Care Tip of the Month - June

Can rabbits and guinea pigs live together? This is one of those ongoing debates where the answer you get depends on who you ask!

In my opinion, yes on some occasions they can. However, you need to introduce them slowly and carefully (preferably when they are babies) and make sure that they get along well. As with any animals sharing a hutch, whether it is 2 rabbits, 2 guinea pigs or a rabbit and a guinea pig sharing, you have to be very careful to make sure that they get along and that one is not picking on the other. If it is a rabbit and guinea pig sharing, you have to be even more sure because rabbits are bigger and stronger and often have more dominating personalities so they can seriously hurt a guinea pig if they bully it. This is the main reason that some people do not think that they should be housed together. Rabbits can sometimes be quite possessive over food as well so you need to watch them eating together and make sure that the guinea pig is not being pushed away from the food.

Giving enough fruit and veg every day is also important so that the guinea pig gets enough vitamin c each day. Like us, they cannot produce their own vitamin c so it is really important they are given enough in their diet (guinea pigs, humans and marmosets are the only mammals that cannot produce their own vitamin c). Dried rabbit food does not contain enough for them so they cannot survive on just that. Dried guinea pig food contains more but it is still a good idea to supplement it with freh fruit and veg as well.

Some rabbits will bully their guinea pig hutch mate, and if this is the case then seperate them immediately before the guinea pig gets seriously injured. However, as long as they get along, share food alongside each other, and they have a big enough hutch, they can live together very happily and be the best of friends. Just make sure that you supervise them well in the early days to be sure their relationship is a good one. I think that whether they are going to get on depends mainly on their individual personalities than on what type of animals they are. Similarly, if it is two rabbits or two guinea pigs sharing a hutch, the same care needs to be taken to make sure that they get along and that one is not being picked on.