thinking of getting a guinea pig friend for my rabbit

Phoebs

Phoebs

Phoebs

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well as title really. ive been doing some research online but it seems very mixed.

i know rabbits are friendly creatures and they enjoy companionship. i regularly let her run round the house and her and the cat play together...well wind each other up and we constantly give her love and attention but i cant help thinking she still seems lonely.

i was just wondering if anyone has rabbits with guinea pigs or if anyone knows anything about it.

thanks in advance
 
We used to have a rabbit and a guinea pig and they got on fine, granted they'd pretty much grown up together (we got them at 6 months old). Couldn't say whether introducing one would be a good or bad idea, but I don't think it should be a problem.
 
Put them in 2 cages next to each other, see how the respond like that and let them live like that for about a week and start slowly letting them live in the same cage aftewr that if they get along:)
 
I used to have a rabbit and guinea pig together and they were fine. Had the rabbit first then introduced the guinea a little while later (can't remember exactly how long though).

They got on really well and the sad thing was when the rabbit died, I went downstairs and found the guinea pig nuzzling it to try and wake him up :(
 
Why not another rabbit?

If you speak to some people, they will say its fine to introduce rabbits and guinea pigs, however others will say no.

This is because they eat different diets and have different needs etc.
 
My rabbit and guinea pig got on fine for awhile. They were introduced together late.

Eventually the rabbit turned on the guinea pig and he died the same day. A harsh way to learn a lesson.

I would only introduce 2 together very early on in their lives.

Please don't make the same mistake I did!
 
Red and White said:
if its a girl rabbit then no.

ours used to think it was pregnant at that time of the month and become vicious. :eek:
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yeh shes a bit grumpy now. im not really sure what to do. like i said everythings very mixed. ive had rabbits in the past but dont know why this one just seems lonely
 
Often guinea pigs are housed with rabbits, especially at pet stores.
It is a common practice, but the advice from most expert sources is - DON'T DO IT!
If kept outdoors, they are often considered as company for each other, as the guinea pig can get warmth from the larger rabbit, but a rabbit has very powerful back legs which often does great harm to the more fragile guinea pig!
Also, they are different species, and in general terms should not be kept together, their dietary requirements differ.

Jalene Minkevics wrote to say that it is a little known fact about Rabbits and Guinea Pigs and why you should never, ever, ever house them together. This is a lesson she learned the hard way with a $300.00 vet bill for her $35 guinea pig. Rabbits can be carriers of a bacteria called Bordetella which does not cause any illness in the rabbit but causes pneumonia in guinea pigs. Although not all rabbits carry this bacteria, most do and therefore should you wish to keep your guinea pig and save yourself several hundred dollars do not house them together.
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http://www.coldal.org/cavie.htm
 
Phoebs said:
yeh shes a bit grumpy now. im not really sure what to do. like i said everythings very mixed. ive had rabbits in the past but dont know why this one just seems lonely
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Make her a house rabbit.

My last one was a great friend. He was friendly, playful, cheeky and used a litter tray. Miss him now.

I think they really respond to being in the warmth and get much more used to being handled.
 
What makes you think the rabbit is lonely? It gets the run of the house and also plays with your cat. Most rabbits just end up in a cage for the rest of their life.
 
when I was a kid...we had a rabbit and a G Pig....as time went by the pig started to loose its ears which looked like they had been nibbled. Then one day the pig was found dead in the cage...it looked like it had been thumped a few times:eek: . We used to find the rabit charging at the wee pig sometimes.

The rabbit lived happily ever after....till it got out the cage and got squished by a car on the road outside my house.

Just letting you know!
 
had a rabbit and guinie pig for many many years together but i think they were put together from realy young.

had no problems with any of em, the G. Pig used to sleep on the rabbits back.
 
I have a dwarf lop rabbit with a peruvian Guinea pig, i dont like having them together as one day i think i will find the pig dead from a kick off the rabbit.

I wouldn't dream of having a normal sized rabbit with a pig!
 
had a rabbit and guinea pig a few years back. had the guinea pig first and then got the rabbit, they got along very well. we did, as mentioned above, keep them in separate cages next to each other before introducing them. make sure you stay with them when you introduce them and make sure that nothing bad happens the first few times!!
 
hey guys. thanks for all the responses. its been a real help. well ive decided not to get a guinea pig and i may debate another rabbit but it all comes at an expense really. im gonna let her roam the house a bit more. in fact shes out now. Shes already used the cats tray numerous times anyway which i was amazed at.
 
the other thing is. if i do get her a rabbit companion she already seems quite grumpy. She growls a lot when we try and get her bk in her cage or try and pick her up. would she be aggressive towards her new friend or is that something thats kind of like pot luck.

thanks
 
Get her neutered. Seriously thats the best piece of advice I can give you to get a grumpy rabbit to stop being grumpy. Its their hormones. I have two house rabbits, the boy is 4 and the girl is 2, they live happily together, but when I first got the girl (my baby boy was lonely after his first wife died and so I decided to get him a new one) she used to bite and scratch him. The boy was already neutered and when I took him to the vet after a particularly nasty bite he said that she could tell he wasnt getting her pregnant and so was taking it out on him. All that female rabbits are programmed to do is breed.

Got her neutered and hey presto, she was a much happier rabbit, shes not vicious at all now, and even lets me cuddle her sometimes, if im very good.

I would get your girl another bunny, maybe a boy, and if you went to a rescue centre then you could see how she gets on with the bunnies they have there, and also they are usually neutered.

As I said mine live in the house with me, in a one bedroomed flat, they get out for a run most evenings, the only thing I would say is COVER UP ANY WIRES mine have chewed through the stereo cables the RJ11 cable, and almost through the sky cable too. The cable protectors work a treat. Give them stuff they can chew old phone books etc and they will be fine. As for litter training mine picked it up in no time, and they never poo anywhere in the house but in their litter box, they will even hop back in the cage to go if they are out and about.
Anything else im happy to answer it. :)
 
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