Guinea pigs and rabbits are very sweet rodents. They are both active during the day. Many people doubt whether to buy a rabbit or guinea pig. These two animals are also sometimes kept together. That is extra easy, so you do not have to choose. What is the difference in behavior between these animals? And can they be kept together?
Group animals
Guinea pigs and rabbits are real group animals. They are often kept alone, but for the animal it is a big boost when a conspecific is added. Guinea pigs suffer greatly from loneliness, even more so than rabbits, but rabbits are the animals that become annoying when they are lonely. Gnawing at the bars is a good example of this. But can these animals also be kept together? Then they do not suffer from loneliness and you do not have to choose.
Keep together
Quite often you see guinea pigs and rabbits being kept together. People tell the best stories about it, how close they are to each other, for example. But it is actually not wise to keep a guinea pig and rabbit together for the following reasons:
Nutrition
Rabbits have a slightly different diet than guinea pigs. The biggest difference is in the vitamin C. Rabbits can produce this themselves, but guinea pigs cannot. That is why it is necessary that vitamin C is added to the guinea pig food. It is therefore not wise to let these rodents eat from the same bowl. And two bowls makes no sense, that only confuses the animals.
Behaviour
Guinea pigs and rabbits differ greatly in behavior, although it may not seem that way. An example is communication. Guinea pigs make sounds to communicate with each other and rabbits do this more through the use of the body. Guinea pigs and rabbits will therefore absolutely not understand each other. Another example is that rabbits are used to washing themselves and other rabbits. Guinea pigs don’t. So if the rabbit wants to lick a guinea pig clean, the guinea pig can get angry, while the bunny just wanted to help. This can lead to misunderstandings that are not necessary at all.
Conclusion: rabbits and guinea pigs cannot be kept together, no matter how sweet they are to each other.
Guinea pig or rabbit?
And then comes the moment when you have to choose, you will eventually have to do that yourself. Below is a table with the specific characteristics of both animals. Perhaps this will make it easier to make a final choice.
Guinea pig | rabbit |
---|---|
Does not produce vitamin C itself | Produces vitamin C. |
Relieves his / her need wherever possible | Can be toilet trained |
Needs social contact | Needs social contact and plenty of exercise (NB: little exercise means the rabbit can become cheating) |
Is often a bit shy | Is a little less shy and sometimes a real cuddly animal |
Purchase both
If you still cannot choose and decide to buy both a guinea pig and a rabbit, you should pay attention to the following points:
- Purchase two separate lofts. Rabbits and guinea pigs differ in behavior and food and cannot be kept in one pen.
- Get plenty of exercise, especially for the rabbit. Too little exercise means that there is a good chance of a rabbit becoming cheating.
- Make sure the animals have something to do in the cage. Because they are not together in the cage and therefore have no social contact, you must ensure that the rodents have enough distraction, this can be toys and rods.
- Two animals means twice the work. Do not pull an animal in front, cuddle them both every day (if they need to) and clean both cages equally often. Also make sure that they both get the right nutrition and check several times a day whether they still have enough to eat / drink.