When watching a video like this it is important not to impose our own human emotions onto guinea pig behavior. Over the last decade I have facilitated hundreds of guinea pig bondings. It is a balance between allowing them to build trust and monitoring the signs that they're not getting along.
I used to watch My Cat From Hell with Jackson Galaxy when it was on. Nine times out of ten the problem was a person assigning human emotions, and motives, to cats. People would say, "He's just doing that to make me mad. He know I don't like."
Don't confuse emotions with physical pain...protect all parties from any possible physical damages caused by flying tornado teeth. And like Scotty pointed out ending prematurely could prevent a possible life long bond. So know their behaviors and meanings before attempting to facilitate play dates, male or female so you will better know when and how to call it. Peace to piggies and piggy lovers!
I got a boy for my other boy. I let them share a divided cage for about a week, then I took the divider out and they tumbled a bit. All it took was one meeting and a few snacks for them to become best friends. For my female guinea pigs, it was on sight, lol. They hated each other, pulled each other's hair out once... but I gave it some time, bathed them together, and kept them in a divided cage. When I removed the divider they were inseparable! :) It happened on Christmas actually, lol, like they decided to be civil for the holidays or something. I learned the divider trick by watching them interact through the cage bars, how they chewed the bars to reach other. I tried mimicking their "escape plan" so it'd feel natural to them. It's worth a shot if you've got time.
This is very important for ppl who own piggies, we rescued our two boys one at at time, and magically they get along they hardly get mad at each other and never hurt each other either, they shared their food and I know you’ve said only the 20% chance boys will get along so we are very lucky ! They both are from the SPCA❤
Yikes, that’s hard to watch!I know you know what you’re doing and wouldn’t allow your piggies to get hurt. It’s good to know this even though it’s still hard to watch. I hope the boys can find pairs separately. 🙏🐹🐹❤️
It really is hard to watch. Even when it's someone that knows what they're doing. I don't want any piggies to get hurt and I also don't want Scotty to get hurt. I've seen some bad bites from GPs.
Oh how I need these videos. My two girls have their hierarchy and Winter is the boss. But I watch them very carefully. Thank you Scotty for all the helpful info. ❤❤❤❤❤
I have 2 males and they had there first real fight within a month I think and man I kinda got scared because I had to step in. Now they are doing good. Some days they have their little disagreements but nothing major. Thanks for this video!
These videos are so important. Piggie parents need to know NOT to get a random guinea pal for their pet. Especially not from a pet store. It's not fair on either of the piggies! We wouldn't share our home with a stranger. Why should they? Take care 🙏
Amen! Unfortunately, some pet shop employees will tell you anything you want to hear in order to make a sale. We started out with a single guinea pig because of this, then added another one in exactly the manner you described. The only way to be sure people don't make these mistakes is to ban the sale of pet store animals completely!
@@mirandabrb True. I wish I'd known about 'play dates' that Scotty suggested. But this happened to me. I had a new pair of bonded females and one died, only young, so I brought in a single guinea but divided the living area until they got used to each other and gradually let them play. The original guinea, Maria, wasn't as 'close' to her 1st friend but she bonded with Angelica. Lucky I suppose and they were females. Take care 🙏
@@mirandabrb It depends on the resources available to you. If you live near a guinea pig rescue that will work with you to find the right match, that's perfect. If you don't have that option, you can only do your best with the cards you're dealt. Because you're aware of the possibility that they won't get along, you're not just gonna throw two unpaired guinea pigs into a cage without close supervision. That's a win! And if it turns out you don't have any other options, there are worse possible outcomes than two guinea pigs living side by side in a home where they're loved and properly cared for. 🐹
Wow great video. They really do fight though when they don't get along 😬 I got so lucky with my boars they just never fought when I bought them together a few weeks old. I don't know if it is because they have free reign of a bedroom 24/7 or whether, they just were never that way 🤷🏾♂️💙
Thankyou for fast reply. He died later that evening. There were no wounds that I could see. I am going through the things u mentioned and after watching some of your vidios I now know that the cage the pet shop sold me is too small for two. It's about 2 ft by 4 ft. They said it was big enough. I'm going to get one of those like u have.
2 ft x 4 ft would be considered the absolute minimum size but is what I only recommend for a single living side by side with others. Yes please check out the cage setup section on my care guide. And I'm sorry for your loss. Don't hesitate to message me through the contact page on my website.
What about Two 1 Month Old Rescue Brothers? In a 5 by 3. They seem to get along really well... some chasing occasionally. I even catch them sleeping in the bed together sometimes and they also eat together without any aggression whatsoever.
