Fighting New companionship NOT working out .. please help.

[ilovekona_]

My Kona bear got put to sleep after 4 years of love because of a horrible tumor and wasting away. It was heartbreaking for all of us, especially our current sow who bonded with him immensely.

She is used to having a friend and she got along so well with him. As soon as he passed, we noticed grieving symptoms and decided to act fast and find her a companion. We got her another sow, about the same age range, and we quarantined them for 2 weeks in separate rooms.
When we tried to introduce them, the younger new sow started fighting to the point of separation before blood was drawn. We gave it a few days and tried again using the bathtub as neutral grounds and closely observed. Our older pig made recognition of her and then just went to eating from the food we put out without much else. However, the new one immediately began chasing her and showing fighting signs almost immediately (including loud chattering, teeth showing, etc). Had to separate again before blood and waited. Tried again. Failed.

In short, we know that Moo (older pig) needs a companion and we feel horrible about it but we feel that the younger one was already bonded with her cage mates at the store. Having only had the new pig for 2 weeks, we want to rehome her or bring her back if possible. A reason why is that we simply do not have enough area in our small apartment to fit 2 very large cages (yes we do c&c) and have the little one with a friend and Moo without..

We have been considering looking into a guinea pig rescue to bring Moo to and try to properly find her a companion whom gets along with her but we're in the St. Petersburg Florida area. I understand that this post probably sounds selfish or silly but if anyone knows of any Tampa Bay Area guinea pig rescues let us know. (the adoptables link doesn't work)
Thank you.

 

[bpatters]

Well, part of your problem with the introduction is that a bathtub isn't nearly large enough. They need room to be able to move around without running into each other, and no bathtub is big enough for that.

I'd wait a couple of days and try again, but read this article first: https://guinea-pigs.livejournal.com/3002707.html

Introduce them when you've got hours to give to it. You can try bathing them together first, as the shared terror may make them more acceptable to each other. You can also put one drop of vanilla on each nose and tail, and see how that works.