Guinea Pig Friend Pig Help

[Charlibob]

I want to get my guinea pig a friend, but I don't really know how to go about it.

She's definitely a female, she sexed as a female when I bought and checked again today. Should I get a baby girl to go with her? Or an older female? Or a neutered male? I'd quite happily get one from a rescue if there is one near me, I just don't know what would be best for her.

EDIT oops just noticed the title my laptop is dying and keeps having fits when I type!

[Zoo-Man]

A neutered male would be best, but depending on the age of your guinea, it can be possible to introduce another young female.

[LiamRatSnake]

Apparently if you want 2 females, it's best to introduce them young. In college we introduced dozens of guinea pigs, of all ages and rarely encountered problems, occasionally the males would scrap and have to be split.

[luvcats22]

its best to get another female for her,a young one would be ideal. if you can get one around 8 weeks old then your current female will play mum to it.
if not a young one then its still easy to introduce two older females, give the cage a good scrub,and re-arrange the furniture round so its like a whole new cage,then chuck in a big pile of hay and veggies. then pop both pigs in together, by the time they have munched through all the food,usualy they are friendly enough to get along. there will be a bit of rumbling and maybe mounting, this is a dominance thing,so dont worry. but hopefully no fighting, this method has worked for me and my friend hundreds of times.

a neutered boar will still want to mate,he is just firing blanks,so the female may get cross with him humping her,and lead to a fight.


the best guinea pig website for advice and information by dedicated and knowledgable piggy slaves
Guinea Pigs - Cutiecavies Guinea Pig Forum - Home

[eve2611]

Originally Posted by luvcats22

its best to get another female for her,a young one would be ideal. if you can get one around 8 weeks old then your current female will play mum to it.
if not a young one then its still easy to introduce two older females, give the cage a good scrub,and re-arrange the furniture round so its like a whole new cage,then chuck in a big pile of hay and veggies. then pop both pigs in together, by the time they have munched through all the food,usualy they are friendly enough to get along. there will be a bit of rumbling and maybe mounting, this is a dominance thing,so dont worry. but hopefully no fighting, this method has worked for me and my friend hundreds of times.

a neutered boar will still want to mate,he is just firing blanks,so the female may get cross with him humping her,and lead to a fight.


the best guinea pig website for advice and information by dedicated and knowledgable piggy slaves
Guinea Pigs - Cutiecavies Guinea Pig Forum - Home

I agree with this information, i have kept guinea pigs for over 20 years and def found females are easier when kept together,
i would def suggest to let them have first introductions on neutral ground and dont forget a 2 week quarentine period as guinea pigs can hide illness really well!!

also when u get ur new addition i want pigtures!!!

[sophs87]

I have heard a younger feamle would be best to as it is no challenge in dominance to the elder piggy. either change the cage around and fully clean or the bath is a good place for introductions.

[Charlibob]

Florence is nearly a year old. She really seems to want a friend, she keeps trying to get to rabbit to play with it, but obviously I haven't let her as the rabbit is 3 times bigger than her and could easily harm her. I was listening to guinea pig sounds on my laptop and she ran over to it looking for where the noise had come from.

So would a baby girl be best for her then? And let them meet in the living room where they can easily get away from each other? If they get along after the first meeting (after the new one has been quarantined) would it be ok to put them into a clean, differently laid out cage straight away?

[Shell195]

At our sanctuary we introduce lots of adult guinea pigs, sows and castrated boars. All we do is put a tiny dab of Vicks on their noses so they both smell the same and we have never had a failure yet. We have a colony of 12 then 2 more pens with another 9 in them. Guniea pigs hate to be on their own

[Charlibob]

Originally Posted by Shell195

At our sanctuary we introduce lots of adult guinea pigs, sows and castrated boars. All we do is put a tiny dab of Vicks on their noses so they both smell the same and we have never had a failure yet. We have a colony of 12 then 2 more pens with another 9 in them. Guniea pigs hate to be on their own

So would I be able to rescue an adult female and they'd be friends? I can tell she wants a friend, but she is very dominating and head strong with us, if she doesn't want to do something then she won't do it and she head butts us if she doesn't want to be touched!

Does anyone know of any rescues in Manchester, probably Salford area? or breeders that have females that need rehoming?

[Shell195]

Originally Posted by Charlibob

So would I be able to rescue an adult female and they'd be friends? I can tell she wants a friend, but she is very dominating and head strong with us, if she doesn't want to do something then she won't do it and she head butts us if she doesn't want to be touched!

Does anyone know of any rescues in Manchester, probably Salford area? or breeders that have females that need rehoming?

It would be easier with a neutered male but I dont see why not with careful introduction(Our neutered males never try and hump the girls)
Heres some rescues for you to try, they all deal with Guineas. Ask them if you can take your Pigwig along to try her out with possible matches

Animals in Distress
Pennisfield Farm, 55 Silver Street, Irlam, Manchester, M44 6HT
Tel: 0906 680 1215 / Website
Tameside Rabbit and Guinea Pig Rescue
Manchester
Website
RSPCA Tameside and Glossop Branch
animals boarded at MyPetStop, Denton
Tel: 07050 264 531 / Website