I am hoping.my bonding goes well. I have one boy who likes to be boss and the other three don't care and get along. So far in the process it seems to be going well but watching as well. They are in a 16 square foot house and plenty of places to go. I don't want to get rid of any of them but don't have any more space so.if this doesn't work then I will have to find a place for my trouble maker. I already have have a single male in a 4x2 by himself. I put trouble.maker in his own 4x2 next door to him so at least they can see each other and sniff through the cage. I don't see any of the lunging going on in the video. Mainly just running around and sniffing butts.
I have 3 Guinea pig boys, they’ve been in the same cage but separated (they could still see and smell eachother) for like a year. I have tried bonding them before, but it didn’t work out (or maybe I was just overreacting) anyways, I’m gonna try bonding them again, should I bond all of them at once? Or just in pares and then together?
I don't recommend adopting or making a commitment before a bond and play date is established. That's why whenever possible it is important to adopt from a rescue that will allow you to have a playdate and confirm that the match is good. If that's not possible side-by-side is fine. These two will most likely never be able to get along. And I would instead try him with another boy.
I saw a video about Hughie a few weeks ago with him at the rescue I think. Are you fostering him or just trying to see if he can bond with any of your boys that needs a buddy?
im curious. what happens if this randomly happens, every so often and its usually never comes to lunging? ive had my piggies for abt 4 months and i got them together. but almost like once a week it comes to where one of my piggies chatters for abt 10 minutes, and then there fine.
Help meee. I just got a new guniea pig and shes a year old and i have 2 younger guniea pig and they have been teeth chattering and showing dominance . Should i just let them or should i interfere when things get rough because the 2 younger guniea pigs are afraid of her and she wont stop showing dominance even if they aren’t doing anything what do i do?
You said "just got" so if that means in the last 24 hrs. I would give it time but supervised. It could be 2-3 days before she starts to chill on enforcing her dominance. I'm assuming you have a big enough cage? If not that's not going to help. But I hope you know the modern basics of introducing new pigs to existing pigs and piggy care, needs, diet etc. If not Scotty has a vid for every question you can think of. If not, google it, lol! If you've done right to prepare for this new pig then watch them closely for a few days, look for fur pulling or blood...that's the time to separate and treat the wound. If I've overlooked anything I am sure someone will cover me or correct me. Good luck and hopefully this will help til you get better idea how the new one will work out, peace to you and yours.
Mine have been together for a long time. In the pet shop for about a year and now with me about 2 months. One was always been more domineering but this evening he is humping and biting him making him squeal. I have separated them for now.i thought he had hurt him.He was trying to relax up till this started.what to do.This is the first time ive seen him( benji) so hard on him.(billy).
If you draw blood you separate them if not maybe they can work it out. There are many things that can cause Piggies to feel stressed out like not having enough hay or having a small enclosure less than 10 square feet. But generally it is rare for a pair of boys to start fighting after being together for over a year, but stress and other things can contribute to it happening
It's only sending a bit at a time sorry. I'm concerned it might happen again if I introduce a new friend. Could I keep another next to him in a cage or wait and see how he is alone? I'm new too this and have alot too learn. I'm sad so not a great time for decion making without professional advice and I no longer trust the pet shop for advice.
Keep in mind if you get this far with your boar during a play date, you will have your other arm free as it won't be filming. In case you have a dustpan or another fleece or item to help keep everyone safe from those teeth. I've been bit by a couple of boars and they go deep! Seriously protect their and your flesh from those itsy bitsy beaver biters, lol!
When watching a video like this it is important not to impose our own human emotions onto guinea pig behavior. Over the last decade I have facilitated hundreds of guinea pig bondings. It is a balance between allowing them to build trust and monitoring the signs that they're not getting along.
So true. We have to do the thinking on their behalf. You know them so well 👍
I used to watch My Cat From Hell with Jackson Galaxy when it was on. Nine times out of ten the problem was a person assigning human emotions, and motives, to cats. People would say, "He's just doing that to make me mad. He know I don't like."
Don't confuse emotions with physical pain...protect all parties from any possible physical damages caused by flying tornado teeth. And like Scotty pointed out ending prematurely could prevent a possible life long bond. So know their behaviors and meanings before attempting to facilitate play dates, male or female so you will better know when and how to call it. Peace to piggies and piggy lovers!
Are there any videos of what a successful established boy bond looks like?
“Dude you're standing on the hay pile” 😂
I got a boy for my other boy. I let them share a divided cage for about a week, then I took the divider out and they tumbled a bit. All it took was one meeting and a few snacks for them to become best friends. For my female guinea pigs, it was on sight, lol. They hated each other, pulled each other's hair out once... but I gave it some time, bathed them together, and kept them in a divided cage. When I removed the divider they were inseparable! :) It happened on Christmas actually, lol, like they decided to be civil for the holidays or something. I learned the divider trick by watching them interact through the cage bars, how they chewed the bars to reach other. I tried mimicking their "escape plan" so it'd feel natural to them. It's worth a shot if you've got time.
