Advice adopting 2nd guinea pig - Guinea Pig Cages, Care, Store, Photos of Guinea Pigs and More Forum!

**peewee russell** · #1 03-26-09, 12:37 pm

We have a male guinea pig, 3 months old, and are looking to adopt a second male piggie. I've been reading so much about males fighting, etc..that I'm wondering if we should even get a second guinea pig. I don't want Peewee to hate his new friend if we get one! What are your thoughts on this?

**AnimalHouse36** · #2 03-26-09, 02:18 pm

Guinea pigs are social animals and to leave them alone deprived of other cavies is just plain cruel.

It's really not hard to do a proper intro. it may be hard at first since they often have "scrabbles" but unless blood is shed you shouldn't seperate. intro on a large territory that neither has been on before and include lots of food and hay in to different spots.

As for the cage, you should do a complete cleaning. Soack everything in vinigar or just go out and buy new things (if possible). And remember, the bigger the cage the more likely the two males will get along. For two males who almost never fight, a 2x4 is reccomended. OOf course, a 2x5, 2x6 & a 2x7 would be much better.

If your really worried about getting another male, why not have your oy nuetered by a cavy savy vet so you could adopt a female (since they almost always get along) or look for an already spayed female. A spayed female is rare to find since it's a risky and more invasive(which means more expensive) surgery.

Also, I'm sure you already know this but please adopt.
www.petfinder.com
Guinea Pigs Social Life
Pet Stores and Guinea Pigs

**rabbitsncavyluv** · #3 03-26-09, 02:29 pm

It is a myth that two males will fight.

Even two females can fight by the way.

Read the above links. Make sure your cage is big enough.

**snistopher** · #4 03-28-09, 10:25 pm

I'm in the same spot right now, except my male cavy is 6 months old. I just wanted to add that adopting can be quite tiresome. I've already contacted 3 people and so far, I haven't gotten anywhere. I'm waiting for for this one woman to reply to an E-Mail I sent, and it looked good for awhile, but she hasn't written back. I'll wait a few more days and then move on to more craigslist postings. My wife thinks we should just buy again from the pet store, but I absolutely refuse to do that.

As for 2 males getting together, I'm confident it will work out...although I'm hoping to find a gp that's somewhat subservient (my Doodles is rather dominant in personality).