• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

All reasons why bunnys and guinea pigs should NOT live together?

steph182

Wise Old Thumper
Mams boyfriend has a rabbit and a guinea pig living together in a small hutch.
They now don't even have any hay :( Fed up, and I want the rabbit and to then help them with how to keep guinea pigs. Gonna point out the fact that it needs vaccinations and stuff, and neutering (even though his daughter was on about breeding it) and I just need as much proof as I can to why they're doing it wrong.

They aren't horrible people at all, and they do love animals, but he's of the impression that "it was fine when I was a kid, it's fine now" and it's clearly not :roll:
 
Last edited:
Bunnys carry an illness that can kill piggies i believe.

Piggies need a different vitamin c rich diet.

They don't talk the same language so are not getting the 'best deal' for each other, as both are social i believe? (i know bunnies are, i dont know anything about piggies)

Bunny could kill piggie very easily with a quick kick, even if accidental.

Thats the 4 that spring to mind.
 
A kick from a bunny can injure or kill a guinea pig,Bunnies can carry bordetella bronchoseptica which is fatal for guineas.:(
 
A kick from a bunny can injure or kill a guinea pig,Bunnies can carry bordetella bronchoseptica which is fatal for guineas.:(

That's the one i meant, but couldnt think of the name.

Thanks for clarification Daisylop.
 
There are loads of reasons why they shouldn't be kept together but I think the points that hit people that don't realise the hardest are that their dietry needs are totally different and the risk of Bordatella being passed from one to the other (I can't remember which species passes it to which though :oops:). ETA - Ahhh, bunnies to pigs! Everyone else hit post before me! :lol:

Tell her that both situations could result in 'very expensive vet bills' (exaggerrate a bit if need be ;)) and unhappy pets.

Bullying is also an obvious problem but IMO, you can tell people that until you're blue in the face and they'll just say 'but I've never seen them be nasty to each other...' :roll:
 
There are loads of reasons why they shouldn't be kept together but I think the points that hit people that don't realise the hardest are that their dietry needs are totally different and the risk of Bordatella being passed from one to the other (I can't remember which species passes it to which though :oops:). ETA - Ahhh, bunnies to pigs! Everyone else hit post before me! :lol:

Tell her that both situations could result in 'very expensive vet bills' (exaggerrate a bit if need be ;)) and unhappy pets.

Bullying is also an obvious problem but IMO, you can tell people that until you're blue in the face and they'll just say 'but I've never seen them be nasty to each other...' :roll:

Don't need to, my last vet bill was £130 and Mable died before her second appointment which would have been the next day, so would have cost more.
It's good to know the name of the bacteria, thanks :D
 
People dont listen even when you advise them not to before they even get the guinea. Girl in my office went & got a guinea to keep her son's Nethie company because the same breeders told them they could live happily together Why she couldnt have just got another buns goodness knows!
 
I'm gonna try and make my mam talk to him too, basically just say we'll have the rabbit. I hate the idea of how they're living :cry:
 
i used to let Misty exercise with my Guinea Pig Joey as they were both lonely and one day Misty accidently scratched Joeys eye I never saw it happen but the vet reckons that Misty had kicked his feet and his nail catching on Joeys eye bless him :(

rabbits have powerful kicks and i never realised how easily a rabbit can kick a guinea pig in the face :( Misty also tried to hump Joey when he hit maturity which i can imagine could cause damage.
 
I think the reason people used to keep them together was because there was no neutering of rabbits, therefore it wasn't easy to get harmonious company for a rabbit. Also probably due to the size of the hutches on offer! Obviously those things have now changed.

My main reasons for not keeping them together would always be:
1. Bordatella
2. Rabbit kicks
3. Dietary differences - piggies need vitamin C and more protein (generally more pellets, more veggies etc)
 
All of the above.

I have both and they def do need company of their own kind. Guineapigs are nervous little creatures and a rabbit can frighten them.
 
we have house buns and house piggies
THEY DONOT LIVE TOGETHER.... the piggies have pens the buns are free range.
the buns "visit "the piggies in the morning when i clean them out.supervised i must add...this lasts 5 mins max. id never leave them alone for 1 second.
theres never been any nastyness between them.
 
I must admit when i first got Trev and i had my pigs i let them spend some time together so he wouldnt get lonely, but i know better now.
I went in one night and Trev had a funny hard patch on his forhead and his eye was shut i was really worried turned out it was the guinea pigs ahem 'deposit' should we say :? Thats a good reason not to keep them together Trev could have gone blind had i not noticed it so quickly! Took me forever to get off :roll::lol:
Trev was fine btw and needless to say the didnt spend any time alone again, except free range in the garden but they are always supervised and seemed to stay away from each other anyway.
 
Back
Top