Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Pets

Join our community on the Pet forum to discuss anything related to pets.

Will 3 Guinea pigs live happily together?

12 replies

ThisBoyDraculaDrew · 17/01/2010 13:18

We are getting DTDs some Guinea pigs with Christmas money. Original plan was to get a pair. But we don't want DD3 to miss out and we have no issue getting 3 - hutch is plenty big enough. Will 3 live happily together or will one become victimised by the other 2?

OP posts:
Marne · 17/01/2010 13:26

yes, but i think its best to have females.

ThisBoyDraculaDrew · 17/01/2010 13:38

Thanks.

I was actually thinking of 2 females and a male (ONLY JOKING....that is what DTDs want ).

Seriously though - I thought males were best in pairs...is that different in 3's?

OP posts:
Marne · 17/01/2010 13:44

I'm not sure TBH , we have always had females and they have been fine, someone told me (a longtime ago) that males argue (not sure how true that is).

BertieBotts · 17/01/2010 14:02

It depends - they have different personalities and sometimes don't get on with each other. We had 6 at one point and 3 cages, when we had 5 we managed to get them into 2 - sometimes two particular guinea pigs will decide they don't get on and fight, which means you have to separate them. Getting three which have been together in the same cage in the shop is a good bet. We also have had three unrelated guinea pigs in together and they have been fine. Get a nice big cage though.

You can have the males neutered so don't worry too much about sex. IME it's not just males that fight, but they seem more likely to. If they do have babies, the mum sometimes get aggressive at the point she wants the babies to "leave the nest".

RubysReturn · 17/01/2010 14:12

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ilovesprouts · 17/01/2010 14:15

i had 2 males together and they did not get on at all always fighting

sheeplikessleep · 17/01/2010 14:17

We had 3 females together when I was a child (the guinea pigs were sisters) ... no problems at all.

OhYouBadBadKitten · 17/01/2010 14:18

our 3 girls get on well - 1 mum, 1 aunty and 1 accidental baby.

jeminthecellar · 17/01/2010 14:18

I have 2 males- no fighting at all.
Also, have a rabbit we acquired(was rescued), also a male, and they all get on fine- they all live together, although the rabbit has more freedom(the run of the whole bloody house and garden actually- he is very clean, housetrained), but as I type they are all sleeping together.

mistlethrush · 17/01/2010 14:21

We had 2 females (aparently) but then one produced babies and 'Mr' visited the vets - we kept one of the offspring so ended up with 2 females and a nearly male who all got on fine.

MrsL123 · 17/01/2010 16:04

As long as they are already living together now, they should continue to get along in their new home. However you must make sure they ARE actually girls. Pets at home in particular are pretty bad at sexing, and their T&C's of sale (on the receipt you have to sign) state that the sex isn't guaranteed and they can't be held liable for any mistakes. This is complete twaddle though, as they once sold us a boy rabbit after we specifically requested a girl. We explained that we already had a girl, and didn't want any babies! Three different staff members including one supposed 'rabbit expert', all confirmed it to be a girl, but a couple of weeks later it started humping our poor rabbit until she didn't know which way was up! We took it back and the manager just said oops yes, it is a boy, but we don't guarantee the sex so tough luck. Eventually I made such a fuss to their HO that they agreed to pay for both rabbits to be neutured (cost them over £120 in the end).

With regards to hutch size - please make sure it is big enough. GPs need much more space than people realise, and if they're cramped they definitely will fight. It is recommended that three GPs have a hutch of at least 13 sq feet (therefore even one of the big 5x2 foot hutches would be too 3 sq feet too small) plus a secure exercise area on top of that. One of the double-decker hutches might be a good idea if floor space is limited, although they don't like steep ramps.

Also, I presume when you say 'hutch' that means you're planning to keep them outside rather than inside? If so, you will need to wait until summer to get them. Young GPs living in a shop can't be put outside at this time of year as they are not used to the cold, as need to develop their thicker coats before they face their first winter. So they'll either have to be kept indoors until the weather is milder, or you'll have to put off getting them for a few months. If you're planning to keep them indoors anyway, just ignore me

ThisBoyDraculaDrew · 17/01/2010 16:53

Thanks all. I have it all in hand by the sounds of it.

We are planning to get them from local farm - who breed them (so living in a barn already). Am going to try and get siblings. Will probably keep them in shed/conservatory 'til spring anyway cos of coats.
Hutch is 54" - double decker with wooden ramp so should be fine for 3. Will get a sperate outdoor run in spring/summer too.

Have heard of people having poor experiences with sexing of small animals at pets at home...that will be a last resort if we cann't get them from either of the 2 local farms.

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page