Is it ok to only have one Guinea Pig?

Question

people keep telling me it is better to have two of them but i only have enough money for one and i dont know if it will affect it in anyway i just wanna know if it is ok to only have one?

Answer 1

its your choice dont listen to them

Answer 2

yeah, thats cool, it might get lonely, thats probly the only reason people think its bad!

Answer 3

If you get two you will end up with fifty. Trust me.

Answer 4

Of course it's alright, but you must make sure you spend lots of time with it. And, actually having a guinea pig is more costly than you think! I used to have 2 guinea pigs...and you won't believe how much they cost me!

Answer 5

Guinea pigs are social animals and naturally live in large herds. They enjoy the company of other guinea pigs, and get depressed and lonely easily. Unless you're willing to spend as much time of your day as possible with it every single day, your one pig will lead a pretty lonely life.

I really would recommend another guinea pig. Save up for another one if you can.

DON'T GET A RABBIT TO PAIR WITH! And you're not going to end up with 'fifty' unless you get a guinea of the opposite s*x. Get one the same gender, and approximate size and age.

Answer 6

i had a guinea pig and i know that if you spend ALOT of time with them the are happy and "singing"all the time. i still think it would have been better to have two of them to keep eachother company but its ok to have one. it will be very happy as long as you give it as much of your free time as possible.

Answer 7

They get lonely if theres just one and "cry" so its always better to get two. They can even die of loneliness! Guinea pigs are lovely pets tho so try and get two if you can they are lovely little things

Answer 8

keep the Guinea pig with one rabbit (same s*x) they won't fight or have little rabbea-piggie-type-thingies.

Answer 9

No, it isn't really okay. Many people keep single guinea pigs but that doesn't make it right.

Guinea pigs are a social species, as are their ancestors and wild relatives. They NEVER naturally live alone.

It is well established scientific fact that keeping social animals on their own causes a whole host of health and welfare problems. It can lead to reduced activity (and therefore reduced fitness), boredom, frustration etc. Single guinea pigs also tend to be more fearful. All these things cause chronic stress - and this is a major problem.

Chronic stress can cause reduced immune response, increased healing time, muscular-skeletal disorders, abnormal circadian rhythms, increased heart rate and blood pressure, hormonal changes (increased stress hormones, reduced relaxed hormones), abnormal behaviour (e.g. depression, stereotypies etc) and even reduced lifespan!

In short - keeping a single guinea pig causes it an immense amount of unnecessary suffering.

Some people will tell you it is okay to have just one guinea pig if you "spend lots of time with it" etc.

This is NOT TRUE!

1) You are not a guinea pig. You and your piggie are very different species and can not communicate or interact in a natural, meaningful way. You will not eat, sleep or play together, won't establish dominance, won't squabble for the best veggies, or popcorn together etc. No matter how much time you spend with your pet you can not make up for the company of another piggie.

2) Even if human companionship could be enough - how much time do you really have? You spend a large amount of your day asleep in bed. Most people spend most of their waking hours at work or school. You then have eating, chores, socialising etc. After all this you have very little time left to spend with a guinea pig. This means it will still spend almost all day, every day, completely alone.

Honestly, keeping pets is a choice. A guinea pig is a sentient animal with the capacity to suffer - and it WILL suffer if it is forced to live alone. It is irresponsible, even cruel, to get a pet if it can not provide it with its "needs".

I would suggest you do not get a guinea pig until you can keep two or more together. Perhaps you could wait a couple of months and save up?

I'm really sorry to say all this - I know it sounds harsh - but please do the right thing.

Answer 10

You need to get two (same s*x or neutered pair).  They are herd animals that love company.  They will never be truly happy alone it is unatural.

Answer 11

I had a couple of guinea pigs in my life and I can tell you from experience that they do get lonely. No matter how much attention you give them, you are a not a guinea pig.

Just like rabbits, they really need to have a partner or they might end up being completely miserable and I don't think you want that.

You can check your local RSPCA if you don't have enough money to buy more then one guinea pig, but do keep in mind that pets always cost more then you think. They need fresh vegetables and/or fruit daily, proper guinea pig food with Vitamin C and fresh hay. Not to mention the vet bills when they get sick! Guinea pigs are very prone to colds etc so they do tend to get sick once in a while.

They are lovely pets and can be very tame and fun to watch, but please don't keep them if you don't have the money or the time to care for them properly.