A quick Guinea Pig Question (shouldn't be too hard)?

Question

I got a guinea pig around a month ago....and he has now warmed up to me. The bigger cage I ordered in has now finally came and he seems happy with it....I now want to get him a friend.

So is there a way that I would have to introduce them to each other, avoid fighting etc...? I would preffer another male aswell to avoid them reproducing.

thanks

Answer 1

Have you read http://www.guinealynx.info/companionship... ?

Answer 2

it's a good idea. guinea pigs are veruy social and like to be together so they can regularly interact and don't get lonely. if your worried about them fighting then get a female and have the male fixed up so they can be together. this is what i did with my guineapigs and they are much happier being able to interact and talk with each other.

sometimes two males will fight and sometimes not, it all depends on ur guineas personality. if you think he will be alright then give it a try but make sure you have a back up plan for if they dont get along together eg. what will you do with the other guinea pig if he can't go in with urs? a female would be better because the males and females practically neva fight:)

when introducing them first do it with lots of supervision. start with them together on ur lap, feed them together etc. take ur time before putting them together in a cage but it should go relatively smoothly. sometimes they are aggressive to start off with because the older one tries to prove he's the boss but then they normally settle down.

Answer 3

The fact that 2 male pigs will always fight is a common myth. It all depends on the individual personalities of the guinea pig! A male and a female are JUST as likely to fight as two males.

Make sure you first quarantine the new guinea pig for about a week or two to make sure

> it isn't carrying any diseases

> to let your current guinea pig warm up to the smell

> to allow the new guinea pig to get used to his surroundings

Like a previous post said, it should be done carefully and with consideration. You could bring your current piggy to the  petstore or the rescue to see how they get along, but then again, this would be breaking the quarantine.

It is best to let them get to know eachother at a young age so they can get used to eachother before their adolescence.

Overall, it is a great idea to get a second pig, they are pack animals and need a friend, I am sure everything will be all right.



Good Luck!

Answer 4

Absolutley, do not put two males together in the same cage. They will fight and could seriously injure or possibly kill one another. The only way you can do this is if both males are born together from the same litter. You can put two females together in a cage. They too will fight at first, but will usually get along after they get used to each other. On rare occassions even females will continually fight and have to be seperated. Male and female together, babies, babies and more unwanted babies.

Good Luck!

Answer 5

well wash the cage good before putting them in it

but dont just stick them in the cage have another person with you and introduce them like put them both on the floor and let the check each other out if they fight thats a bad sign if they get along u can put them in their cage but watch them closley u chose the wrong gender cause u have more of a risk on fighting with males and make sure they ae both pretty young that will make it beter too

Answer 6

you would have to have bought them together to avoid fights. you would have to get a female to avoid the blood

Answer 7

since he is a male , i think you should leave him be, i mean, you can have them live together but once they get older, they will get mean and agressive towards each other. i think he'd be happier living by himself.

my 2 male bunnies lived outside in a hutch with a divider, and when i was at school one day my bigg bunny knocked down the divider, and my poor little dwarf bunny got all his fur torn off his ears , chunks taken out of his ears , patches of fur gone, and rly p**y eyes. and his eyelid thing got torn. and chip my big baby bunny was fine. dip, still today has holes in his ears and some bald spots.  

if i were you, i mean, idk about guinea pigs but i would let him live happily by himself in a big cage.        but thts just me.

Answer 8

It is possible to get two male Guinea Pigs to live in harmony... HOWEVER... it must be done carefully... I just had to spend $140 dollars at the vet because one of my Guinea Pigs attacked his new cage mate. He needed three stitches and is now on antibiotics.... PLUS he somehow broke two of his teeth in the incident and must be fed and watered through a syringe... so PLEASE be careful... and even when you think they are getting alone... supervise them... until you are 100% sure they are happy together. I left the room for two minutes... came back and my Guinea Pig was severely injured... check out http://www.cavyspirit.com they have tons of info on getting Guinea Pigs to live in harmony... but please... their is ALWAYS a chance that the pair will not get along... be prepared to seperate them into seperate cages...

Answer 9

Not all males fight. I have two females, and I had to get rid of one because they were doing some serious fighting, and I got  rid of her and got another one before some serious harm was done. But my guinea loves her new roommate. And they still do occasionally fight.

Also, the breeder told me that females generally fight more then the males. So theres something to keep in consideration. As long as you have a big enough cage where one can get away from the other if needed. Try going to www.cavyspirit.com that should be helpful.

Also, when I introduced my new one, I bathed them bother before they met, so they had the same scent. And it went really well.

Answer 10

males can live together fine, make sure the new baby is no more then 8 weeks old. heres a link to a great forum which has some great tips on introducing males, it is run by some fantastic breeders

http://cutiecavies.proboards61.com

Answer 11

I have three boys together in one large cage (approx 4 ft by 6 ft).

The first two I had, I obtained from a rescue.  That would be your best bet.  Check on petfinder or call the local shelter and see if they have contact information for guinea pig specific shelters.

Contacting one of them may help, as well.  Reputable rescues will allow you to bring in a healthy cavy to see who might be the best friend for them.  Also, they may have a spayed female available which would eliminate a lot of the worry of male pairings.

My third boy I rescued from a girl who couldn't take care of him.  He was on a crappy diet of mixed pellets (a big no no) and all alone in a store bought cage, never got fresh veggies and never had his nails clipped in his whole life (well over a year, it was sad).

After I quarantined the new guy, treated him for mites and made sure he didn't have a URI, I tried an introduction on neutral ground.  My other two boys are much younger, and it was a little scary and wasn't going so well, so I put all 3 of them in the bath together.  This is known as a buddy bath.

After the bath, I let them be all together on the bathroom floor for a little over an hour.  There was no bloodshed, just a lot of dominance displays.

All three now live happily together in their large cage.

A guinea pig should NEVER live alone.  They are social animals and need to have interaction with their own species.

However, if the introductions don't go over well (keep a towel on hand in case they get into a ball of fur, because you don't want to get bitten, either), consider building them a cage with a divider wall so they can visit and talk to each other, see each other, etc.

I definitely recommend checking out http://www.cavyspirit.com and/or http://www.guineapigcages.com as well as http://www.guinealynx.info

Hope that helps!