Can guinea pigs be friends with rabbits?

[luci]

I have 2 GPs, hamish and Chilli, they have been friends ever since I got them and I got them when they were 7 weeks old. they are from different litters and are now 6 months old. the other day they had a MASSIVE fight and Chilli ripped Hamish's nostril upwards. We got another hutch and Chilli is fine as he is the one who attacked Hamish so he wanted to be alone.
hamish is a different story, he wheeks and cries for Chilli and its really upsetting to see. If he goes back with Chilli, he'll attack him again! i'm gonna get him a friend, i think i'm gonna get a male, dwarf rabbit 9so it doesn't get too big) but I'm not sure whether to get another GP, a girl? But spay her. Any suggestions??? [glow=red,2,300][/glow]

[samnbud]

Always get the same sex always!! And never house rabbits and guinea pigs together!! They are just to different. They have different dietary needs. A rabbit may also spread a harmful disease to the guinea pig that may not be harmfull for the rabbit. And a bite or kick from a rabbit can be fatal for a guinea pig. Even if it is a dwarf there back legs are still powerful. And never get a pet just to spay it and have it for a companian. Surgeries are expensive and can be life threatening. I suggest another pig of the same sex!! And that may not work, due to the fact at certain ages guinea pigs may fight one another if not raised together. Did you check Chilli to see if he may be suffering from some kind of illness? Why would he all of a sudden attack Hamish? He may be ill ot irritable causing him to lash out. If Hamish is sad place their cages side by side so he can still smell, and hear Chilli. And give them suppurvised floor time together. One more thing....getting a female mixed in with 2 boys is asking for fights. Just her smell alone could cause the pigs to act completely different.

[Josie]

dont get a rabbit, dont get a girl and spay her, you would be putting her life at serious risk for a non-feasible reason. get a much younger male and introduce them very carefully. and a rabbit is a huge no-no cause rabbit food slowly poisons guinea pigs and vice-versa. now, you wouldnt want that to happen would you?

[skipperdoo]

The have hit puberty/maturing and it looks like they aren't into sharing. Some folks house rabbits and guinea pigs together but it is not advised due to their dietary needs plus a rabbit could accidentally injure a guinea pig with a hind leg/kick and also rabbits can be carriers of Bordetella. Make sure that your pigs are okay and that they don't end up with abscesses. I had two male guinea pigs who ended up being injured by their cage mates and after their recovery, they went on to live with each other (the other two were placed in another home).

[Josie]

luci- and contrary to popular belief nutering boars does NOT change their behaviour towards one another it just means they cant have babies.

[skipperdoo]

I haven't heard of rabbit food slowly poisioning guinea pigs or vice versa. Can you direct me to the location where you found this information?

[Josie]

i cant actually remember.... but i assure you that its true.

[luci]

Thanks for your help! I think they fought about space but now it seems like they just aren't gonna get on, they threaten eachother. Hamish seemed a lot happier today, wheeking and popcorning around. i'm giving him loads of attention so maybe he'll be ok alone. I'm worried about getting another male GP because they may fight again and I'll be in the same situation all over again! Oh, and their cages are side by side and they talk to eachother and can smells one another too. is it necessary that I get him a friend if he seems happier alone now?

[Josie]

just beacause you have had two boars fight, doesnt mean all boars will. aLix, has just bought a new boar who is only a bub and apparently he is fine with her other pigs. she's the girl you should havea word with, or Susie, she has 5 boars and she is "barmy 4 boars" lol.

[skipperdoo]

aLix's is a baby and in time the same thing may happen with her. Many males and many females and also male/female couples get along but some don't. Most issues with males, if there are to be any, will start when one or both of the pigs reaches puberty/maturity. Also, if a male has previously lived with a female, that can present problems. Many people on this forum and others have males so you can learn from all of them. For now, if it were me, I'd just keep the arrangement that you have since there are no guarantees and you may end up with injured pigs and more cages that you would like if you start adding more males to see who will work out.

[Josie]

yeh on second thoughts, if they seem to be happy dont disturb them again, cause as skip says you could end up with a herd of singular males trying to find one your boys get along with.

[samnbud]

I have 4 males and they all grew up together..thankfully. But my 2 oldest do have there little fights...nothing bad. I would have to say keep the arrangement you have. I introduced my two babies (now almost 12 weeks) to my two 6 month olds and (sorry to say) all one of the older males wanted to do was try and mate with the baby. And the other male could care less. The babies were stressed from the unwanted attention. So I guess the moral is at this point nothing may work and if they seem happy keep it like it is......if it isnt broke dont fix it LOL.

[skipperdoo]

I ran into the same problem as samnbud posted above but I just left them all together since I had no space. At the moment there is still one adult male with three babies and I'm waiting to see what will happend ... meaning who I will have to separate out. I have them totally removed from the females (they are in my bedroom). I had to put them in something larger and will expand their cage this weekend (they are in Jasmine's cage as of this past weekend and I will add the other one to make a 2x4 grid cage).

[Josie]

you try so hard with your piggies skipperdooooooooooooo........................

[luci]

thanks again!! When Hamish and Chilli were together Chilli kept trying to mate with Hamish and thats what usually started little arguments, is that normal?? Because its not just a random thing, he does it CONSTANTLY and now they are seperated, when we give them supervised time together that is actually ALL they do!

ps And Hamish circles Chilli making low purring noises, what does it mean?

[Merry]

I would still let them have closely supervised floor time, so they don't completely forget each other. There's still a chance that they could get along after they get past puberty. Another option though, if they simply won't, is getting an already spayed female from a rescue - they're out there. I've yet to hear of a male/female pairing that didn't work.

[skipperdoo]

luci said:

And Hamish circles Chilli making low purring noises, what does it mean?

It means watch out you may have an injured pig or two on your hands verys shortly. It sounds like one of them is doing a lot of dominance mounting to let the other know who is in charge.

[luci]

I do still give them time together but they're getting worse and worse, Hamish's nose has just healed and I wouldn't like any more wounds! I'm going to buy them some toys, since they've been apart they are so much more playful, but they don't seem to pay any interest to them. Does anyone have any suggestions about which toys gunes pigs may like to play with?

[skipperdoo]

I'm confused ... sorry. They are getting worse and worse yet they are playful. Playful when they are together or when they are separate? I'm not clear on why they are together (during playtime?) ff they are gettign worse and worse. Pehaps I'm not understanding what is actually going on.

[Josie]

i'm a bit lost....