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General Guinea Pigs w/ other pets?

thistlewriter

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So I've had my two intact boars for over a year. I would like to get more pigs, but I don't have the space for another separate cage setup (my boys live in two connected 2 x 5 cages, which has taken up a decent portion of my bedroom). Because more pigs aren't an option (unless I undergo the risk of neutering my boars and then pairing them with females, which I'd strongly prefer not to do), I'm looking into the potential of other pets. The other pets would stay in their own cages, and I'd do my best to keep them completely separate from my boars even though they would be in the same room.

I'm considering getting either budgies or rats. Have any of you had experience having any of these pets at the same time as guinea pigs? Or are there any other pets you know of who function pretty well in the same home as pigs? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!
 

MerryFriarTuck

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I've never had rats at the same time as guinea pigs...but we do have two budgies and two parakeets all in the same room with my two boy piggies!

Everyone lives in perfect harmony :) Both piggies and budgies pay no attention to each other at all, and are very happy in the same room ( separate cages, of course lol ) Unlike parrots or conures ( which we've also had ) budgies never get louder than occasional scolds, and they're definitely not loud enough to scare a piggy. Other than that they twitter, sing, and talk. Our Pippin budgie says nearly ten different words in his adorable tiny voice :) If you have any other questions about them, ask away!
 

thistlewriter

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I've never had rats at the same time as guinea pigs...but we do have two budgies and two parakeets all in the same room with my two boy piggies!

Everyone lives in perfect harmony :) Both piggies and budgies pay no attention to each other at all, and are very happy in the same room ( separate cages, of course lol ) Unlike parrots or conures ( which we've also had ) budgies never get louder than occasional scolds, and they're definitely not loud enough to scare a piggy. Other than that they twitter, sing, and talk. Our Pippin budgie says nearly ten different words in his adorable tiny voice :) If you have any other questions about them, ask away!

Thanks! I do have a few questions, if you don't mind answering them :)

First, what are some good resources for budgie care? If I get them, I want to get them the proper cage, feed them proper food, etc... I've tried looking for info before, but I haven't found a lot, so any resources would be great!

Second, I know that budgies need some time out of their cages to stretch their wings and socialize with their humans. If they're in the same room as the pigs, how do you let them out to exercise without them flying over the pig cage (I'm worried about the budgies pooping in the pig cage)?

Third, what kind of temps do budgies like? My basement apartment is cool, which works great for my pigs. I keep my pigs on the side of my room with no vents, which is warmer, but I don't know if the temp is safe for budgies as well. The thermostat says it gets around 65 in the winter, but I suspect that sometimes it gets colder than that.

Thanks in advance!
 

MerryFriarTuck

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Thanks! I do have a few questions, if you don't mind answering them :)

First, what are some good resources for budgie care? If I get them, I want to get them the proper cage, feed them proper food, etc... I've tried looking for info before, but I haven't found a lot, so any resources would be great!

Second, I know that budgies need some time out of their cages to stretch their wings and socialize with their humans. If they're in the same room as the pigs, how do you let them out to exercise without them flying over the pig cage (I'm worried about the budgies pooping in the pig cage)?

Third, what kind of temps do budgies like? My basement apartment is cool, which works great for my pigs. I keep my pigs on the side of my room with no vents, which is warmer, but I don't know if the temp is safe for budgies as well. The thermostat says it gets around 65 in the winter, but I suspect that sometimes it gets colder than that.

Thanks in advance!

Off the top of my head, I'm afraid I don't know any good budgie care resources... we've had pet birds my whole life, so everything I know is basically ingrained lol . But I can answer your questions!

Proper food is a good seed ( good ones are Higgins and Zupreem, and some others ). You can tell it's good if it's not dusty, smells nice ( sort of fruity/nutty ), and looks shiny and fresh. Also really important to their diet is leafy greens, and also bird grit ( looks like sand and has the natural minerals they need ), and some "treat" foods that are still important for a well rounded diet. They adore little bits of scrambled egg, toast/bread, and other greens like celery.

Our budgies actually don't leave their cages, as we've chosen not to hand tame them. As long as you have a big enough cage, they get enough exercise flying/climbing around the space in it. Our cage is 30 in. tall, 25 in. wide, and 18 in. deep, and anything roughly that size is great! If you do take your budgies out of their cage, it's best to have their flight feathers routinely clipped so they can't fly, crash, and get hurt or escape. Also, budgie poop is quite small, so if it did land in piggy cage I can't see it causing problems :) They LOVE toys like mirrors, swings, and jingley plastic balls. Some even play on the floor of their cage with bottle caps and balls!

