Hello, along with a Guinea pig and rabbits question!

[Ginfidg]

Hi! I’m Sammie. I’ve recently suffered two losses this year, which would be two of my guinea pigs, and I’m planning to get a rabbit in the summer.

Right now, the only pets I have are Fidget and Sarah, my guinea pig and my cat. 

Myself, I’ve had..

1 finch

3 cavies

1 cat

2 lovebirds

1 hamster

My cat isn’t really a big worry in terms to getting a bunny, as she probably will be kept out of the rabbit area. Even so, if she were to come in, she’d be more frightened of the rabbit. I’m telling you- even when we had to petsit a fish she wanted NOTHING to do with it. She was so scared of it, and whenever the kitty would enter the same room as the fish, you’d see her cowering in the corner with her tail as big as a mother raccoon and her eyes as wide as saucers. It took her a while to warm up to my other pets, but when she sees us interacting with them she learns to be around them and accept them. The one time we did petsit a rabbit, though, the rabbit was chasing her through the house! Haha, poor baby. Long story short; she won’t be around the bunny too much so even if the predator nature did kick in, she won’t be around the bunny to use it.

In the summer, I’ll hopefully be able to add 1 rabbit to that list, but before I do I’m just going to have to continue my research. So.. Hello, now answer my questions or else my animals will nom you to death ^^’

Haha, jokes aside, here are some questions:

Is anyone informed on the diseases rabbits can pass to guinea pigs? I’ve heard one called bordetella, but apparently there’s more. I can’t seem to find any information on it, and I was hoping to see if there was any way I could take my rabbit and piggy out for a supervised playtime together. With my piggie’s two companions unfortunately dying, he is alone right now and I was hoping to see if there was a chance the rabbit would also be able to socialize with the poor guy. My mother had 10 guinea pigs and one rabbit named thumper, and she’s told me about how the two species would always play together and fall asleep together. Her pigs and rabbit lived until the peak of their lifespan, but recently I’ve heard that the rabbits would pass deadly germs onto the pigs. so yeah, 

(Tl;dr- Is there anyway I can safely let my rabbit play with my piggy without diseases being passed, and can I have info about the disease?)

Second: What are some good breeds for me to get or look into?  I ideally want a big bunny; I’ve heard they have a calmer nature, is this true? I do want something that will hop around and be active (Playing, exploring, etc), but not something overly energetic or small and hard to catch/find. 

Third: I have a cage that stands tall, but I’ve heard on a few sites that I should get a cage close to the ground for the bunny to feel safe. Should I switch my piggie into the tall cage (He’s been in it before, he’s totally OK with it.) and let the rabbit have the one on the ground, or will the rabbit be fine in the tall cage?

Thank you in advance.

[Mocha]

I’m not much help on the disease question but I can answer your other questions.

There’s a farm near my house and they house their rabbits and guinea pigs together but it is not a good idea. I think it would be fine to let them play together a LITTLE.

Each bunny has its own temperament but larger bunnies are calmer. I’d recommend lops, or Flemish giants. I would highly recommend going to your local shelter and getting a bunny from there. I have a lion head mix and a cinnamon bunny. The lion head,Rumpus, is really energetic and loves to binky. The cinnamon bunny, Mocha, is on the lazier side, is easy to catch, and is a slow runner.

Rabbits and cats are usually friends with each other so don’t stress about that.

Your rabbit will be okay in the tall cage but it will feel safe at ground level. I recommend free range or an x pen.

Hope I helped!!!

[Sarita]

Pasturella and Bortadella. I would not let your rabbits and guinea pigs out to play together – they don’t play they same way really. I know people pair them but it’s not ideal for he piggy.

I would consider looking at rescues for rabbits – New Zealand Whites are lovely large rabbits that are generally overlooked by adopters and they are really super sweet rabbits.

I agree with Mocha – free range or an x-pen for your rabbit is best.

[MoveDiagonally]

I agree with Sarita and Mocha.

It’s not really a good idea to let them play together. The majority of rabbits are carriers for Pasturella and Bortadella even if they don’t get sick or have symptoms. Either can kill a guinea pig… There’s also the issue of them not speaking the same language and playing different. They can injure each other. It’s just a big avoidable risk to me.

