You can definitely keep bunnies and guinea pigs in the same household, as long as they’re not sharing a living space

Keep in mind that both rabbits and guinea pigs are social creatures and need a companion (of their own species)

Be careful, also, not to get their diets mixed up – rabbits produce their own Vitamin C, guinea pigs don’t.

I’m not positive, but I don’t think guinea pigs are crepuscular (though rabbits are). They might disrupt each other’s sleeping schedules if they live in the same room.

Don’t pigs need a larger space than typical pet store cages? I thought about getting one but I looked into it and from what I read, they needed more space than provided by commercially produced cages.

Posted By BunNoob on 12/15/2017 2:43 PM

Don’t pigs need a larger space than typical pet store cages? I thought about getting one but I looked into it and from what I read, they needed more space than provided by commercially produced cages.

Yep. Just like with rabbits, pet store cages are not adequate for guinea pigs as they do not even meet the minimum requirements. 

Yep, I thought about getting one (well, two really since they like to live in pairs) but I wouldn’t have the space to give them a good enough home. Unless I can talk the husband into cleaning out the walk in closet and making it a piggy xpen area

I was curious though, do piggies have to go through bonding like rabbits? Or do they just get along? I know that I read that they live together in same sex pairs, but that’s probably just to avoid pregnancies because you don’t really neuter and spay piggies…or do you?

We’ve had both in the house for years, in separate runs, in the same room. Latte (GP) gets on with Podge (R) and sometimes comes out for floor time with him. GP, unlike rabbits, need vitamin C in their daily diet, they can also eat unlimited veg, which rabbits cant, which is a key reason for housing them separately, as GP should always have vitamin c rich veg available as well as hay.

GP have similar bonding issues as rabbits, in that a successful bond really comes down to personality, the key difference is altering a boy GP does NOT calm their behaviour and bonds between 2 boars can easily break.This has been my experience with a number of boar bonds, one including an emergency trip to the vet after one boar attacked another with little warning, biting his eye and cutting his face open. Thankfully, the injured piggy recovered, but was left terrified of other GP. He was a very person-centred GP though and would happily chat and cuddle for hours, and so we kept him as a solo GP. Our most successful bond pair was a pair of sisters, who got on fine, though one was very dominant. Girl GP, like girl bunnies, are at high risk of reproductive tumours from 2 years+, and ideally need spaying for this reason alone. Both boy and girl GP can be altered (our vets always insisted on them reaching a certain weight, rather than by age or when they drop in the case of boy buns), so yes you could get a boy/girl pair without the worry of unwanted litters, though like rabbits, you still need to go through bonding in a neutral area. GP can live up to 8 years, so like rabbits are a long term pet.

BunNoob I was actually wondering the same thing about bonding. Thanks for the explanation Gina!

Posted By beautifulbabybunnies on 12/15/2017 8:58 AM

of course! i was planning on getting another bunny sooner or later and guinea pigs are cheap compared so i might get two at the same time

GPs, like rabbits, are cheap to buy, their spay or neuter will almost certainly cost more than the purchase price for either pet. GP are slightly more costly to feed, due to their need of food that includes vitamin C, this is the key reason GP pellets cost more than rabbit pellets. GP also require more fresh veg than rabbits, but unlike rabbits, GP don’t need immunizations. Like rabbits, you need to consider vet bills, food costs, ensuring they get unlimited hay, a good size cage and run, the run needs bolt holes same as for a rabbit (cardboard boxes are fine, preferably with 2 entrances that GPs can enlarge to their own design), plus start up items like nail trimmers, water bowl/bottle and a good quality grooming brush.

I had no idea piggies didn’t need vaccinations. How strange!

Posted By Luna on 12/15/2017 2:21 PM

I’m not positive, but I don’t think guinea pigs are crepuscular (though rabbits are). They might disrupt each other’s sleeping schedules if they live in the same room.

We’ve never had a problem with this, GP in our house soon learn to sleep through anything except the fridge door opening or a bag rustling!!!

Posted By sarahthegemini on 12/16/2017 7:34 AM

I had no idea piggies didn’t need vaccinations. How strange!

GP cant get RHD or myxomatosis, so no need for vaccinations.

I think some posts have disappeared?! It’s really interesting to hear about bonding gp’s, it sounds like they are far less stable than bunny bonds?

Good to hear they can’t catch any of the horrid bunny diseases! I often forget how different guineas and rabbits are. I am always surprised by the sheer size difference between them when they’re near each other in a pet shop.

A full grown GP averages around 1 kg, I would say, based on the ones we’ve had over the years. I would say GP make better pets for children than bunnies as GP are more likely to be ok with being held, or at least sat on a lap, and don’t jump out of yr arms with a big kick of powerful back legs. As with rabbits, there is variation, Latte isn’t keen on being held, but will settle down for a while on a lap, our GP that got his eye nearly bitten out loved being held, would happily sit on a shoulder, chest or lap for ages and would hold long nonsense conversations on any subject you liked.

Another thing to be aware of with girl GP is that their pelvic bones fuse at around eight months old. If a GP hasn’t given birth before this, giving birth after will mean a caesarean section, as GP give birth to larger, precocious young, who look like miniature versions of mum, same as deer do, and not to altricial tiny pink young like rabbits. An accidental litter for an older girl GP is really important to avoid, in a way that is not an issue to an older girl bun.