Bonding a bunny and a guinea pig.

[palisrox4]

 My guinea pig has been very lonely for about a month and I want him be happier with a companion. I know it sounds ridiculous because I want a guinea pig bonded with a bunny? but I have also really wanted a lion head bunny because it is absolutely adorable ! I am looking to adopt a lion head and give it a new home soon! I wanted to make sure it is possible to bond the two critters together because I was informed by my best friend who is bunny crazed, she said it is much easier to bond a bunny to a guinea pig than two bun buns. Well looking forward to some answers! Thank you!

[Snowytoshi]

Unfortunately rabbits and guinea pigs do not make good companions. Rabbits have a bacteria in their nose, that despite being harmless to them is fatal to a guinea pig. I have heard stories of people’s previously healthy guinea pigs who have died after being in the same room as a rabbit. Another problem is that rabbits are much larger then a guina pig and if they get scared, try to mount the guinea pig, or are simply kicking up their heels can kill or severely injure a guinea pig. Rabbits and guinea pigs also have very different dietary needs which makes it hard to feed them at the same time.

My suggestion for you is to simply get another guinea pig your piggie will be much happier with a friend that speaks the same language as it does anyway!

[Sarita]

I agree with Snowytoshi – also guinea pigs are housed much differently than rabbits and guinea pigs cannot be trained to use a litter box the same way that a rabbit can.

They are really not compatible at all.

[tanlover14]

Hey guys — this is actually one of my friends!

Two of the members on the forum have guinea pigs and bunnies that they have that interact together. I also read up that they are easier to bond than guinea pig to guinea pig and rabbit to rabbit. I can’t remember who exactly it was though! I encouraged her to post on this site so we could figure out who has them both together. Another lady at our local Humane Society also said she had rabbits and guineas together and they were perfectly fine.

Snowytoshi, I’ll be sure to ask my vet about the bacteria as I’ve never heard that before!

[tanlover14]

Oh Sarita, she is building a condo for her guinea as well as the rabbit together. Well, that’s the plan anyways. She’s active on a guinea pig forum quite similar to the rabbit forums where they advocate housing guinea pigs in much different conditions, similar to our buns.

[Snowytoshi]

tanlover here is a link that tells a bit more about it:

http://www.rspca.org.uk/allaboutanimals/pets/rabbits/company/rabbitsandguineapigs

The bacteria, Bordetella bronchiseptica,is the most common cause of respiratory disease in guinea pigs. Rabbits, as well as cats and dogs, can carry this bacteria which can be passed to guinea pigs and cause disease. Therefore, due to the risk of infection, guinea pigs should not be housed with rabbits, and should be kept away from dogs and cats.

A quick google search of ‘bordetella in guinea pigs and rabbits’ will bring up quite a few more articles and posts in other forums that may contain first hand accounts.

[AshleyLovesBunnies]

Don’t do it. Rabbits carry bordatella, which can be fatal to guinea pigs. Also, a rabbit’s hind legs are strong enough to injure a guinea pig, or the pig’s back can be broken if the rabbit lands or tries to hump. I personally would not take that risk, but it’s your call in the end.

[Snowytoshi]

Another thing that I forgot to mention was the communication barrier. Guinea pigs communicate through trills, squeaks, etc. while rabbits rarely make sounds, instead displaying emotions through body language. Neither species can understand the other one which can lead to frustration and lonliness.

[tanlover14]

I found where I read that they WERE able to be compatible, on Rabbit.org. But like rabbit to rabbit, you should have introductions. House Rabbit Society is like my rabbit bible. I’m going to ask my vet what she thinks. A lot of shelters have seemed to bonded guineas and rabbits also.

Can bunnies be tested for Bordatella? To ensure they can’t be harmful to guineas? I’ve been reading for like the past hour and a lot of places/people/websites seem to think it’s very possible.

[tanlover14]

I’m not trying to play devils advocate, but as she was told NOT to get another guinea for her guinea pig currently… that’s why we suggested rabbits. A smaller sized rabbit of course, like a dwarf. Or a smaller Lionhead like Simba who is only three pounds.

We are looking at all the options/pros/cons/ect. So any feedback, negative or positive is a plus for us. (We are doing the research together! ) As the House Rabbit Society suggested, rabbits that are not good bonding candidates for other rabbits are excellent candidates for guineas. So possibly we could look for a rabbit that has been deemed unbondable by the Humane Societies around us.

I’m definitely going to contact the vet I use for my buns about the problem of Bortadella. And if they can be tested for it so as not to hurt the guinea pig as we obviously want to take every precaution.

[Snowytoshi]

I read all the House Rabbit Society pages on guinea pig x rabbit bonding when we got our guinea pigs. We never intened to bond them, I just wanted to see if they could ever visit each other. After talking to several people on other forums the cons seemed to outweigh the pros and we decided to keep the species seperate.

[Sarita]

I have helped at a guinea pig rescue as well as a rabbit rescue and I can tell you that guinea pigs really are not compatible in any way with rabbits. We would never had done this – yes, in some rescue situation guinea pigs and rabbits have come in together – that does not necessarily mean that this is the best situation for either species. Really, as far as I know piggies, they are happier with other piggies AND the housing is TOTALLY different for both species – I can never imagine my rabbits living in the same space as a piggy and I can for certain say that no piggy could be free ranged or homed comfortably with a rabbit…it’s just makes no sense at all to me why you would ever put these 2 together.

