Capntrips
Member
Cavy Slave
- Joined
- May 9, 2012
- Messages
- 5
Hi!
I guess I should give everyone some background first, especially since this is my first post. My name is Casey, and I have one sow named Petunia, who is about a year and a half old. She lives in a 2x3.5 C&C cage.
I am, of course, aware that guinea pigs are social and usually do best in pairs; Petunia seems determined not to have this be the case though. I've tried twice to pair her up with other pigs (and I read up on how to do introductions properly-- neutral area, etc). In both cases I ended up having to throw a towel over the pigs, because Petunia would lunge at whoever she was meeting and start to viciously attack them; she showed absolutely no interest in making nice, and there were none of the usual signs of establishing dominance. Just immediate fighting.
After that, I gave up for a while and realized that I might just have a loner pig, and that's fine. Sadly I don't have the space to set up another C&C cage, otherwise I would get a second pig and just keep them separate, as I've heard that can still be beneficial to lone piggies.
Now I'm thinking about trying again. Somebody recommended that I try to introduce her to a submissive and neutered boar, because sometimes even really dominant sows get along with them. That's an option I'd be interested in pursuing, assuming I can find a neutered boar to begin with. The shelter allows introductions between pigs.
Buuuut there's a reason why I'm suddenly interested in giving this another shot-- I have a four week internship in another state over the summer (in August), and my dad is going to be taking care of Petunia while I'm away (they love each other, I'm not worried about that). I was thinking that if Petunia had a guinea pig sister, she might be more comfortable with me being gone. Plus, I know two isn't much more work than one, so my dad would be okay with it. Does this idea even make sense? Or is that not how guinea pig logic works?
So I guess I have two things that I need opinions on, here:
1. Should I try to pair Petunia up with another pig before I leave? Or would it not make a difference to her?
2. Are there any tips you can think of for introducing a particularly dominant pig to another pig?
Thank you!
I guess I should give everyone some background first, especially since this is my first post. My name is Casey, and I have one sow named Petunia, who is about a year and a half old. She lives in a 2x3.5 C&C cage.
I am, of course, aware that guinea pigs are social and usually do best in pairs; Petunia seems determined not to have this be the case though. I've tried twice to pair her up with other pigs (and I read up on how to do introductions properly-- neutral area, etc). In both cases I ended up having to throw a towel over the pigs, because Petunia would lunge at whoever she was meeting and start to viciously attack them; she showed absolutely no interest in making nice, and there were none of the usual signs of establishing dominance. Just immediate fighting.
After that, I gave up for a while and realized that I might just have a loner pig, and that's fine. Sadly I don't have the space to set up another C&C cage, otherwise I would get a second pig and just keep them separate, as I've heard that can still be beneficial to lone piggies.
Now I'm thinking about trying again. Somebody recommended that I try to introduce her to a submissive and neutered boar, because sometimes even really dominant sows get along with them. That's an option I'd be interested in pursuing, assuming I can find a neutered boar to begin with. The shelter allows introductions between pigs.
Buuuut there's a reason why I'm suddenly interested in giving this another shot-- I have a four week internship in another state over the summer (in August), and my dad is going to be taking care of Petunia while I'm away (they love each other, I'm not worried about that). I was thinking that if Petunia had a guinea pig sister, she might be more comfortable with me being gone. Plus, I know two isn't much more work than one, so my dad would be okay with it. Does this idea even make sense? Or is that not how guinea pig logic works?
So I guess I have two things that I need opinions on, here:
1. Should I try to pair Petunia up with another pig before I leave? Or would it not make a difference to her?
2. Are there any tips you can think of for introducing a particularly dominant pig to another pig?
Thank you!
