Guinea Pig Companionship
đź’• Benefits of Adopting a Piggy Pal for your Guinea Pig
Adequate Exercise: Guinea pigs require daily exercise in order to maintain good health. It increases their mental stimulation and prevents them from becoming complacent (ie. lazy and chonky!). A companion will assist in letting your guinea pig express themselves and be more active in and around their cage.
Piggies require a lot more space than a lot of us realise! See about minimum cage sizes here.
Eating with Friends: Guinea pigs are known for their reputation when it comes to enjoying food! As we know as humans, food is so much more enjoyable with company, so you'll find your piggies will enjoy their food a lot more, and be more open to trying new foods, when they have other critters to enjoy it with!
Mental Stimulation and Wellbeing: As much as human contact is an important part of a piggy's life, as a herd animal they need to be with their own kind for optimal health and happiness. With a companion, your piggy won't be lonely when you're not home, they will be less likely to get bored, and will always have someone to snuggle and chat with!
Enrichment is important for our critters, read up on what things you can add to your cage here.
đź‘Ą Pairing up Piggies
Guineas pigs need to establish a 'pecking order' in order to have a successful herd. They need to work out who's the boss!
Some guinea pigs may get along straight away, others may take weeks, months or sometimes, never! Don’t give up on a pairing or introducing a new pig to your herd immediately, it can take sometime for the dynamics to establish. Learn what behaviours are normal and safe, and when you'll need to abort the mission altogether!
We highly advises same sex pairs i.e. two males or two females.
DO NOT BREED YOUR GUINEA PIGS!
There are very serious health risks involved with breeding guinea pigs, and thousands of homeless guinea pigs in rescues around the country who are desperate for a loving home. Adopting from your local shelter helps the many rescues that rely on public donations to keep running and the surrenders cared for, and the staff are often very knowledgeable and can help with any questions. OPT TO ADOPT!
Find a local critter rescue to you here.
♂️ Male Guinea Pig Pairs
With boys, usually pairs of boars work best, though there have been reports of up to 8 males living happily together! It comes down to the nature and personality of the pig, but as boars tend to be a lot more territorial, we recommend treading carefully with groups of 3 or more boars!
With cage size for males, the more space the better! Male guinea pigs need at least 2.25 square metres of cage space in order establish dominance, while also having their own 'time out area' where they have some alone time.
Find out what cage size works best for boars here.
♀️ Female Guinea Pig Groups
Female guinea pigs can be bonded in much larger groups in comparison to males, however you may find if your females have a very dominant personality they may not get along with one, or any of your other piggies at all!
Having a large cage is also key to ensuring successful introductions. Read below for signs on normal behaviour when bringing new piggies into your existing cage and when you'll need to separate them!
Tips to Choosing and Introducing Your Piggy's Companion
Age: A younger guinea pig paired with an older guinea pig may help establish a natural hierarchy.
Piggy Size: The size of a guinea pig can also help establish a good bond. The larger guinea pig will usually be the “boss” whereas the smaller cavy will be subservient in the pairing.
Cage Size: Your guinea pigs require adequate space in order to establish a new bond. Essentially they need an area to “time out” and having a large enough cage to achieve this is vital. Make sure all piggies have at least one hidey in the cage to retreat to, and have to themselves.
We recommend keeping the guinea pigs in separate enclosures initially, allowing them to see and smell each other without direct contact.
Gradual Process: Start with short, supervised interactions and gradually increase the time they spend together.
Neutral Area: When introducing a guinea pig into an established environment, it is important to thoroughly clean the cage where your guinea pigs will be housed, in order to ensure that there will not be any conflicting scents on bedding, housing or cage accessories.
Monitor Closely: Watch for signs of stress or aggression and be prepared to intervene if necessary (see our signs to look out for below).
Provide Multiple Resources: Ensure there are enough food dishes, water bottles, and hiding spots to reduce competition and stress.
🤝 Introductions - What's Normal and What's Not?
✔️ Normal Dominance Behaviours
- Curiosity and Exploration: Guinea pigs may approach the new member, sniffing and investigating them. Bottoms and chins are popular areas to check out!
- Rumbling: Guinea pigs often make a 'rumbling' noise when asserting their dominance. As long as it doesn't escalate, this is normal. Usually accompanied by butt wiggling back and forth and some teeth chattering.
- Raised head: Guinea pigs assert dominance by lifting their head 'higher' than other guinea pigs. Just watch it's not followed by attacking.
- Sharing Food and Space: Willingly sharing food, water, and resting areas without conflict is a good sign of harmony.
- Chasing and Mounting: Some chasing and mounting can be expected as they establish a hierarchy, but if these behaviours persist over time or become aggressive or violent, it's time to intervene.
- Chattering Teeth:Â Initially this can be normal as the group works out the ranking. If it gets louder or escalates to biting, aggressive chasing or lunging at each other, you will need to separate them.
❌ Aggressive Behaviours - when you need to step in!
- Chattering Teeth: It can be a normal part of asserting the hierarchy, but if teeth chattering becomes loud and aggressive you may need to intervene.
- Chasing and Nipping: Some chasing can be normal as they establish a hierarchy, but excessive chasing, biting or pulling of hair can be harmful and stressful.
- Mounting: While some mounting can be a dominance behavior, persistent and aggressive mounting may lead to stress or injury.
- Raised Hackles and Puffing Up: Piloerection (fur standing on end) can be a sign of aggression or defensiveness.
- Squealing or Loud Vocalizations: High-pitched squeals can indicate fear or pain and should be monitored closely.
- Arching/Rearing up with mouth open: This indicates a fight or a bite is most likely imminent. Prepare to step in!
- Physical Fighting/Lunging at Each Other: If guinea pigs engage in serious fights and draw blood, separating them is necessary to prevent further injury and in some extreme cases, death.
❤️ Where Can I Adopt?
Want to adopt a guinea pig or introduce your current cavy to a friend? Find an rescue or guinea pig shelter near you and schedule a piggy meet and greet!