Vets may see guinea pigs and rabbits but they don’t usually know the behaviors and dynamics of them. And it is very true about bortadella

This is not to say that piggies and rabbits haven’t had bonds in the past but the new thinking is that they just really aren’t a good match – HRS is my bible as well and I used to be an educator for them (about 10 years ago) and while some of their website is updated, not all is.

Why was she told not to get another guinea pig…this confuses me – but why a rabbit then…just asking….

[Svandis]

I’m sorry if this is going to come off very negative. I have a guinea pig and a lionhead. While I do let them have supervised playtime together, I would never house them together or try to bond them.. Yes the bunny will be bigger but in my case it is the guinea pig that is bullying the rabbit. They don’t speak the same language, and they can actually very easily do something to annoy the other one. Both rabbits and guinea pigs are known for really getting at it if a fight bursts out. This can happen at ANY time, even if they seem bonded. I would not get a rabbit if it is to get a companion for your guinea pig. I would get one however if you want a companion yourself then, if they get along, they can have supervised playtime together. Even then there is the risk of the decease snowytoshi and others have mentioned.
I was also wondering why the guinea pig can’t be with another guinea pig?

[tanlover14]

The guinea hasn’t been neutered yet — and she had attempted to get another guinea at the pet store but they told her she shouldn’t because he was already 6 months old and would probably fight about territory with any new guinea she tried to bond it with. Which is what she’s been having trouble with. Also, he only hasn’t been neutered because the only vet she can find to do one in the area is my vet and she charges about $300 for it. So she is saving up the money slowly.

She has also been helping out at the Humane Society with me quite frequently so she instantly fell in love with the rabbits. She has thought about fostering one. I told her to foster-to-adopt first. So she can get used to everything a rabbit needs and figure out if it’s for her or not. So supervised play time is okay most of you think? Does anyone know if a bunny can be tested for the disease? So if she decides to just foster (no guinea bonding) we can make sure it is still okay to be in the house with him.

[Sarita]

Okay, so there is a matter of cost as well – my own personal opinion of having many rabbits and know the cost of guinea pigs as well regardless of the bonding – if you cannot afford to neuter your guinea pig (and yes, that is alot of money) then that might be a deterrent as far as getting a rabbit as well. Frankly the cost of vet care for a rabbit and a guinea pig are well, pretty costly in my experience since they are both considered exotics. So that is a big red flag to me as well.

Many rabbits carry bortadella and pasturella (pasturella as well is bad for guinea pigs). Not sure of a test but I can tell you if it’s a culture it’s not cheap either.

[Snowytoshi]

I am pretty sure that a rabbit can be tested as people on other forums have suggested it, though I don’t know the price range.

I also think that bonding guineas wouldn’t be that hard with patience. Some guineas are more dominant well other laid back, so just so long as you choose carefully it is possible. I know someone who has a trio of guinea pigs and is planning to add a fourth soon Perhaps look into shelters that have guinea pigs? Our Humane Society gets them in from time to time…

[Sam and Lady's Human]

I’m 100% with Sarita, even if a rabbit and piggie could co- habitate( which they can’t, for multiple listed reasons), a rabbit at least would need to be altered for the health and behavior of the animal, and that will probably cost a similar $300 as the piggie.
Rabbits are expensive, my 2 girls cost me 40-50 bucks a month in veggies alone, let alone pellets and hay and litter and replacement cords

[palisrox4]

Thanks everyone for the info it really helped! I am glad I got on this site so thank you tanlover seems to me like having a bunny with a piggy has its pros and cons but so does having two bunnies and two piggys. Such as my friend the bunny crazed one has been trying to bond her bunny and its been going well for her so far of course with precautions. I’ve also heard that we people can get our little piggys and bunnys sick but of course I will take that desease that piggys and bunnys take to consideration to my decision. I am actually looking into fostering a bunny too see how porky reacts to it. Hopefully it all goes well! Thank you everyone for your help greatly appreciated! I will keep posting my progress.

[palisrox4]

Oh I forgot to answer one of the questions
Porky being my piggy is very territorial so getting another piggy is out of the picture. I am not sure where I heard this from someone or I read that if you put a piggy and a bunny that sometimes they don’t see it as a threat considering their species. So maybe it might work for my taquito

[Svandis]

My guinea pig is pretty dominant and territorial. As I said earlier the piggie is bullying my rabbit. They get playtime together because they can run away from each other if they don’t get along. If they were to be housed together I bet they would have been fighting all the time, because they couldn’t have been able to get away from each other. By fighting, I genuinely believe they would go at it till blood is drawn and worse. All i am saying isi hope you think this through. maybe you could try and put an older male with your ginea pig? i hear that an older piggie won’t be very territorial and has a higher success rate. I would really not recommend housing your potential bun with your guinea.

[Sam and Lady's Human]

I would save up and get piggie altered first, it should help his territorialness and then you can re-approach the issue of a piggie friend

[Author]

Messages