Can rabbits eat Guinea pig food full time?

[michellexgix]

I just got a new guinea pig today. It was sort of a spur of the moment thing. The girl in the pet shop (I know shouldn't of bought from pet shop etc) said that a guinea pig and a rabbit will do fine and just feed them both guinea pig food as more vitamins for the guinea pig and he needs that. So could a rabbit be fine on the guinea pig food or will I have to keep both seperated for good?

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Rabbits and guinea pigs should not be housed together. Not only do they have different nutritional needs, but a rabbit could easily injure or kill a guinea pig by accident. There are some diseases and parasites that can be passed between them. They are also socially different, so a guinea pig won't understand how a rabbit communicates.
It is best for both to house them separately. You can get another guinea pig (of the same sex) and bond them. Another rabbit (spayed or neutered) could be bonded with your current one to give him/her a companion.

 

[missyscove]

I wouldn't house the rabbit and the guinea pig together. While they can bond to eachother, rabbits will sometimes kick their G pig friends and can really hurt them.

As far as the diet goes; their diets are fairly similar in terms of hay and veggies and such, but there are also some real differences. Guinea Pigs cannot make their own vitamin C so they (like we humans) need it supplemented in their pellets and in vitamin c rich veggies.

If it was an emegency, out of pellets type situation I might offer one type of pellet to the other, but all in all I think it would be best to stick with the pellets formulated for that species.

 

[lelanatty]

Obviously you should be careful because they are different species, but there have been rabbits and guinea pigs who have lived together in perfect harmony. You will just have to see how it works out for you.

I knew it was one way or the other, rabbits shouldn't eat guinea pig food or guinea pigss shouldn't eat rabbit food and I believe the other posters are right. Though there must be a reason that they have specially formulated feed for each of them, just as sheep and goats do.

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

michellexgix wrote:

I just got a new guinea pig today. It was sort of a spur of the moment thing. The girl in the pet shop (I know shouldn't of bought from pet shop etc) said that a guinea pig and a rabbit will do fine and just feed them both guinea pig food as more vitamins for the guinea pig and he needs that. So could a rabbit be fine on the guinea pig food or will I have to keep both seperated for good?

rabbits are strictly herbivores,,with a diet of-70%non-digestible fibers.ie timothy,orchard grasses,and some lowfat quality pellets,..the guinea pig diet i believe is different,,but they may be able to share the same pellets-if comparable..in composition..try this link http://www.wildlife1.org or http://www.medirabbit.com sincerely james waller:big wink:

 

[Happi Bun]

Rabbits are very athletic, Guinea Pigs are not. They are short legged and stout. Because of this I would really put consideration into housing them separately. All it takes is one binky from a bunny to kick the piggie and seriously injure it. As that saying goes, There's Never a Problem Until There's a Problem. It sounds silly but it is true.

The main issue with feeding a rabbit food that is made for guinea pigs is the added Vitamin C. Guinea Pigs cannot produce this Vitamin themselves, thus it is supplemented in their pellets. Rabbits, however, do produce this Vitamin themselves. So what will happen in the rabbit will be getting far more Vitamin C than needed. I cannot seem to find any studies that say what can happen when rabbits are given excessive levels of vitamin C. One can assume it's not recommend though.

So to answer your question, I wouldn't feed pellets formulated for guinea pigs to a bunny full time.

Hope this helps!

 

[missyscove]

Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin, so any excess (like from feeding a rabbit guinea pig food) would just be peed out (that's why we humans can take insane amounts of Vitamin C to "boost our immune systems" or whatever people are thinking and keep on living - you can't do that with just any vitamin.)

I'd still stick with housing them separately though, considering the physical danger and the other nutritional differences between rabbit and guinea pig feed.

 

[akane]

Rabbits and guinea pigs should have pretty much the same diet. They are both herbivores and grazing animals. Nearly all their diet should be hay or grass/hay based pellets. Alfalfa for the young or breeding animals and timothy based for the adult non breeding animals. Pretty much identical except for the vit c the guinea pigs get.

It is impossible to overdose on vit c. The only problem that can occur is if you take a lot of a vitamin for a long time the body adjusts to that amount. Then when you stop taking it the body actually ends up with a deficiency because it's no longer as efficient at getting, making, and functioning with normal levels of the vitamin.

However like others said rabbits and guinea pigs are not compatible. They interact differently and rabbits can easily injure guinea pigs. Sure some people may have gotten lucky but do you want to trust your animals' safety to luck?

 

[michellexgix]

Thank you, I knew all this, about the rabbit hurting guinea pig etc. Its my brother who believe the girl in the pet shop. I mean as if. The rabbit has is big cage and the guine apig as the rabbits old cage which is slighly smaller but still nice and big for the guinea pig.