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Introducing a new baby

21 14:10:06

Question
We got two pigs about 2months ago, both aged about 5months. We then found out one was male and one was female so we gave our friend the female. We searched for a while for a little friend for Chewy (male) and have only just found one. He is about 4-5months. We have introduced them, Chewy outside the cage and Chippy (new baby) inside. Chewy runs around screaming his head off and Chippy sits quietly in the corner. When i held chippy and let Chewy have a littl sniff of him, chew made a deep rumbling noise (terrible description - sorry) and then jumped onto my lap desperatly searching for Chippy who was still in my arms. I dont know if it is because Chewy has not seen another pig in a few months and im a little worried that he might be to dominant and boss Chippy around a bit.

Thankyou for your help and i wait to see what you will reply with!  

Answer
Hello Hope,

Guinea pigs are very temperamental.  Most of the time it is difficult to get two males to live together if they are not raised together.  It usually works out best with an older guinea pig and a younger guinea pig (older being more than 2 years).  I would suggest that you use what I call the stagger method.  This is when you introduce them to each other on neutral grounds for a very short period of time and then gradually increase the time they spend together until eventually they are living in the same cage without serious issues.  This method works pretty well for me and if you need anymore assistance don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks for your question and I hope this helps.