Introductions When to introduce a new pig

[3piggymomma]

My fiance' just got a new piggy yesterday, a young one, about 6-7 weeks. She is keeping him seperate from Cody right now as the store advised her not to put them together right away. I told her how they should be introduced to eachother, but I am not sure how long we should wait before doing the introductions. Cody is about 7 months old, I think. He has lived alone since she got him, so we don't know how he will react to another piggy in his space. Any advice on when (and how) to introduce them would be greatly appreciated. Once they get used to each other I want to build them a C&C cage next time I go to visit her. Also, is there a chance that they will just not be able to get along?

 

[PiggieMom]

I would build a C&C cage before introducing them for several reasons: a new cage means it is less likely that they will be territorial, a petstore cage isn't big enough for one pig than alone two, more space means less chance at fighting.

By separate do you mean in a different room for quarantine? A pig purchased (it is really a shame she didn't choose to adopt, please try to convince her not to buy another pig) from a petstore is very likely to be sick and it would be a good idea to do a three week quarantine in a completely separate room behind closed doors so the pig doesn't pass any sickness onto the current pig. Read about quarantining somewhere on this page. Information on how to do introductions are there as well.

There is always a chance that guinea pigs will just not get along, so she should have the capablities to build at least 2 2x3 cages (preferably with a shared wall so they can still smell, see and hear each other). I've found this thread on guinealynx helpful for tips on how to introduce and pictures and videos on what is normal for dominance behavior. Do not seperate unless there is bloodshed.

Also, petstore pigs are very commonly missexxed. I would use this page to help her sex both pigs. Also, once you build the C&C cage you'll have to baby proof it, since the new one is so young.

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Ditto the above. Read http://www.guinealynx.info/quarantine.html

And familiarize yourself with signs of illnesses http://www.guinealynx.info/emergency.html

There is a high chance they won't get along in a tiny pet store cage.

 

[3piggymomma]

Thank you both very much for your advice. I will talk to her about building a C&C cage before introducing them, and double checking their sexes. By separate, I mean one cage on top of the other... so no, not a separate room. They are basically as close as they can get without being in the same cage.

 

[PiggieMom]

Since they've not been quarantined it's even more important to read over the emergency link posted by rabbitsncavyluv. Pay particular attention to any uncommon amount of scratching or hair loss. Mites are very common in petstore pigs, and I would not be surprised if both had them.