Guinea pig fear

Question
Hello,

I asked you a question recently about my guinea pig Petunia and her new cage mate, Harriet.  After keeping them together for over a week, things just got worse.  Harriet continued to bite Petunia.  Petunia became so fearful that she would just sit in the corner of the cage and was always on edge.  Harriet is now living by herself and is much happier.  I adopted another guinea pig, Cookie, who is a little less than a year old who really likes Petunia.  She is very loving and never shows any signs of aggression.  However, Petunia is now fearful of other guinea pigs.  Most every time the new pig comes up to her, she chatters her teeth and runs away in fear.  Every once in a while, Petunia will let the new pig come up to her and they will have a friendly sniff, and as long as Cookie isn't too close she is fine.  But the majority of the time, Petunia runs away when Cookie tries to associate with her.  Is there any way to help Petunia understand Cookie isn't going to hurt her?  I know it takes time, and I have tried to help them bond with vedgies and toys.

Thanks!
Cristie

Answer
Unfortunately guinea pigs don't reason like humans do. They're straightforward in their emotions. Petunia's experience was that another pig will cause her pain. She has no idea what the intentions of the new pig are, nor does she care at this point.

As long as Petunia is chattering her teeth I would be very cautious and careful that she doesn't attack Cookie out of fear. If she's running away then she's not asking for a battle. In time she will realize that Cookie is not a threat nor a danger to her and she will settle down.

It just takes patience. Give her time to get comfortable with a new pig in her house. She's still gun shy because of the abuse she took from Harriet. You can't bribe them with toys or food. They need to come to terms with each other in their own time.