Hey, I'd like some advice on my rabbit and guinea pig sharing situation...?

Question

I have a netherland dwarf rabbit (male) and a guinea pig (female) they have lived together since they were both 6-7 weeks old (May 2008) and i am worried about the feeding i have a diploma in animal care and i know guinea pigs lack the ability to store vitamin C but i also know giving rabbits too much vitamin C is not particularly good for them so what can i do?? (i don't want to seperate them as they get long very well) at the moment i just mix rabbit food (Premium by WAGG) and guinea pig food (Tesco brand) together but i don't think this is an accurate way... should i fit two water bottles onwith plain water and one with vitamin C supplements (cus i know rabbits won't drink water if it smells odd)? should i feed them seperatly?

Thanks and one more question whats the best way to keep fleas and insects at bay other than products bought at shops and regular cleaning...??

Thank you!!

Answer 1

You should be more worried about the fact that rabbits carry a disease that can be fatal to guinea pigs- it's called Bordetella bronchiseptica.

Also, you should be more worried about the fact your rabbit is likely to injure your guinea pig. You have a dipoloma in animal care and can't figure out these two simple facts? I work in a pet shop and I know this!

And the rabbit will drink the water if you put vit. c in it- we put vit c. in all our water at work, apart from for fish, of course.

Here-

http://rabbit-food.co.uk/Rabbits_and_Gui...

Read. Learn. Don't keep them together.

***

I'm not trying to make you look stupid.

But I hope they injure each other, just to prove you wrong.

Or they die, that'll be better. Knock you off your high horse a bit.

Answer 2

You can buy guinea pig treats that contain vitamin C, those would be easy to give.  Another thing you can do is feed veggies that are high in Vit C.  Like bell peppers(all colors) kale, greens(turnip, mustard, collard) parsley is also a favorite and all of those are just fine for bunnies too!

Answer 3

You shouldn't house them together http://www.guineapigcages.com/rabbits.ht...

But regardless adding vitamins to the water isn't good for either of them and pretty useless http://www.guinealynx.info/diet.html And the pellet brands you are feeding are poor quality.

Answer 4

Don't use products bought in shops to get rid of fleas and other parasites; not for cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs or any animals. And best they won't work and at worst they may harm your pet. You can get Advantage Rabbit for your bunny and Xeno Spot for your guinea pig, from vets.

As for the feeding situation - I know, it's surprising when you learn this!  Actually it's best for rabbits not to be on mix or pellets at all - they need to be on 90% hay and grass. Guinea pigs as you know, need a source of vitamin C.

I would keep large amount of hay in the hutch at all times and perhaps just a spoonful each of pellets (not mix, especially not supermarket brand - terrible stuff!) Rabbits are OK to have veggies about once a week although they don't need it - remember their natural diet is maybe just a few leaves now and then, certainly not carrots and broccoli etc. Perhaps you pop the guinea by himself once a day until he's munched on some veg for a while.

I don't think there's much point substituting the veg for a water supplement - for one thing, the rabbit will drink it, they make the stuff for rabbits too and they love it.

The only things you really need do are lose the mix (replace with small amounts of pellets) and try to reduce your rabbit's veg intake to no more than once a week.

Chalice

Answer 5

Don't EVER put them together the rabbits hind legs r really powerful and can kill the guinea pigs i no they get on well but just get a seperate thing and it will be better