Bunnies and Guinea Pigs

[Clover and Comet]

I own to lovely rescue rabbits and I’m soon to be getting two guinea pigs. Never would I ever house the two species together, but is it possible to let them out for playtime together? My rabbits have run of the whole garden and so would the guinea pigs. Is it safe to have them out together, of course, assuming I had introduced them properly first.
Thanks!

 

[Preitler]

Hm, the only thing I know of about rabbits and guinea pigs is that a piggie isn't a suitable substitute for a second rabbit as companion, but otherwise I don't know of trouble. Both rabbits and piggies are quite pragmatic when dealing with other species, so if the setup suits both I wouldn't worry much. Don't think it would work with something sized like pet shop cages though.

 

[DelawareRunner]

I have a rabbit and two guinea pigs. They are housed near each other (few feet apart) when my bunny is not free roaming. She seems used to them and their noises now. My bunny was not very rabbit friendly at her shelter so I will be leery once I let them near each other. However, my sister had a rabbit and guinea pig and the rabbit bonded with the pigs! They lived together for years, although it's obviously not advisable.

 

[Blue eyes]

Rabbits and guinea pigs should never be in direct contact. For one, rabbits can be a carrier of a disease that shows no symptoms to the rabbit but is fatal to piggies. The other problem is that rabbits have been known to accidentally kick a guinea pig causing serious (or fatal) injuries.

I was trying to find the post, but there was a member here on RO who allowed her piggie and rabbit to play together and swore that they enjoyed each other's company and got along wonderfully. But then one day the rabbit inadvertently kicked the piggie causing internal injuries and a couple broken ribs.

On a separate note, the two don't 'speak' the same language. Their body language is totally different and one can become frustrated when the other doesn't 'get' what the other is 'saying.'

Here is one of the posts that discusses this topic (I couldn't find the one where the member described what happened to her piggie that kicked by her rabbit).
https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/new-bunny-owner.2264/#post-27117