This is very important for ppl who own piggies, we rescued our two boys one at at time, and magically they get along they hardly get mad at each other and never hurt each other either, they shared their food and I know you’ve said only the 20% chance boys will get along so we are very lucky ! They both are from the SPCA❤
It's great to hear a success story 👍😊
Aww man Huey! He’s such a pretty pig even if he didn’t want to play nice with Gus. I already ❤️ him
I still remember my first time seeing my boys mounting. I just texted my mom saying "Mom... I think Luneth is gay" xD
Yikes, that’s hard to watch!I know you know what you’re doing and wouldn’t allow your piggies to get hurt. It’s good to know this even though it’s still hard to watch. I hope the boys can find pairs separately. 🙏🐹🐹❤️
It really is hard to watch. Even when it's someone that knows what they're doing. I don't want any piggies to get hurt and I also don't want Scotty to get hurt. I've seen some bad bites from GPs.
Wow your a straight up Guinea Pig whisperer!!! Extremely thorough Scotty... 😲🫡
gus is so well behaved
update on my boys! they've bonded really well! they eat and sleep and play together
Oh how I need these videos. My two girls have their hierarchy and Winter is the boss. But I watch them very carefully. Thank you Scotty for all the helpful info. ❤❤❤❤❤
I have 2 males and they had there first real fight within a month I think and man I kinda got scared because I had to step in. Now they are doing good. Some days they have their little disagreements but nothing major. Thanks for this video!
I have 3 males and they are great together.
fantastically helpful videos. i definitely took notes on it so i can watch my boys as they grow up out of babyhood
I'm about to start bonding my two boys, so I'm very happy to see this video now!
Good luck 👍
If they don't bond they could possibly live side by side.
mine were cuddling in the same hidey home with no sounds of aggression at all so I think they're happy
These videos are so important. Piggie parents need to know NOT to get a random guinea pal for their pet. Especially not from a pet store. It's not fair on either of the piggies! We wouldn't share our home with a stranger. Why should they? Take care 🙏
Amen! Unfortunately, some pet shop employees will tell you anything you want to hear in order to make a sale. We started out with a single guinea pig because of this, then added another one in exactly the manner you described. The only way to be sure people don't make these mistakes is to ban the sale of pet store animals completely!
@@guineapiggenius Agreed 👍
Genuine question: what's the alternative if you've adopted an unbonded guinea pig? Whoever you find as a pal for them is going to be random.
@@mirandabrb True. I wish I'd known about 'play dates' that Scotty suggested. But this happened to me.
I had a new pair of bonded females and one died, only young, so I brought in a single guinea but divided the living area until they got used to each other and gradually let them play. The original guinea, Maria, wasn't as 'close' to her 1st friend but she bonded with Angelica. Lucky I suppose and they were females.
Take care 🙏
@@mirandabrb It depends on the resources available to you. If you live near a guinea pig rescue that will work with you to find the right match, that's perfect. If you don't have that option, you can only do your best with the cards you're dealt. Because you're aware of the possibility that they won't get along, you're not just gonna throw two unpaired guinea pigs into a cage without close supervision. That's a win! And if it turns out you don't have any other options, there are worse possible outcomes than two guinea pigs living side by side in a home where they're loved and properly cared for. 🐹
Thank you. Q
Wow great video. They really do fight though when they don't get along 😬 I got so lucky with my boars they just never fought when I bought them together a few weeks old. I don't know if it is because they have free reign of a bedroom 24/7 or whether, they just were never that way 🤷🏾♂️💙
To bad that gus and.huey didn't get along good video scotty about guinea pig bonding they are cute piggies vickie napa ca
You also have a Huey! So do I! Such a cute name. Your boys are both so cute. I hope they bond :)
Thanks for the new video❤
Thankyou for fast reply. He died later that evening. There were no wounds that I could see. I am going through the things u mentioned and after watching some of your vidios I now know that the cage the pet shop sold me is too small for two. It's about 2 ft by 4 ft. They said it was big enough. I'm going to get one of those like u have.
2 ft x 4 ft would be considered the absolute minimum size but is what I only recommend for a single living side by side with others. Yes please check out the cage setup section on my care guide. And I'm sorry for your loss. Don't hesitate to message me through the contact page on my website.
What a great video, thanks for sharing
Can I please ask your age you look so young to have accomplished so much. I envy you. You're amazing ☺️ keep being the most incredible man on RUclips
What about Two 1 Month Old Rescue Brothers? In a 5 by 3. They seem to get along really well... some chasing occasionally. I even catch them sleeping in the bed together sometimes and they also eat together without any aggression whatsoever.
