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Rabbits and Guinea Pigs, Why?

hayleyhelen

Alpha Buck
I just dont understand why people want to keep rabbits and guinea pigs together? Why not just get 2 rabbits or 2 guinea pigs? My friend asked me to help her look into getting a rescue rabbit and I told her that they wont rehome unless there will be 2 rabbits as its not very fair on the single rabbit. She replied that she could get a guinea pig instead, I told her that its really not recommened to keep them together and that she might as well get 2 rabbits.
I really dont understand!
 
I don't understand it either really, I think it is a lack of education on what is best for the rabbit and guinea pig. I also suppose it allows the person to have the best of both worlds so to speak!

The USPCA in Northern Ireland says on their website in their education section : Can you provide your rabbit with essential companionship – either another rabbit, a guinea pig or yourself? :roll: I have contacted them about it, but they still haven't changed it.

I have to admit though, when I was younger and living in NI (I was 8 years old...am 24 now) I had a guinea pig and a rabbit together. They were sold together in the pet shop we were told that they were a good combination and would get on well together, my parents and I didn't know any better so we got them both. They seemed happy together and lived long lives, but I would never do it again knowing what I do now. I feel really guilty about it.

When I was home at Christmas I was talking about how rabbits and guinea pigs shoudn't be kept together and my older sister refused to accept it..she kept saying that Pinky and Floppsy were fine together, which annoyed me! She has a habit of never agreeing with anything I say though! :roll:
 
When i got my first bunny (i was only little and didn't know much about them) i was going to get two, but they were all bucks and the person working in the shop said they cannot sell two bucks and suggested we get a guinea pig. We were told they live in harmony together. So we got Stan (bun) and Chi chi (guinea), shortly after getting them Stan started attacking Chi chi :(

Eventually Stan got a bunny friend, and Chi got guinea friends :)
 
TBh it never occurred to me NOT to until I came on here. They sell them together in most petshops (or did until very recently;)). And people keeps dogs with cats. And my horse had a goat. It's ignorance - but I can see why people do. Petshops don't tell you that there will be problems like they tell you 2 boys will fight, or boy/girl will have babies.
 
I understand that is simply ignorance but I never thought of it as having 'one of each' like a dog and a cat. I suppose because my friend has seen my happy pairs I thought she would herself like a happy pair of buns. I think she thinks that she can get away with smaller hutch if she has one rabbit and a guinea pig. Dont worry I wont let that happen, she is now considering getting a giant rabbit as a house bunny instead.
 
On a packet of Supa Guinea, it actually says if you have rabbits and guinea-pigs together, feed this!!! What?!?!?! :evil:
 
I think it's for historical reasons, to be honest. Years ago no-one neutered bunnies, so they didn't get on so well (in the sense that they weren't seen to be sociable pets that should live with their own kind). However, they seemed to get on with guinea pigs, as in not fighting at least, eating a fairly similar diet etc (in the days where all that was on offer was generic muesli mix etc).

These people have then grown up thinking 'when I was a kid that's how we did things', and not changed with the times. These people also now run pet shops.
 
It's sad, isn't it.....besides the risk of injury to the piggie, and the difference in dietary requirements, there is the VERY important factor that rabbits are often asymptomatic carriers of Bordetella. You wouldn't even know they have it, as it shows no symptoms in them. But they pass it along to piggies in their company, where it can result in hair loss, weight loss, sneezing/coughing, or just sudden death without other symptoms. It is most usually fatal for piggies. :cry: :cry: :cry: No one puts THAT on their feed package! Yet just over the weekend, I was in TWO petshops.....one in Crawley and one in Ditchling....that BOTH had tiny cages with bunnies and piggies housed together. :evil:
 
It's sad, isn't it.....besides the risk of injury to the piggie, and the difference in dietary requirements, there is the VERY important factor that rabbits are often asymptomatic carriers of Bordetella. You wouldn't even know they have it, as it shows no symptoms in them. But they pass it along to piggies in their company, where it can result in hair loss, weight loss, sneezing/coughing, or just sudden death without other symptoms. It is most usually fatal for piggies. :cry: :cry: :cry: No one puts THAT on their feed package! Yet just over the weekend, I was in TWO petshops.....one in Crawley and one in Ditchling....that BOTH had tiny cages with bunnies and piggies housed together. :evil:


oooooo i didnt knwo that i let my rabbit play with my piggies on the floor should i stop???
 
I rescued a bunny from someones being constently locked in someones garage, only had her a few days but shes 7 months and lives on her own. She lives out side but I spend time with her in the morning and at night, and I have put lots of 'foraging' toys in the shed so she can run around all day and keep herself busy.

Am I being really mean not getting her a husband :(

She needs to be speyed so I think when I have saved up and got her fixed I might adopt a neutered male to keep her company, but my other half would need some persuading :?

Will she fight with another bunny if she's used to living on her own?
 
Am I being really mean not getting her a husband :(

She needs to be speyed so I think when I have saved up and got her fixed I might adopt a neutered male to keep her company, but my other half would need some persuading :?

Will she fight with another bunny if she's used to living on her own?

Rabbits are very sociable creatures and I am sure that your bunny will love to have a husband. Of course, she should be spayed before the introduction. Additionaly, a great proportion of unspayed females (85%) go on to develop uterine cancer. I suggest that you get her spayed as soon as possible.
 
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