Rat
Rescue :: Introducing
your guinea pig to a new friend
Introducing your guinea pig to a new friend
We get many enquiries from readers on how to introduce a friend
to their guinea pig. Here we've reproduced some of our frequently
asked questions on the subject:
I have a guinea pig who lives on his own. Should I get him
a friend as he looks lonely?
Yes. We always try and rehome animals in pairs. No matter how
much love and attention you give your pet, in most cases, it
is better for your pet to have a friend. However, despite what
many pet shops still say, rabbits and guinea pigs should NEVER
be kept together. All it takes is one just kick from a rabbit,
and it could be fatal.
We see many guinea pigs at CavyRescue who have been injured
by a rabbit - they may have a broken pelvis or broken legs from
where the rabbit has got 'over-friendly'. Guinea pigs are very
nervous creatures and there have been several incidences where
a piggie has literally died of shock when their rabbit friend
starts getting boisterous.
At CavyRescue, we never rehome a guinea pig to a home where
they will be sharing a hutch with a rabbit.Guinea pigs should
only ever live with other guinea pigs.
What sex shall I choose?
If you have an adult male, you should be able to introduce
a baby male piggie as a friend without any problems - in NO
circumstances should you introduce two adult males to each other
as they will fight until one dies.
If you have an adult female, introducing a baby to an adult
is the easiest option. However, you can normally introduce two
adult females with a bit of patience.
If your adult male is neutered, you can easily introduce a female
(or more) piggie, regardless of age. The cost of neutering a
male is around £30. A single neuteured male can live in a colony
of females with no problems, but you can never have two or males
living with a female or females as they will fight literally,
to the death.
If you introduce an entire (ie not castrated) male to a female
piggie, she will get pregnant. Not only will this add to the
already huge piggie population, but if the female is over 6
months old and has never been pregnant before, she could well
die due to complications.
Have you got any tips for when I introduce them? Or do I just
pop them into a clean cage together and stand back?! If they
are a bit funny with each other, how long should I leave it
before I get worried that it's not working?!
You need a neutral space, away from other animals, small children
and other distractions. If your piggie lives indoors, try the
kitchen or a small room where they will have space but not enough
to run and hide from each other. For outdoor piggies, get out
the run in the garden.
Put some food in the middle of the run/neutral territory - they'll
probably ignore each other and start tucking into the food.
There may be a bit of teeth chattering and bottom smelling,
but you'll know in the first five minutes if it' s going to
work out. However, you really need to supervise them for an
hour or so just to gauge how it is going.
If they don't bite or attack each other, it should be the start
of a beautiful friendship!
In rare cases, it may not work out (for example, you may experience
problems introducing two adult females, or your piggie really
DOES prefer his own company! ) and you may have to take a more
softly, softly approach. This would mean keeping them in separate
cages/hutches for a few weeks, but putting them out together
in a split run; swapping their cages over so they get used to
each other's smell etc.
A month down the line, when you see them curled up asleep together
or sharing a bowl of food quite happily, you'll realise all
the hard work was worth it!
Read on to find out what happened when Billy met Bully..
Billy, a black piggie, had lived on his own for two years
and his owners, Richard and Denise, wanted to find him a friend.
We found him a perfect friend in little 5 week old Billy, who
came to us as a rescue piggie.
Richard recounts their first night together: "We let them
run around together in a big, open space for an hour or so,
with no problems. Billy was making a big fuss of the rather
bemused Bully and there was alot of bottom sniffing going on.
"Bully is about four times the size of little Billy and,
although they were getting on really well, we weren't sure about
leaving them together for the night...we thought it best if
we placed Billy's cage in front of Bully's cage so that they
could still see each other.
"Anyway, as soon as they were separated, Billy was calling
out from inside the cage, and Bully was pacing up and down on
the other side of the bars, calling back. We watched for a while,
then we opened the cage door, and straight away Bully climbed
in, without any prompting. They both had a little celebration
together and a chat, before they quietened down for the night..."
A few weeks on, we are pleased to report that the boys go everywhere
and do everything together. Denise says: "Getting a friend
for Bully was the best thing we ever did, he's so much happier
now and we adore little Billy!"
