Sometimes when you have two guinea pigs you may start to think that two of them are not enough anymore.
That can lead you to want to get another friend for the ones that you already have, but can you add a third guinea pig?
You can add a third guinea pig to the group that you already have as long as you make sure to introduce them properly and make sure that you have all of the things that you’ll need to accommodate the third guinea pig.
So putting a new guinea pig in your current group can be an easy thing to accomplish most of the time.
But there are definitely some things that you will have to look out for to make sure that you’re doing it the right way.
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Can You Add A Third Guinea Pig?
So it’s true that you can add a third guinea pig to the ones that you currently have and it could be a really great experience if you introduce them properly.
All guinea pigs have their own unique personalities and may not always get along all the time though.
Luckily, there are a couple of things that can either make it easier or harder when it comes to introducing a third into the already established group.
One of the first things that you want to look out for is making sure that you know the gender of the third guinea pig that you’re bringing in.
So if you have two male guinea pigs then it’s easier to have the third guinea pig be a male.
The same also goes for if you have two females as well because you don’t want to make the mistake of mixing the two genders together.
That can create problems down the road that you’ll have to deal with if you unknowingly house male and female guinea pigs together. Those problems can be more fighting, extra dominance behavior, and also mating as well.
So always check the gender of the third guinea pig before adding them to the group just to be on the safe side.
The next thing that can make it easier when adding a third guinea pig is if the new guinea pig or current guinea pigs are younger.
Younger guinea pigs are a lot easier to add to a new group because they won’t have as many hard or bad habits to break yet.
Because of that, the new guinea pig can be more open to joining the others and the current guinea pigs can be more accepting of the new one.
So most of the time it’ll be easier on you if any of the guinea pigs are still young, but if they’re not then don’t worry too much about it because adding a third guinea pig can still work.
Introducing A Third Guinea Pig To The Others
Introducing a third guinea pig to the ones that you already have isn’t always going to be easy and that’s perfectly normal.
However, there are a few things that you should do that can really make adding a third guinea pig a smoother experience for you and them.
But before you even introduce them for the first time it’s always best to make sure that the guinea pig that you’re adding is actually healthy.
So it’s not advised to just adopt them and immediately introduce them, it’s in your and your guinea pig’s best interest to get them checked out by a vet first.
Once you have confirmed that the third guinea pig doesn’t have anything wrong with them and is healthy then you can start the introduction.
Adding The Third Guinea Pig For The First Time
When it’s time to add the new guinea pig for the first time it should be done in neutral territory.
So you won’t want to use their current cage or enclosure for their first meeting but maybe a playpen in a separate area.
That way your current guinea pigs won’t act as territorial around the new one because they won’t have laid claim to anything in that area yet.
So introducing them in a neutral area can prevent a lot of fighting between them and make the process easier.
Once you have all three guinea pigs in this neutral area then you’ll want to give them something that they can happily do together.
Guinea pigs love food and different snacks so have a lot of those for them to eat with each other. All of that good food that they’re eating together can make them happier which can make the introduction a lot easier.
So you can spread their little snacks all around the neutral area and let them peacefully eat together for a while.
Just make sure to have enough food to go around, or baby guinea pig food if you plan on adding a younger one so that they don’t start fighting over it.
One more thing that can make adding a third guinea pig a smoother experience is having little huts for them to go into.
Guinea pigs can get stressed easily especially when a new guinea pig is being added into the group.
So by having some small huts or hideaways that they can go into when the situation becomes too stressful can really help.
Adding a third guinea pig can sometimes be difficult, but as long as you’re being safe about it and remember to take your time while introducing them to each other then you should be fine.
What To Look Out For When Adding A Third Guinea Pig
When you add a third guinea pig sometimes it’s not always the easiest thing to do and you may run into some things that can look like small problems.
These issues usually aren’t that serious though and are mostly normal, but they’re something that you should a least be aware of.
One of the things that you should look out for when adding the new one is that all of the guinea pigs may start to go through their dominance behavior.
Guinea pig dominance can last for a while and it’s completely normal for them to do when they first meet.
So when this happens you’ll usually see a good amount of chasing and sometimes they’ll even try mounting each other in an attempt to establish dominance.
Another thing to look out for is your new and current guinea pigs playing and also fighting with each other.
Although playing and fighting can look similar when guinea pigs do it, this is another normal behavior that you’ll see and it’s just one of the many ways that they interact with one another.
However, sometimes the fighting can get way too aggressive and in that case, you’ll need to know when to separate your guinea pigs.
But most of the time you won’t really need to separate them unless the fighting becomes too intense and that causes one of them to start bleeding.
How Long Can It Take For The Third Guinea Pig To Adjust?
Anytime you add a new guinea pig into the current group that you have you’ll have to give them some time to adjust to each other.
Adjusting can sometimes take various lengths of time because it really depends on all three of the guinea pigs’ personalities.
If their personalities easily sync up with each other then it’ll be easier for the third guinea pig to adjust.
But if their personalities don’t match up as well then it’ll take longer for them to get used to each other.
What makes knowing if they’re properly adjusting easier is if you can tell when your guinea pigs are starting to bond.
A simple way to know that your guinea pigs are starting to bond with the third guinea pig is if they seem calm and actively do different things with each other happily.
As I said the time it takes for them to adjust can differ, but usually it can take anywhere from a few days to a few months for all of them to really get used to one another.
What You’ll Need When Adding A Third Guinea Pig
When adding the third guinea pig you can’t just put them with the others without considering the things that you will now need.
For example, having a third guinea pig now means that you’ll need more space for them to live in. This is necessary because if you have too small of a space for three guinea pigs then they may start to fight over territory.
So before you even put the new guinea pig with the others it’s best if you make sure that you have a space that can accommodate all of them.
You’ll also now need more toys and things for all of them to chew on as well. Not having enough toys for them to chew on can really upset them and can make adding a third guinea pig a lot harder.
Also, if you don’t think that you have enough food or water to support three guinea pigs then you’ll definitely have to add some more.
This can be as easy as getting another water bottle for them to drink out of or another food dish so that they all can eat comfortably.
So these are just some of the common things that you’ll need when adding a new guinea pig.
As long as you’re making sure that they do have what they’ll need then adding a third guinea pig can be a lot easier of an experience.