairless cavies with haired ones, you need to be committed to keeping everyone's nails cut short to prevent the skinnies from being frequently scratched. When I do piggy nails, I cut them as short as is safe AND buff/smooth the nails with a sanding wheel on a Dremel (this takes patience and careful attention to what you're doing) and then I often apply a touch of quick-drying clear nail polish at the end. We handle our boys a great deal and this works to protect my tender skin as well.

Insofar as bonding, I put a dab of vanilla on everyone's bum (and occasionally nose) so that they all smell similar. I "think" that it will be easier because they are babies and this may bring out mothering instincts in the adults. OTOH, it could break up existing pairings and then they have to start all over with the dominance hierarchy.

Since you have bonded previous strangers, I suspect that you know how to proceed. Keep us posted!