Budgies are basically like us with temperature; if you're cold/hot, they're cold/hot. Anywhere between 60° and low 80s° should be ok. If they are too cold they'll puff their feathers up, and their feet will feel cold. It's best to keep them out if drafts either way. Our budgies/piggies live in a four season like room that's all windows, so if it's in the 50s at night, we use a plug in heater. ( Where we live it very rarely gets to freezing ) We have a digital room thermometer that was pretty cheap at Walmart to make sure it doesn't get too hot for piggies or too cold for budgies!

Sorry for writing a book... Hope this helps! Budgies are wonderful pets and love to interact with their people :)
 

sallyvh

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Back when I was in university, I had guinea pigs and my one roommate had rats. They never interacted and did not live in the same room, but we never seemed to have any issues.

Currently my guinea pigs live in the same room as my Syrian hamster and a large fish tank. No issues there either! Everyone has their own space, doesn't interact and is completely unbothered by the other animals in the room.
 

JaneD85

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I've seen rats and guineas in the same room before at a childhood friend's house. There was no interaction, obviously, and they didn't seem agitated or nervous at all, so there's no reason to worry about the schematics of it all.
 

mummytomyboys

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Hi, you've said you don't want to add guinea pigs into the cage but your willing to get a new kind of pet and keep him or her in their own cage? If that's the case why not get two boars in separate cages? That way they can only 'play' with each other when having floor time. I wouldn't obviously reccomend big birds or cats or dogs as these will most likely scare your guinea pig rather than keep them company. You need to be careful with rats and any other rodent they should not be kept together (most people keep rabbits & guinea pigs together, they shouldn't!) I have never had other pets round my guinea pigs, so if I were you play it safe and go with another pair of guinea pigs living in separate cages, but if you can't afford that then don't get any at all I would say. But the choice is yours. Always do research before going ahead.

Sent from my SM-A705FN using Tapatalk
 

thistlewriter

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Hi, you've said you don't want to add guinea pigs into the cage but your willing to get a new kind of pet and keep him or her in their own cage? If that's the case why not get two boars in separate cages? That way they can only 'play' with each other when having floor time. I wouldn't obviously reccomend big birds or cats or dogs as these will most likely scare your guinea pig rather than keep them company. You need to be careful with rats and any other rodent they should not be kept together (most people keep rabbits & guinea pigs together, they shouldn't!) I have never had other pets round my guinea pigs, so if I were you play it safe and go with another pair of guinea pigs living in separate cages, but if you can't afford that then don't get any at all I would say. But the choice is yours. Always do research before going ahead.

Sent from my SM-A705FN using Tapatalk

I already said I don't have the space for more guinea pigs. I mean, it's theoretically possible, but I'd have to rearrange my room to squeeze another 2 x 5 cage in there, so I'd prefer not to do that at the moment.
 

MerryFriarTuck

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Hi, you've said you don't want to add guinea pigs into the cage but your willing to get a new kind of pet and keep him or her in their own cage? If that's the case why not get two boars in separate cages? That way they can only 'play' with each other when having floor time. I wouldn't obviously reccomend big birds or cats or dogs as these will most likely scare your guinea pig rather than keep them company. You need to be careful with rats and any other rodent they should not be kept together (most people keep rabbits & guinea pigs together, they shouldn't!) I have never had other pets round my guinea pigs, so if I were you play it safe and go with another pair of guinea pigs living in separate cages, but if you can't afford that then don't get any at all I would say. But the choice is yours. Always do research before going ahead.

Sent from my SM-A705FN using Tapatalk

Guinea pigs need cages that have lots of flat surface area, while other pets can have cages with less surface area and more vertical space. That would be why another cage can fit for thistlewriter, but not a piggy cage.

Also, piggies who don't live in the same cage together shouldn't have floor time together. Any guinea pig, especially boars, will attempt to establish dominance with every non-cage mate guinea pig they meet. Floor time isn't long enough to establish that dominance, and since they won't live together, every day they'll try to re-establish that dominance and repeat the stressful cycle.

Also, my two piggies live in the same room as our big birds ( two macaws ), and we have dogs. Everyone is happy as can be! My piggies are up on a sturdy stand with a lidded cage, and are never out unless the dogs are locked out of the room. It took my piggies about three days to get used to the noises from our macaws, but now they don't even blink or stop chewing their food even with a loud bird squawk :)
 

ItsaZoo

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We have a dog that likes to bark but doesn’t bother the guinea pig. I have the guinea pig cage on top of the dog cage. When we’re not home the dog is in his cage. During floor time the guinea pig has her play pen and I’m in the same room. Overnight the dog is in his cage and the guinea pig is in a pet store cage. That’s just a precaution in case there’s an emergency so I’m not trying to catch a scared guinea pig to evacuate.

The funny thing is they each take cues from the other when there’s food. When the guinea pig hears the dog’s collar tags, she watches for food. I get veggies out for the guinea pig and the dog shows up for a piece of carrot, cukes, apple or watermelon. When the dog gets a biscuit, the guinea pig wheeks. No sneaking snacks in this household.
 
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