Can i add another guinea pig to the cage?

Question

Alright i have one guinea pig who is about 10 months old, but she seems kind of lonely. I was wondering can i get another female guinea pig and put them both in the same cage without them fighting. The guinea pig i have now is really hyper and stuff though, and she is quite nippy (she like to pinch with her teeth, sorta) She NEVER makes us bleed though. So is it alright im just wondering because she has had that cage for a while and she kinda made it her own, so if i brought another guinea pig into her cage would she fight with it?

Answer 1

I have always found that rabbits make better company for female guinea pigs. They keep each other company and they don't tend to fight as much as two female guinea pigs.  

Answer 2

Hi prettydork, I have found over the years with my piggies that the girlies do carry on as much as the boars but sooner or later they all come around.

I have a suggestion for introducing new pets to each other, I learnt it when I worked at a zoo and it should work a charm on most animals. Bathe the two together, and then put them to dry in a neutral territory. It temporarily gets rid of the 'ownership' smells the animals carry around with them, and (it sounds mean but I'm sure pets will forgive you!) they bond over the stressful experience...small unfamiliar fluffy thing just like me is less scary than big scary human with water!

Good luck

Answer 3

Have you read http://www.cavyspirit.com/sociallife.htm ?

Answer 4

There are three parts to this, so please bear with me:

1) Guinea pigs are a social species and need the company of their own kind. For this reason you should definitely try to get your piggie a friend. Another female or a NEUTERED male is fine. Please adopt rather than buy :-)

2) Whether you can (or should) keep them in the cage you have now depends on how big it is. The minimum cage size for two female piggies is 7.5 - 8 sq feet of floor space. Most comercial cages are too small for one pig, let alone two!

If your cage is any smaller than this, you will need a new cage before you think about adding another piggie. Cramming too many piggies into a small cage is a major cause of fighting!

3) Assuming your cage is big enough, you should not just stick a new piggie straight in there. If you do, your current piggie will feel threatended by the "intruder" and is more likely to fight to defend her territory.

To introduce piggies you need to do it on neutral territory. This could be on the floor in a safe room or pen, on a bed, in the bath (no water) etc. Put the two piggies in this neutral space and watch what happens.

If they seem okay after a while, you can put them both into the cage.

However - make sure you have thoroughly cleaned it since you took your current piggie out! You need to get rid of all smells etc, to make it neutral.

When you introduce new piggies they will squabble at first to establish dominance. This can include squeeking, chasing, mounting, nose-butting, and rumblestrutting (they walk funny and make a purring noise). This is all NORMAL!

The ONLY time you need to separate them is if they start to have an all out fight and actually draw blood.

Do not make the common mistake of trying to introduce them over time. If you put them together, then separate repeatedly you will only make things harder as they will need to re-establish dominance every time!

Just introduce on neutral territory, and if that goes okay (no bloodshed) let them live together.

Just wanted to add - how your piggie behaves towards people does not indicate how she will behave towards another guinea pig.

Female piggies are usually pretty simple to pair up if they are introduced properly, so you shouldn't have too much trouble. Good luck!

Answer 5

no only boy guinea pigs do

Answer 6

Guinea pigs are very social but introduce the new guinea pig slowly into its life so it gets use to it and then possibly becomes friends with it but yes i would i have been thinking about that with my guinea pig continually and i have come to a decison do it my g****a pig has been very lonely they are very social on the wild and they talk to each other constintly. In conclusion I say yes

Answer 7

females can be just as dominate as males so id be careful.

introduce the new guinea pig slowly.

maybe put them in something other than a cage.

i baby-sat my cousin's guinea pigs once and i had a guinea pig myself at the time.

so what we did was put them together in an empty plastic pool and just watched what they did.

it all depends on the guinea pig, really.

i dont think your guinea pig will fight with a new guinea pig.

but the best thing to do is introduce them slowly.

get another cage to put the new guinea pig in just in case things dont go well.

:)