Old pig/new pig

Question
Hi, I adopted my pig less than a week ago from a family whose children had lost interest.  Shes a 3yr old female who has lived with other pigs in the past.  Having read that they like company we decided to try and get another mature female pig.  Having not been able to obtain one, (not even from the RSPCA) I was advised to try a younger one as she may nurture her.  

As I've never done this before I am unsure as to whether they are getting along or not.  Have completely disinfected Nibbles (3yr olds) cage, provided a new water bottle and feeding bowl.  Put them in a large box when introducing them to each other, thinking that this was best as neutral territory.

There was alot of running around and it appears that Nibbles does alot of nudging, however, Linny (12wks) appears to hold her own and actually did alot of the chasing and sniffing aswell.  They both settled down lying next to each other.  We have since introduced them to the cage and Nibbles has been quite happy for Linny to eat from the bowl and drink from the water bottle.  She even let her in her favourite wooden house to sleep.  They are both very vocal, especially Linny.  Only loud 'wheek' I've heard was when I picked Linny up out of the box to put her in the hutch, and Nibbles 'wheeked'.

How can I tell if they are getting along or if Linny is afraid.  

I've checked the fighting warning signs and there's been non of it, but Linny does wheek sometimes, to me it sounds like she's shouting for help but am not sure.

It looked like Nibbles was licking Linny's head/ears last night which looked really sweet.  But its just the noise that Linnys making that I wanted to check out.
many thanks
Lisa


Answer
Hello Lisa,

It sounds like things are going wonderfully. A bit of bickering on occassion is fine as long as they aren't harming each other and the fights end quickly and aren't teribly violent. My guess is that Linny is treating Nibbles like an adoptive mom and vice versa. When she yells, she may very well be calling for help, but it's probably not for help from you. When a mom and her pup (or even just piggies who are close friends) are separated, they will call for each other, often in alarm. Watch her when she's hollering and try to figure out what's triggering it. Is Nibbles possibly out of Linny's sight at the time? Or is she maybe just grooming her a bit too hard?  Unless Nibbles is hurting her at the time, it's nothing to be worried about. It does sound like they are very good friends and are taking good care of each other. Actually, if you intend to get a new piggy to go with an older piggy who, for whatever reason, needs a new cagemate, a young pig is better. There will be less of a dominance struggle and the older pig is more likely to accept the new friend with little trouble. Even pigs who are used to living with other pigs will have to fight a bit and have small dominance battles to establish the hierarchy, with a pup, that usually isn't too much of a problem. So, by luck, you did just the right thing.

-kkat
www.geocities.com/abyssinianguineapigs