Please help me.

Question
Hello Jules,

       May I ask you a question? My guinea pig lives in a dog cage, is that ok??? I only have one piggy. But I will buy her tomorrow 3 piggies. What should I do?? Should I isolate my existing piggy and wait for a couple of weeks before I join my existing piggy to my new piggies?? Because I am afraid to put my new piggies to my existing piggies cage. Maybe because they might kill my existing piggy. Please help  me. I hope to receive your reply soon.

                                                Sincerely,
                                                Andrea=)

Answer
Hello Andrea,

  It is fine that your Guinea Pig lives in a dog cage, as long as it is big enough for her there is nothing wrong with it. Every Guinea Pig owner makes different kinds of cages for their guinea pigs out of different things. =)
  
   You'll want to quarantine the others first before introducing the new ones to your girl. Before you try putting them together, you need to keep them apart for two to three weeks to make sure the new guinea pig does not have any medical problems which could be transmitted to the other.

If they are sick or has any parasites or fungal infections, you'll want to treat that one first, rather than risk spreading the condition to your guinea pig.

Quarantine means keeping the guinea pigs in two different rooms, which of course requires two separate cages.
You should handle the new guinea pigs last. You should wash your hands after handling the guinea pigs. It's a good idea to keep a smock in the room with that guinea pig. That way you have less risk of transmitting parasites or other things on your clothing.

Examine your new guinea pigs very closely and carefully while in quarantine. Look for signs of mites (scratching and hair loss). Mange mites are not visible to the naked eye. Look for lice, fleas, fungus (ringworm). Look for eye or nasal discharge, excessive sneezing, wheezing, loud breathing and more. If you suspect your new guinea pigs are not well, please take it to a good vet as soon as possible. Do not delay. Guinea pigs can go downhill fast.

   After quarantining the new ones, take it slow in introducing them to your girl as she has be the only one for awhile and will be unsure of the change of having others around. Have patience, take your time, always on neutral territory, and don't give up too soon. Brief words of wisdom for introducing guinea pigs.

You've honored the quarantine period, your new piggies are healthy and you are ready to introduce them to your guinea pig.

What you don't want to do is plop the new guinea pigs into your existing guinea pig's cage. Never try to introduce guinea pigs in one of their cages. Be prepared. This may happen in one afternoon or it may take months! The initial introduction is done to determine how fast or prolonged the process will be.

Get a large bath towel or two.

Put the towels on the couch (neutral, unfamiliar territory).
Spread them out over the middle of the couch or an area of the floor that is new to all of them.

Each person holding a pig, sits at opposite ends of the couch or setting them one on the floor at the time.
Make sure the towels are between you and there is a good amount of space (it helps to have a big couch!). Floor works, too. Keep kids quiet and out of reach. No other distractions.

Let the pigs find each other on their own time.
You may need to nudge them in the right direction. Have another towel handy to toss on the pigs if you need to separate them.

Let the games begin!

More often than not, pet owners want to break up guinea pigs exhibiting normal dominant behavior. Everyone looks worried and asks, "Is that normal?"

How long and what next?

Usually, the first 15 minutes is just getting acclimated to the new surroundings and the idea that there are other guinea pigs there. It's the next 15 to 30 minutes that can get interesting. The nice thing about being on the couch is it makes it easy for them to run to you when they get uncomfortable. But, keep your interactions and interference to an absolute minimum.

Some guinea pigs will get along just great. Some will decide on peaceful co-existence right from the beginning. Some will act like long lost buddies or lovers! But, most will go through the standard dominance dance getting to know each other and trying to figure out who is going to be the boss of who. They must and will decide this. It may not be now, but it will get decided.

When to separate them? Serious blood is drawn or a wound is inflicted. Some nipping or minor biting can be quite normal. Even little tufts of hair in the mouth can be normal.

Safe, non-combative, dominance behavior

Rumblestrutting
Butt sniffing
Butt nudging
Chasing
Butt dragging (they are leaving their scent)
Mounting (any which way: rear mount, head mount, side mount, flying leap mount!)
Nose face-offs (higher in the air wins, one must lower their nose to be subservient to the other)
Teeth chattering: a little (signal of dominance)
Raised hackles (hair on the back of the neck and along the spine)

Posturing for possible attack, battle for dominance is escalating but nothing to worry about yet.

Teeth chattering: sustained (signal of anger, aggression, warning)
Nips, light bites, may result in little tufts of fur in their teeth
Wide yawn, but this is no yawn, they are showing their teeth
Snorting (like a strong puff or hiss)

These behaviors may sound serious and they should be monitored VERY CLOSELY, BUT do NOT separate the pigs exhibiting this behavior, yet. This is when the average pet owner loses it and pulls the pig out. Most of the time, this behavior will continue for a while until one backs down.

Fighting with intent to harm
   
Bite attacks are no longer warning nips, they are lunges with intent to harm.
Combination of raised hackles, loud and angry teeth chattering, rumblestrutting in place with the head staying in one position while facing the other guinea pig doing the same thing. Usually a signal of a biting attack. But they may back down before they engage.
Both pigs rear up on their haunches, face to face. This is a clear, brief signal of their intent to launch full attacks at each other. Separate if possible before the attack.
Full battle. The pigs are locked together in a vicious ball of fur. This is very serious. Separate immediately, but be careful. Throw a towel over them and use a dustpan or something other than your hand to separate them. Unintended bites from their very sharp incisors can cause serious damage.

The best indicator to watch for on when to separate guinea pigs is the posturing of the nipping and bite attacks. If that gets more serious, that's the time to separate them. If blood is drawn, it's definitely time to stop that session. Hopefully, you can separate your guinea pigs before any serious harm is done.

I hope this helps you and good luck with your piggies.
                  Take care now,
                        Jules