Can rabbits and guinea pigs share a space?

[SlinkyKat]

I had a guinea pig dumped on me because his owners weren’t responsible and didn’t want to take care of him. I’m more than happy to give him a home, that’s not the issue. The problem is he lives in a cage so small I think it was designed by the pet store to be for hamsters. The way my home and schedule are set up, the only way for him to get out and exercise is if he shares the time and space with my two dwarf sized rabbits. Because the pig and bunnies are the same sizes (pig only weighs 0.2lbs less) I figure no one can be hurt too badly and because the pig seems like he desperately needed to stretch his legs I think it might be worth a shot. 

Is it safe to let them have playtime together if they tolerate each other? Has anyone successfully let pigs and rabbits spend time together? If it is safe and ok how should someone go about it to make sure no one gets hurt? I have no intention of attempting to bond them or have them live together permanently, they’d never spend more than a couple monitored hours together just until I can fix up a better situation. The end goal is to get the pig his own sufficient space and a pig friend.

[DanaNM]

Our rescue routinely has bunnies and guinea pigs in the same exercise pens during the day, and the answer is it depends on the bunnies! Most of the bunnies are fine with the pigs, but some are not (so their ID card will clearly say “NO PIGS” on it). They do of course have separate hutches and cages they go back to after a few hours as exercise, which sounds a lot like what your plan would be.

So I say give it a shot. If you are supervising you will be able to intervene if they seem aggressive towards him.

Also yayyy piggies, thank you for rescuing him!

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[SlinkyKat]

Thank you for your response! This makes me so much more comfortable about giving them a chance to have playtime together. My buns are very lazy and easygoing so I’m sure it’ll go alright thanks again!

[DanaNM]

Great! Yeah I would just say supervise at first!

On of the main reasons why people say guinea pigs and rabbits can’t be permanently housed together is they have different flooring requirements, but during play time chances are they will be fine.

It cracks me up at our local rescue because sometimes the bunnies will have a little entourage of piggies following them around talking to each other, and the bunnies will either ignore them, or seem slightly confused by their presence. :p

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[LittlePuffyTail]

Thanks for taking in this little piggy.

I have read that it’s advisable to not keep pigs and buns together because bunnies (as well as cats and dogs) can carry Bordetella, a bacteria that infects their respiratory tracts and can easily be passed to guinea pigs and cause respiratory problems. But as mentioned, cats and dogs carry this too and I had both a cat and a dog when I had pigs (no bunnies at the time) and my piggies were fine. Not sure how contagious this is, if you were just planning on letting them exercise in the same area at separate times.

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