Hey everyone

[Be be bounce]

Hi, just wanted to introduce my self I am new to the world of guinea pigs and I am hoping I will be to gain lots of information on here about keeping happy and healthy guinea pigs we currently have 2 young males, Charlie who was thought to be a female and turns out we were wrong and a desexed male Sam who we rescued. As it turns out they do not get along any more so they have had to seperatly them. Charlie prefers to be with our rabbit and they get along very well but Sam is all by himself in a big cage so we are in the process of rescuing him a female friend or 2 and Charlie has his vet appointment to be desexed next week so when he recovers we will also find him a female friend. So the plan of having 2 guinea pigs has gone out the window and we are renovating guinea pig homes to fit everyone in

 

[zaylea]

I don't think it's safe to keep a guinea pig and rabbit in the same cage. Guinea pigs are fragile, and the rabbit could hurt the pig without meaning to.

 

[ellisa]

Hello and welcome to the forum! Zaylea is right, rabbits and guinea pigs shouldn't be housed together or play together. The bunny could be excited and decided to pop around and accidentally kick your pig. Or worse get ticked off and bite him. Guinea pigs can get bordatella from rabbits, which could be fatal to your pig.
We would love to see pictures of your pets, rabbit included!

 

[Hhbean]

Hi and welcome! I saw a t-shirt that said "guinea pigs are like potato chips, you can't have just one!". I started the year with one boy and now have 4:crazy:. We're addicted to pictures here so please post them if you can.

 

[Be be bounce]

I do know that it's not ideal to have them together but Charlie gets so upset by him self. This is why he is booked in to be desexed next week so we can find him a female friend seeing as he does not get on with Sam. My rabbit is a baby and he is very calm and gentle. All I know is that Charlie is a much happier guinea pig when he is not by him self, how ever I am not willing to add another female until he is desexed as I do not want to breed.

Thank you for the welcomes I will try and work out how to put photos up but I am using an iPad and iPhone so not sure if I can. So true about guinea pigs being like potato chips!

 

[ellisa]

Thank you for not getting a female until after he is neutered! I fully understand that you don't want him to be alone! They are very social little critters, aren't they? It would just be awful if Charlie were to get hurt, though! Can't wait for pictures! You'll also have to keep us updated when Charlie gets neutered and once he's all healed and ready for a lovely lady friend! lol

 

[Be be bounce]

He is booked in next Thursday
Any ideas how to upload photos from an iPad?

 

[ellisa]

No, I'm sorry, I have no idea :sad:
Hopefully someone that knows how to will comment soon!

 

[Be be bounce]

hmmmmm its come up side ways...
any way this is Charlie

 

[Be be bounce]

This is Sam

 

[Be be bounce]

This is my rabbit He is a little bit shy

 

[bpatters]

Can't you just put the two male guinea pigs together and get Charlie out of the rabbit cage? Read the instructions at Guinea Pigs Social Life -- the introductions section is about halfway down the page.

 

[Hhbean]

They are adorable! Thanks for the pictures!

 

[ellisa]

So cute! From the pictures they look pretty smallish. Are they young? Maybe the reason why they aren't getting along right now, is because they are going through their adolescent stage?

 

[Be be bounce]

Thank you Hhbean and ellisa for being so friendly in your replys
They are all very young, so it could very well be that they are at adolescent age and are not getting on because of this. Charlie is the instigator of the fighting but is also the one who came out worse off after there first fight. His wounds were superficial and he is ok I was worried and took him to the vet. Is there a chance that they will get on in the future? It would be nice if they could

We are also very lucky to have dogs, cats, chickens and horses in our family and as I try to ensure that all our fur and feather babies are happy and well looked after I spend much time researching 'best practice' in animal care. I am a member of many forums which I have found to be friendly and informative.

As I have said I know it's not ideal to have the rabbit and guinea pig together, this was never in my plan but circumstances changed a few days ago and my guinea pigs do not get on any more. I have 3 indoor enclosures and 3 outdoor enclosures and they can be seperated but Charlie prefers to be with the rabbit then be alone when indoors, outdoors he seems happy with being right next to the rabbit as they can snuggle up next each other through the cage. I have never said this was a long term solution. Charlie is booked in to be desexed next week so that when he recovers we can find him a female companion. I am not willing to add to the thousands of homeless guinea pigs in shelters around Australia or increase my numbers of guinea pigs to a stage where I can not appropriately care for their needs. Our rabbit is also still a baby and is very calm and gentle. I would not place my guinea pig with any rabbit. They do enjoy each others company, I know this is unusual. They are not being forced together, I would prefer if the Charlie could be happy by himself for a few weeks. I have begun constructing an enclosure where they can be together but seperated for when Charlie has his operation.

Thank you for the people on this site willing to give kind friendly advise I know I am not an expert but I do believe I have the same goal as most people on here, to have happy healthy animals and to promote awareness of the problems caused by breeding and improper care.

 

[ellisa]

Males can be very crazy during adolescence and it is very possible that they can live together once they get over their hormones and dominance issues!! Here is a great link about getting pigs to bond: Guinea Pigs Social Life
It also helps to have at least two of everything in the cage so there isn't any hogging or fighting. Use hideys that have more than one door so no one can be trapped inside. Also, be sure to have a big enough cage so they can have alone time but still be together. This is why C&C cages are wonderful, you can make any size of cage that your heart desires! Chattering and some fighting is normal. They are just trying to figure out who will be the boss. It is best to only separate when there is bloodshed, which you already did. I would wait a little longer until your piggie has recovered and then try again on neutral territory. Make sure the cage itscleaned very well before putting them back together if you would like to try it again!

 

[ellisa]

Woops! It's supposed to read "Make sure the cage is cleaned" not "itscleaned"! Sorry! Too late to edit

 

[go_ellie]

Cute pigs!! I do think they will get along later in life!! HOpefully everything works out

 

[Be be bounce]

Thanks ellisa I did introduce them with the advise from this page initially and we didn't have any problems to begin with I might try the bathing tip in after Charlie has healed from his op and they are a bit older

Thanks go_ellie we love them to peices

One peice of info I can't find is if they will harm them selves trying to fight each other if they are divided by mesh? The last thing I want is to build a new enclosure and then have them try and fight each other through the mesh!

 

[Be be bounce]

On second thought I could use the Coroplast as the divider. I have heaps left over.