Guinea Pig Friends

[vicky]

Sadly one of my ex school guineas died last week (vet said old age).
Now I have only one, presumably he is quite elderly too. So do I find him another friend or let him be lonely? Would a new boy fight him?
I know some of you are good on guineas so thought I'd ask the experts!

[di]

It's a real toughie!I'm a firm believer that guinea pigs need a pal,but also the problem you have is his age.Young ones often like to have a play about,which in the past we've had a slight problem with.
Do you know of any local breeders that might be able to let you "borrow" one a similar age to see how it goes?...with the understanding that if they got on you kept him,otherwise they'd take him back.

[Two_Sheds]

They can fight, and sulk, when a new one comes along.

I ended up with one (elderly girl) so bought her a new pal, and she kicked her, and worried her, and wouldn't let her in the nesting box.

I left them to it - they were just sorting out the pecking order, and are good pals now.

[dexterdoglancashire]

I'm no expert, but I once had a rabbit and guinea pig at the same time. The rabbit died, unfortunately, we tried the guinea pig with another one, but he really didn't get one with the new one. We had to take the rabbit back to the shop and rehome the guinea pig. He was a smashing lad though - I called him Tiny - he used to be able to escape through the wire mesh in the run - that lasted all of about a month, till he grew too big! We still called him Tiny though.
Sorry for such glum info, but just bear it in mind.

[tamsin]

Male guinea pigs can be fussy about new male guinea pigs joining them. The best option is to neuter and add girl pigs (which you probably don't want to do due to his age) or to introduce a baby male. A babies aren't a threat they tend to introduce better and by the time it grows up they are friends anyway.

If you try a rescue (vets are good for local numbers) then many will let you take your pig along to test and see how they get along and they'll take them back if you have a problem.

[Two_Sheds]

If you do get another one, don't just plop him straight in the Old One's hutch.
Get them both out onto neutral territory to meet each other ... on your lap is good, with lots of cuddles and favourite foods to distract Old Grumpy.

[jackie j]

We had a male rabbit and a female guinea pig bought at the same time from the same place and she was so tiny she used to sleep on the rabbits back and as they were of similar colour, when we first looked into the hutch we couldnt see her lol unfortunatly the guinea pig died first and we darent put another one in with the rabbit in case they didnt get on. It cost me two more guinea pigs and another hutch as I couldnt just have one. The OH made a double run with a divider and made a hole big enough for the guinea pigs to get through but not the rabbit, ( an escape route ) so he wasnt lonely all the time.

[Two_Sheds]

Oh, Jackie. Never put rabbits in with guineas. They kick them, bully them, and the guinea often dies of internal injuries

[Hilary B]

Oh, Jackie. Never put rabbits in with guineas. They kick them, bully them, and the guinea often dies of internal injuries

There is potential for a problem, but I have heard of several such pairs that were just fine. One that worked VERY well, the rabbit was a very small type, so they were much of a size, and they missed each other when apart.

[jackie j]

Oh, Jackie. Never put rabbits in with guineas. They kick them, bully them, and the guinea often dies of internal injuries

Trust me these two were fine and as I said she slept on his back or cuddled up with him, if he had shown any bullying they would have been seperated.

[shirley]

However, I must also advise anyone never to put a rabbit and guinea pig together. You are obviously lucky in that yours do get along but this should not encourage others to try the pairing

[tamsin]

Rabbits and guinea pigs are the sort of pairing where it can go absolutely fine. There are cases where there get along great (which is why keeping them together gets passed on). However the times when it doesn't the guinea pig can end up seriously injured or dead so it's best to go for two guinea pigs or two rabbits if you are starting from scratch