It is important that when you introduce a new guinea pig you do so on neutral territory. A good way of doing this is to do so on a large clean towel. Place your pigs on the towel and wait for them to wander around and meet each other. You can expect them to smell each other but as long as their is no fighting to not intervene – even if you can hear their teeth chattering. Some treats randomly placed around the towel may help them to not over-concentrate on the stranger.

If after an hour the introduction has not resulted in any fighting, it is probably safe to house them in a very clean cage (free of either pig’s scent). However, they must be monitored very closely during the first 24 hours for signs of fighting. If you experience fighting during the initial meeting it is best to try again for short periods of time over the course of several days or even weeks. On no account should they be housed together if they fight at this stage.