Introducing Guinea Pigs to others
A Guinea Pig Care Guide
If you have two or more guinea pigs that are not used to each other, you will need to introduce them properly, in a neutral environment, to avoid tension.Guinea Pigs are social animals, and it is recommended that they do not live alone, but if your Guinea Pigs are not related, have not lived together before, or your are introducing a new Guinea Pig to one you currently own, follow this guide on how to introduce them together and ensure they will get along just fine.
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Step 1 - Creating a neutral environment
- Do not put your Guinea Pigs together in the cage straight away.
- They should be introduced in a neutral environment.
- A neutral environment is a place where neither of them have been before - this is to ensure that it does not smell of either one of them. Guinea Pigs are territorial animals and bringing new Guinea Pigs into another's territory without them being used to each other first is not a good idea.
- Typical neutral environments used for this practice are a clean, empty (and dry) bathtub, an enclosed area of the kitchen floor or any other safe, secure, clean area where neither one has been before.
Set up the meeting point
- Ensure there are no places to hide. You want to encourage the Guinea Pigs to mingle and mix. Remove any shelters that they can hide under or behind. Make it as open as possible.
- Put in plenty of straw, and some food (fresh veggies) and a bowl of dry food. Ensure there is a plentiful supply of clean fresh water.
Step 2 - introducing them
- Place the Guinea Pigs in the enclosed neutral area, each at the opposite end of the enclosure.
- They will notice the scent of another Guinea Pig.
- You may notice them sniff the air / each other.
- Step back and observe.
- Read this guide on Guinea Pig behaviour (click here) to better understand what their actions mean.
- If they start fighting and it looks like one could get hurt then pick one of them up and hold them and stroke them to calm them down. After a few minutes put them back together in the cage
- Guinea Pigs naturally have a single dominant pig (usually the male). If you are introducing two males, it is normal for them to fight and be aggressive in order to establish the dominant of the two. Let them sort it out. Once a dominant one has been established they should calm down.
- Eventually pick them both up and hold them together next to each other. Hand feed them both fresh vegetables.
- If, after a few hours, no progress has been made, put them away separately and repeat tomorrow. You don't want to leave them together unattended incase they start fighting.
Signs they have accepted each other
- If they both start eating out of the same food bowl, this is a good sign things are going well.
- Guinea Pigs who are friends tend to sit next to each other. They may show signs of being content (see this guide on Guinea Pig behaviour to learn what actions mean they are content).
- It should be obvious to you when they have accepted each other.
- It should now be safe to put them both in the same cage.