Will rabbits and guinea pigs go happily together?

[Steph-jo-petlover]

The timeis getting nearer to getting a Rabbit:bunnydance:, yey!!!!!!.

But my sister is wanting a guinea pig to go with the rabbit so whatwould you say is it ok, I no that people do put rabbits and guinea pigstogether but does anybody have any pro's and con's if you do then Iwould love to know!

Cheers Steph:bunnydance:

 

[Stan_and_Jane]

Great news you are getting a rabbit. Yes theylive very well with Guinea pigs, the only problem Treacle had when hewas kept with Fudge was that Fudge ate all the food and got really fat.

 

[Bunnys_rule63]

I would strongly advice not putting rabbits andguinea pigs together, they have completely different diets, rabbits caninjure and even kill guinea pigs and theycan pass diseasesonto each other.

 

[Steph-jo-petlover]

Wow I never thought it could be that bad, Is that true ?

 

[Steph-jo-petlover]

But carnt rabbits pass diseases to each other?

 

[naturestee]

Steph-jo-petlover wrote:

But carnt rabbits pass diseases to each other?

Yes, but apparently rabbits are carriers of a bacteria that doesn'taffect them much but can make a guinea pig really sick. Soyou won't know if the rabbit carries it or not.

Also, rabbits are very strong compared to guinea pigs. It'snot unheard of for them to accidentally injure or even kill a guineapig by trampling them when they are scared or by mountingthem. And even spayed/neutered rabbits still mount sometimesfor dominance.

It's much better for rabbits to have rabbit friends, both for thepiggie's safety and because guinea pigs don't have the same socialbehaviors as rabbits. You can have a guinea pig, just keep itseparate from the rabbit.

 

[Jess_sully]

Rabbits and guinea pigs shouldn't be housedtogether, although they do often make good (supervised) playmates.Rabbits are much larger than guinea pigs, and actions that are normaltowards other rabbits (kicking, nipping, etc.) can greatly injure aguinea pig. Also, a rabbit eating cavy food or a cavy eating rabbitfood will have extreme nutrition unbalances.Most noteably,GuineaPigs cannot makeVitamin C like rabbits can,andNEED it supplemented in their feed anddiet.GuineaPig pellets are usually too high inprotein for rabbits, too.Guinea pigs NEED bedding beneaththeir feet at all times, whereas rabbits really do better with just alitterbox with bedding in it. Guinea Pigs are very social and NEEDmembers of their own species to live with, also. If properly introducedand socialized, they can play together well, though.

As for the diseases: Pasturella is present in a rabbit's system anddoes no harm to rabbits (it's actually beneficial) yet it is deadly toguinea pigs and easily trasmitted.

For more information:

http://www.guineapigcages.com/rabbits.htm

 

[Steph-jo-petlover]

Ok thanks guys I'll have to break the news to mysis, I would love to have two rabbits lol the more thebetter:bunnydance:, but my sis would have liked a guinea pig but iwouldent want to harm it.

Thanks alot guys! still keep posting on any other things that you know about rabbits a guinea pigs and rabbits.

Thanks Steph:bunnydance:

 

[pinksalamander]

I had this problem when i was trying to convincea now (ex) friend that rabbits and guinea pigs couldn't go together.They do have different diets, completley. I printed out page sof infoto get her not to do it but she wouldn't even ACCEPT it!Inthe end she got the rabbit and the guinea pig and the rabbits kickedthe piggie in the head and it died. She still didn't believe me and gotanother pig and as far as i know they are still living together. Bloodystupid if you ask me! (Sorry for the naughty language, it just IRRIATESme so much when people don't do they're research and how advertsportray stuff liek these to make the wider audience believe its OK.)

:X:X:X:X:X:X:X

 

[Jess_sully]

If you are planning on getting two rabbits, besure to read up on rabbit bonding first. It can be a long andcomplicated process, and it's best to have a spare cage just in case offights, etc anyways. If you do a search on google you'll find loadsof information, and our Rabbit References has lots, too.

 

[pinksalamander]

See if your rescue offers this service for you, as one near me does.

 

[Steph-jo-petlover]

Ok thanks everyone. and i'll keep you posted on how everything goes!



Cheers Steph:bunnydance:

 

[tamsin]

Their are several resons why they're not a good match:

Diet - guinea pigs require different vitamins, protein levels etc. torabbits so it's very difficult to make sure they both get the correctdiet.

Injury - a hormonal rabbit make take it out on a guinea pig andunitenionally injury them, they can also sometimes intentionally injurethem... I've known a few cases where rescues have taken inpairs that have had to be split up and the guinea pig has nasty wounds.Occationally you'll get a guinea pig that bullies a rabbit too.

Language - If you've ever been around guinea pigs you'll know how vocalthey are, on the other hand bunnies do most of their communicationthrough body language. Imagine spending you whole life with a companionthat didn't understand what you were saying and couldn't even interpretyou moods/facal expressions? It's not really great companionship

I'm not sure which country you're in but in the UK both the RSPCA and the Rabbit Welfare Association say don't mix the two.

Maybe you could take your sister to meet some bunnies - she might find one that's sooo cute it changes her mind

Tam

 

[Steph-jo-petlover]

I think she's decided she wants a lionhead and shes fine with the fact that we can't have a guinea pig.

I'm getting a dwarf lop, so a lion head would makea nicevariation of the two lol.( Also dwarfs and lionheads are my favouriteso I'm a happy bunny lol.)



:bunnydance:Steph:bunnydance:

 

[Stan_and_Jane]

Fudge and Treacle lived very happily togetherfor years. The worst that happened was Fudge got fat, and Treacle hadthe fur preened to the point of being bald in between his eyes, and helooked rather odd. They were seperated until it grew back and the habitwas broken. This was while they were at our daughters house. We gotLiquorice because she was bought to be friends with Treacleand they hated each other so the Guinea pig worked betterthan the rabbit friend.