Guinea pig with rabbit

Gemma1286

Gemma1286

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi, new here! I'm thinking of making my own c&c cage to house my guinea pig and rabbit in. I have a large space so want to make one big cage with a grid divider between so they'd be next to each other but not with each other if that makes sense. Would this work? Also how many grids high should I make it for both? I don't want a roof on it so it'd be open topped.
 
Welcome! :)

My rabbits can easily jump 2 grids high so I have a roof on mine. My rabbits cage is 5 x 2 grids and ideally a guinea pig would need at least 3x2 so that would be a huge cage!

Honestly, you'd be better housing them away from each other and getting them a companion of their own kind to actually live with.
 
Thank you for responding. The reason I have them alone is because my guinea pig doesn't get on with any other pigs as he's territorial, neutering isn't an option as he's an older boy and was told it'd be too stressful. My rabbit was all on her own at the store as she'd been picked on by the others so I couldn't get another female at the same time. Any tips for successful intros with a timid bunny are appreciated though!
The space I've got available is 8 ft by 4 ft and wanted to use that for both as they are, at the moment, living in awkward spaces and it looks pretty silly, plus the cages I want wouldn't fit anywhere else.
 
Rabbits need a bedroom or hutch space of 6 foot by 2 foot with a permanently fixed run of 8 feet so 10 x 6 feet of space.

I agree that it would be better to house them away from each other as much as poss. Good luck finding a solution. Also rabbits value the companionship of other rabbits as highly as they value food. My pair spend most of their day cuddled up together.

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Your idea may work, however they could still smell each other which may cause stress to the both of them. If you were to attempt to create a divider, the c&c structure would have to be huge.
 
flowerfairy said:
Rabbits need a bedroom or hutch space of 6 foot by 2 foot with a permanently fixed run of 8 feet so 10 x 6 feet of space.

I agree that it would be better to house them away from each other as much as poss. Good luck finding a solution. Also rabbits value the companionship of other rabbits as highly as they value food. My pair spend most of their day cuddled up together.

28v3tys.jpg
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Are there any reasons why they shouldn't be close? They've lived in the same room pretty close to each other for the past 5 months.. There's no other room for my bunny at all, and I cannot put her outside in the hutch as all my previous rabbits had died for some unknown reason. 3 pairs! So I admit I'm a little scared to get her a friend just in case, I can not have any more pets die prematurely. But I also feel really bad and selfish :( I can't see my children heart broken again!
I must say what gorgeous rabbits you have!
 
Cyaneatscarrots said:
Your idea may work, however they could still smell each other which may cause stress to the both of them. If you were to attempt to create a divider, the c&c structure would have to be huge.
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Thank you, that's given me a little bit of hope. How big would you recommend? Of course if it doesn't work then I'd have to come up with plan c as my bunny needs a bigger area, she's currently in a store bought cage which pets at home said would be fine, but now she's bigger it's not fine! (Yes i trusted them instead of researching). My piggy would have to stay in his cage. I just want this to work as it would be perfect.
 
Gemma1286 said:
Thank you, that's given me a little bit of hope. How big would you recommend? Of course if it doesn't work then I'd have to come up with plan c as my bunny needs a bigger area, she's currently in a store bought cage which pets at home said would be fine, but now she's bigger it's not fine! (Yes i trusted them instead of researching). My piggy would have to stay in his cage. I just want this to work as it would be perfect.
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The minimum area a rabbit should be kept in is 12 square feet, but they should have extra room to exercise. For the minimum required 12 squared feet, i would use 2 x 6 c&c grids for the base. You will need to have another layer of grids, plus a roof. If you dint want a roof, I'd make it three, though the rabbit may escape.

For a guinea pig, the minimum required is 2 x 3 grids, so that should be easier to do then the rabbit.

Best of luck!
 
Cyaneatscarrots said:
The minimum area a rabbit should be kept in is 12 square feet, but they should have extra room to exercise. For the minimum required 12 squared feet, i would use 2 x 6 c&c grids for the base. You will need to have another layer of grids, plus a roof. If you dint want a roof, I'd make it three, though the rabbit may escape.

For a guinea pig, the minimum required is 2 x 3 grids, so that should be easier to do then the rabbit.

Best of luck!
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Because I'm procrastinating (hehe...) This is an idea of what could work,though this is just an idea and my ideas aren't always good 😓.
gp help.webp
 
What about a double decker 6ft hutch? Bunny on one floor, piggy in the other?

Many people use hutches indoors. You could paint it to match your decor. It's an idea I have considered in the past to maximise use of an area.
 