[LongEaredLions]

I agree. I have both piggies and rabbits, but I would never put them together. They are just too different, and with all the risks, it’s just not worth it.
Temperament isn’t really determined by breed. Larger buns do tend to be more docile, but I think it would be best to go to a shelter and pick out a bun with a good temperament.
Check out the habitats section in the bunny info for bunny home ideas.

[Ginfidg]

Thank you guys! You just confirmed everything I needed to know I’ll post bunny and pig pictures when I get them! Yes, I am going to get another pig so fidg won’t be lonely xD. It’ll be a busy summer! O:

[LongEaredLions]

Yay! I can’t wait!
I’m a pig lover too!

[Ginfidg]

Pfff… Who isn’t?!

[LongEaredLions]

I hear ya!
Piggies are too cute.

[Deleted User]

Too funny Ginfidg and LEL! Love it!

And how cool are you Ginfidg to ask the question ‘before’ introducing a bunny to your beautiful piggies! We’ve had a few (awesome) member’s who bought piggies to keep their bun’s company or as a playmate to only find out later it’s not ideal. They then had to house and care for them separately which wasn’t something they had planned for, so in turn caused a bit of grief. Some made it work (yay!) – sadly some we never heard from again (sigh – I always wonder….). Again, good for you Ginfidg. Can’t wait to meet your bunny, and your piggies in your avatar are gorgeous – lucky you! Cheers.

[LongEaredLions]

Agreed Andi!
I can’t wait for your new bunny and pig!!!
Feel free to PM me if you want to talk piggy.

[Ginfidg]

Thank you all! and yeah, I always make sure to have everything planned out before getting my animals xD It’s just so much less stressful on me and the animals, lol!
I think it’s going to be hard to find the right match for my piggy. He’s very quiet and shy, but he doesn’t really get along with the pigs that strive for dominance. Does that make sense? heheh, like he gets annoyed with them, so I need to find a pig that won’t be too humpy or anything on him :c I’m not totally sure if I SHOULD get another pig because he seems a lot happier right now as he’s alone, but they’re supposedly social creatures so i’m not sure…

i guess we’ll find out in time if the SPCA has any nice pigs. Right now the one that we live like right next to (lucky us!) has no piggies. I’m expecting there to be some during summer because that’s when it seems to bloom more (i’m assuming because little kids neglect their animals during that time because they’re busy with sports and stuff) but either way, they do have really lovely bunnies.. including a lovely big white albino that i’m totally in love with. i’ve already been introduced to it and they let me have a lil play time with it and it’s perfect, so hopefully that’ll work out.

ey, am I rambling again? sorry LOL!

[Ginfidg]

P.S it’ll be a wonderful summer either way. even though i’m pretty young i’m a pretty lonely sort of person so my whole summer will basically be devoted to my pig(gies) and new bun. a summer filled with animals is the best summer as far as i’m concerned

[LongEaredLions]

Even if your pig seems better alone, I would give a friend a try. After that you can decide.
I can’t wait to.meet your new additions! Hey, it sounds like a good summer to me!

[Ginfidg]

Yep! Thank you all c: Will keep you updated!

[LongLiveLoyalBuns]

Welcome Ginfidg! Since everyone answered your questions I just want to say hope you get all the information you need when you get you bun!

[Lita]

Some animals just like being alone, even social piggies. We have six pigs and nine buns at our house (along with cats and dogs and a fishhy). One of our pigs really doesn’t prefer company except for his brother, and even then they need a large cage so he can be alone when he chooses. Any other pigs I’ve tried to match him with has ended in blood. We also have a blind boy who can’t be in the same cage as others due to him becoming aggressive when frightened. So he gets to be “grid buddies” with our newly made trio. That is always an option if your piggy is wary of other pigs in his space. Then you woudlnt have to worry about him being lonely if your not around but at the same time he wouldnt be bothered. Our blind boy loves to sit beside others when there is the barrier between them. Sorry for rambling a bit XD love seeing other piggie people.

[Author]

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