what would make a good companion for male guinea pig?

breadbin

my mother has a male guinea pig about 2 years old. She did also have a rabbit but it died recently. they weren't friends as such but i'd say he misses the company. another male guinea pig would probably fight so what would be the best thing to get for companionship for piggy? kind of thinking of a female rabbit. might be ok?

spookymuffin

Rabbits and guinea pigs should not really be housed together for a number of reasons.
-Male rabbits will often injure a piggie by trying to mate with it. So keeping him with a male rabbit isn't the best idea.
-Female rabbits tend to be more aggressive than males, especially when in heat, and might take it out on the much smaller/weaker piggie.
-They have different dietary requirments. Guinea pigs need added vitamin C in their food that they wont get from rabbit food. Not to mention that some rabbit foods contain additives that are dangerous to rodents (rabbits not being rodents are not harmed).
-Rabbits have a very strong kick and often accidentilly boot each other. A rabbit is tough enough to put up with the occasional kick from another rabbit, a guinea pig isn't and can suffer internal injuries as a result.
-Rabbits are more sociable than piggies in so far as they are much more inclined to social groom and cuddle. This means that it isn't fair to a rabbit to have a guinea pig as its only companion.

spookymuffin

Sorry for the double post. I'm posting from my PS3 and it has a text limit.

The fact is that guinea pigs that are kept with rabbits don't usually live as long and it can't really be said that they live a very good life when they are contantly under threat of assault from a much larger and stronger animal.

I would advise you to find a good vet that will neuter the guinea pig and then get him a female companion of the same species.

doctor evil

OP you can get a young male gp and introduce them carefully.

Guinepigs don't do as well as larger animals (cats etc) under anaesthetic, if you go down this route use a small animal specialist.

Sigma Force

The guinea pig should not of been allowed anywhere near the rabbit.

They should never under any circumstances be housed together.

Two options for you, if the guinea is young and healthy then is you seek out a very experienced small animal vet (like Bairbre O'Malley in Bray) you could have him neutered. 5 to 6 weeks later (you must wait this long as he will still be fertile for that time) he could be introduced on neuteral territory to a female guinea pig or even two.

Another alternative is a baby male just weaned from mum around the 5 to 6 weeks of age, introductions need to be done carefully and on neuteral territory.

There is lots on info, on how to introduce males on the links in my website below, check out barmy4boars in particular.

Don't advise her to get a female rabbit whatever you do, at around 6 months they before very hormonal and can kick out.

Some of the reasons for not allowing rabbits with guineas are listed on my website.

Despite what a lot of pet shops and even some well respected vets say they should never be housed together. Or even be near each other.

Only neuter him if the vet really knows what they are doing, there is very little risk if the vet is experienced and the guinea gets good after care.

breadbin

i knew that about the food and vitamin c and stuff cos the guinea pig was in his own cage and still is:) so a rabbit is a no no. i doubt if ill find a small animal specialist nearby so i might have a look at a baby male one. thanks for info