Cyaneatscarrots said:
Because I'm procrastinating (hehe...) This is an idea of what could work,though this is just an idea and my ideas aren't always good 😓.
View attachment 92610
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Thank you for the vision and guidance! What I've been able to come up with is a 4×4 for the rabbit and 3x4 for piggy. I could add another grid so rabbit would have 4×5. And I'd also add a roof if she can jump out. Also she'd have free range time.
 
Louise's Zoo said:
What about a double decker 6ft hutch? Bunny on one floor, piggy in the other?

Many people use hutches indoors. You could paint it to match your decor. It's an idea I have considered in the past to maximise use of an area.
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I don't have the money to spend on a new hutch plus extra to line and waterproof inside. I chose the grids because they were cheap, cheerful and I can change it around to my liking and their needs.
 
You would have to be very careful about the spread of disease, rabbits can carry things with no symptoms such as bordatella and e.cuniculi which can pass to the guinea pig and be fatal. One of my own was at some point exposed to e.cuniculi infected rabbit urine and now has to live with quite significant neurological damage, blindness, nerve and muscle problems etc. It can sit dormant for quite some time until a stressful even triggers it (fireworks, a thunderstorm etc) my own girls was set off just by trimming her long hair. If you house them next to each other make sure they're separated by a sheet of perspex to act as a sneeze guard and that the rabbits urine can't leak under it into the pigs cage. I personally still wouldn't risk it however.
I'm currently rabbit sitting and in order to protect him from my pigs EC he is on a different floor of the house entirely.
 
Gemma1286 said:
Thank you for the vision and guidance! What I've been able to come up with is a 4×4 for the rabbit and 3x4 for piggy. I could add another grid so rabbit would have 4×5. And I'd also add a roof if she can jump out. Also she'd have free range time.
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That's great! best of luck to you and your fur-children.
 
please don’t keep your rabbit and guinea pig together, my guineas pig died recently because of an infection from a rabbit and the vet told me that she doesn’t understand how any guineas pig could survive with a rabbit as the guinea pigs are at a very high risk of infection! please think and research before you get animals
 
@Eriathwen has mentioned in detail why it is not sensible or advised to have piggies and rabbits divided simply by a grid
 
sport_billy said:
@Eriathwen has mentioned in detail why it is not sensible or advised to have piggies and rabbits divided simply by a grid
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I've taken everyone's advice and experiences on board and have decided to move things around so my piggy is away from the rabbit, still around the same area but a few feet apart. I know there are still some risks as they're in the same room but the risks from being close should now be eliminated. I'm only trying to do what's best for both. They went in their new homes today and they appear to be a lot happier.
 
bonnieandpoppy said:
please don’t keep your rabbit and guinea pig together, my guineas pig died recently because of an infection from a rabbit and the vet told me that she doesn’t understand how any guineas pig could survive with a rabbit as the guinea pigs are at a very high risk of infection! please think and research before you get animals
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I DO think and research before doing anything with my animals! I asked this before I did anything with them because I was unsure and everywhere I looked only said they shouldn't live together. There was nothing about being next to each other.
 
Gemma1286 said:
I DO think and research before doing anything with my animals! I asked this before I did anything with them because I was unsure and everywhere I looked only said they shouldn't live together. There was nothing about being next to each other.
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i didn’t mean to offend you in any way, it’s just my guinea pig died from being near a rabbit and i didn’t want anyone else’s pets going the same way.
 
bonnieandpoppy said:
i didn’t mean to offend you in any way, it’s just my guinea pig died from being near a rabbit and i didn’t want anyone else’s pets going the same way.
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Oh no, you didn't offend me. Sorry! I really appreciate this kind of advice. I definitely don't want any harm to come to my animals and before coming here I didn't even know that guinea pigs can become ill from rabbits. It breaks my heart that you've had to experience such a thing.

I do loads of research such as googling and YouTube vids before doing anything at all. And if I cant get any specific answers, I ask the experienced owners in forums. Today I've spent all day (literally!) looking up bonding pigs (and rabbits) :)

Thank you all for your help!
 
I would save up for the double decker hutch, or buy a cheap dog crate for your rabbit and an indoor cage for your guinea pig. You can get them cheaply on eBay or gumtree, some people sell like new hutches.
 
Gemma1286 said:
Oh no, you didn't offend me. Sorry! I really appreciate this kind of advice. I definitely don't want any harm to come to my animals and before coming here I didn't even know that guinea pigs can become ill from rabbits. It breaks my heart that you've had to experience such a thing.

I do loads of research such as googling and YouTube vids before doing anything at all. And if I cant get any specific answers, I ask the experienced owners in forums. Today I've spent all day (literally!) looking up bonding pigs (and rabbits) :)

Thank you all for your help!
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xxxxxx
 
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