Hi Scotty !!how do you describe a successful play date? How long are they together before you decide to put the boys together in a cage?
Hope ur Scotty ,you sound tired .Hope the bonding ends up well 😮
What do I do after one has been removed from the cage?
What about a boy and a girl?
I have a chinchilla.I rehomed another chinchilla that I bought last year and he now lives alone due the battle.
What about a pair of boys who were born & grew up together, but are now almost a year old & are starting to quarrel? Help?
GUINEA PIGGGGGGGGGGGGG!
I am hoping.my bonding goes well. I have one boy who likes to be boss and the other three don't care and get along. So far in the process it seems to be going well but watching as well. They are in a 16 square foot house and plenty of places to go. I don't want to get rid of any of them but don't have any more space so.if this doesn't work then I will have to find a place for my trouble maker. I already have have a single male in a 4x2 by himself. I put trouble.maker in his own 4x2 next door to him so at least they can see each other and sniff through the cage. I don't see any of the lunging going on in the video. Mainly just running around and sniffing butts.
That is one beautiful Himalayan guinea pig ..... If you put him more in the shade ....hus color might come
You have nervs made od steal. I couldnt do this.
I have 3 Guinea pig boys, they’ve been in the same cage but separated (they could still see and smell eachother) for like a year. I have tried bonding them before, but it didn’t work out (or maybe I was just overreacting) anyways, I’m gonna try bonding them again, should I bond all of them at once? Or just in pares and then together?
What about super loud teeth chattering. It seems like one of my boys was really stressed 😩
Did Huey ever end up bonding with any boy or will he stay solo?
Do you give up with a pair after this? Do you try another bonding attempt another day?
I don't recommend adopting or making a commitment before a bond and play date is established. That's why whenever possible it is important to adopt from a rescue that will allow you to have a playdate and confirm that the match is good. If that's not possible side-by-side is fine. These two will most likely never be able to get along. And I would instead try him with another boy.
I saw a video about Hughie a few weeks ago with him at the rescue I think. Are you fostering him or just trying to see if he can bond with any of your boys that needs a buddy?
im curious.
what happens if this randomly happens, every so often and its usually never comes to lunging?
ive had my piggies for abt 4 months and i got them together. but almost like once a week it comes to where one of my piggies chatters for abt 10 minutes, and then there fine.
Help meee. I just got a new guniea pig and shes a year old and i have 2 younger guniea pig and they have been teeth chattering and showing dominance . Should i just let them or should i interfere when things get rough because the 2 younger guniea pigs are afraid of her and she wont stop showing dominance even if they aren’t doing anything what do i do?
You said "just got" so if that means in the last 24 hrs. I would give it time but supervised. It could be 2-3 days before she starts to chill on enforcing her dominance. I'm assuming you have a big enough cage? If not that's not going to help. But I hope you know the modern basics of introducing new pigs to existing pigs and piggy care, needs, diet etc. If not Scotty has a vid for every question you can think of. If not, google it, lol! If you've done right to prepare for this new pig then watch them closely for a few days, look for fur pulling or blood...that's the time to separate and treat the wound. If I've overlooked anything I am sure someone will cover me or correct me. Good luck and hopefully this will help til you get better idea how the new one will work out, peace to you and yours.
@@welern2liv815 thanks you so much this is very helpful!🙏🏻
Mine have been together for a long time. In the pet shop for about a year and now with me about 2 months. One was always been more domineering but this evening he is humping and biting him making him squeal. I have separated them for now.i thought he had hurt him.He was trying to relax up till this started.what to do.This is the first time ive seen him( benji) so hard on him.(billy).
If you draw blood you separate them if not maybe they can work it out. There are many things that can cause Piggies to feel stressed out like not having enough hay or having a small enclosure less than 10 square feet. But generally it is rare for a pair of boys to start fighting after being together for over a year, but stress and other things can contribute to it happening
. He died later that evening. I think the cage was too small. The pet shop sold me it saying it was good enough size I have learnt otherwise.
@@ScottysAnimalsbenji is eating and drinking fine and acting normally atmoment.
It's only sending a bit at a time sorry. I'm concerned it might happen again if I introduce a new friend. Could I keep another next to him in a cage or wait and see how he is alone? I'm new too this and have alot too learn. I'm sad so not a great time for decion making without professional advice and I no longer trust the pet shop for advice.
I'm starting too watch your playlist as you are so natural with them. Thanks so much for replying so fast.
I am just always confused because we are told not to keep a guinea pig alone and get them a friend.
Keep in mind if you get this far with your boar during a play date, you will have your other arm free as it won't be filming. In case you have a dustpan or another fleece or item to help keep everyone safe from those teeth. I've been bit by a couple of boars and they go deep! Seriously protect their and your flesh from those itsy bitsy beaver biters, lol!