Guinea Pigs and Rabbits - How Careful do I have to be?

forevergab

forevergab

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Hello everyone!

My name is Gabrielle and I'm expanding my furry family this Wednesday with a pair of baby guinea pigs! I am very excited :) I have owned a pair of house rabbits for 5 years now.

I have done some reading about interactions with guinea pigs and rabbits, and I found that they should not come in direct contact with one another as rabbits are carriers for bordetella. I was wondering how careful I have to be in terms of indirect contact. For example, is it okay for them to be housed in separate cages in the same room? I also put my rabbits on the bed with a puppy pad and blanket on top so they can snuggle with us. Would I have to wash these before putting the guinea pigs on for their separate snuggle time?
 
I think if your rabbits are indoors and not likely to come into contact with wild animals then having them housed in the same room should be ok but I have never owned rabbits so perhaps it's better if someone who has had both rabbits and piggies at the same time answers :))

@BossHogg
 
forevergab said:
Hello everyone!

My name is Gabrielle and I'm expanding my furry family this Wednesday with a pair of baby guinea pigs! I am very excited :) I have owned a pair of house rabbits for 5 years now.

I have done some reading about interactions with guinea pigs and rabbits, and I found that they should not come in direct contact with one another as rabbits are carriers for bordetella. I was wondering how careful I have to be in terms of indirect contact. For example, is it okay for them to be housed in separate cages in the same room? I also put my rabbits on the bed with a puppy pad and blanket on top so they can snuggle with us. Would I have to wash these before putting the guinea pigs on for their separate snuggle time?
Click to expand...

Good that you are doing your research!

Usually it is enough to keep rabbits and guinea pigs not in direct contact (i.e. sharing a cage or run).

I would however recommend to wash your hands between handling the different species and to generally feed, cuddle, groom and handle your piggies before your rabbits in order to keep any direct transmission low. But that comes under the category of general sensible hygiene habits.

Bordetella is much more often transmitted by dogs, actually. With rabbits, it generally takes sharing of not well kept lodgings for any transmission to happen but there is no problem with keeping them in the same room or shed.

The one transmitted illness we have seen a rise of recent years (probably due to better diagnostics/vet awareness rather than an actual rise) is e.cuniculi, which is often misdiagnosed as a potentially fatal ear infection. If caught early, it is treatable. Please always mention to your vet that you have rabbits when you are dealing with potential ear/head tilt/neurological problems.

Guinea pigs can also catch some of the rabbit parasites, namely rabbit ear mites; so if your rabbits have them, you should ideally also treat your guinea pigs as a preventative measure.

Guinea Pigs And Rabbits - Why Not
Guinea Lynx :: Parasites

We have a number of members who own both guinea pigs and rabbits.
Most of the problems are caused by cohabitation in small and badly cleaned quarters, and ignorance about different dietary and social species needs.
 
Probably a good idea to wash your hands after speaking to either
Rabbits can carry e.cuniculi, and even if it doesn’t affect them it can be passed to your pigs
 
Wiebke said:
Good that you are doing your research!

Usually it is enough to keep rabbits and guinea pigs not in direct contact (i.e. sharing a cage or run).

I would however recommend to wash your hands between handling the different species and to generally feed, cuddle, groom and handle your piggies before your rabbits in order to keep any direct transmission low. But that comes under the category of general sensible hygiene habits.

Bordetella is much more often transmitted by dogs, actually. With rabbits, it generally takes sharing of not well kept lodgings for any transmission to happen but there is no problem with keeping them in the same room or shed.

The one transmitted illness we have seen a rise of recent years (probably due to better diagnostics/vet awareness rather than an actual rise) is e.cuniculi, which is often misdiagnosed as a potentially fatal ear infection. If caught early, it is treatable. Please always mention to your vet that you have rabbits when you are dealing with potential ear/head tilt/neurological problems.

Guinea pigs can also catch some of the rabbit parasites, namely rabbit ear mites; so if your rabbits have them, you should ideally also treat your guinea pigs as a preventative measure.

Guinea Pigs And Rabbits - Why Not
Guinea Lynx :: Parasites

We have a number of members who own both guinea pigs and rabbits.
Most of the problems are caused by cohabitation in small and badly cleaned quarters, and ignorance about different dietary and social species needs.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the detailed and well-thought out response! My experience is it's always best to err on the side of caution. I'll reduce contact as much as possible :)
 
Cheers, it's just a pity there's only the 2 ginger ginger/white piggies left, the rest have crossed over the rainbow bridge. :(
 
BossHogg said:
Cheers, it's just a pity there's only the 2 ginger ginger/white piggies left, the rest have crossed over the rainbow bridge. :(
Click to expand...
Oh, I am so sorry to hear that! I am sure they gave you so much joy and love when they were around. I wish our furry friends could live longer than they do 😓
 
They lived to a ripe old age, the two bunnies were helped over the bridge at over the age of 8 and the tricoloured piggy was found in her forever sleep at seven and a half.
 
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