Guinea Pigs are Social Animals
By Pigglies
@Pigglies (9329)
United States
March 30, 2007 9:49pm CST
Why do so many people have a single guinea pig, when guinea pigs are clearly social animals?I've noticed a lot of people either only buy one piggie, or one dies and they never think of getting their remaining piggie another friend.
Some people claim that it's okay because they spend 15 minutes a day with their piggie. But is it really okay? I mean, even if you spent 8 hours a day with your guinea pig, you still aren't a guinea pig and cannot act as their companion.
Caring for two guinea pigs isn't much more difficult than caring for one. And in the United States at least, there are many homeless guinea pigs in shelters awaiting adoption, so there is certainly no guinea pig shortage. So why have just one?
3 people like this
4 responses
@freak369 (5112)
• United States
31 Mar 07
We started out with one and got him a female. That's when we decided that he needed to get fixed ASAP. After seeing how much fun they had together we adopted a couple more. So far we have never had to have cages for them. If one is too young for the others we keep them in a large laundy basket for a while until everyone gets a sniff and gets used to having a baby around. I do agree, it is better to have two but you have to make sure you have the right sized cage if you are going to keep them confined.
1 person likes this
@Pigglies (9329)
• United States
31 Mar 07
Absolutely. But even though one cannot fight with itself, it's still important to have an adequate sized cage.
Once a lady told me at an event that she really wanted one of those cute pigloos, but it wouldn't even fit in her cage. Well, that cage is way too small!
@fawcey (926)
• Australia
22 Apr 07
I have been reading a lot about guinea pigs at the moment as my husband and I have been thinking about getting one for our son. After reading a lot especially your posts we have now decided that we will get two now as even though we expected to spend a lot of time with the guinea pig, what you said is true, we are not guinea pigs and can not be their companion. We are in the process of getting things organized and making sure we have everything before we get our guinea pigs. Our four year old son had a name picked for one which was Mystery, and my husband suggested the name for the other one as Prize. My son liked it so we will have Mystery and Prize. I am as excited about getting them as my son.
@Pigglies (9329)
• United States
22 Apr 07
Very cool! Look into adopting if there are rescued guinea pigs in your area, especially because you have a young son. Babies tend to be more jumpy and skittish, while an adult pair (1 year or more) will be easier for him to hold with supervision (not jumping off his lap). Try www.petfinder.com to find a rescue near you, or ask on the www.guinealynx.info/forums Placement Forum to see if anyone is rehoming an older pair or if a rescue is doing a transport through your area.
Best of luck with your piggies!
@fawcey (926)
• Australia
23 Apr 07
Just a question for you , my husband is going to make a cage and wanted to know what was the best wood to use for his frame as he doesn't want the guinea pig to chew it and get sick or something. I would love adopt them but I don't think they have anything like that here in Australia. Am looking to get one not from a pet shop though.
@GnosticGoddess (5626)
• United States
31 Mar 07
I never thought about it before but everyone I've really known that had a guinea pig only had one. I hate having one of any pet cause I feel they're too lonely. I finally got my way on getting another cat (to make two) and now my hubby agrees with me about it that it was better to have two. I just wish we would get another dog. But our dog is such a hand full cause she loves to escape our backyard. Even when we had foster dogs. She'd still do it. But I can convince the hubby :)
@Pigglies (9329)
• United States
31 Mar 07
I think the thing with dogs is, even though they are social animals, they are more able to bond to people. So even if there isn't another dog, they'll be okay as long as they have a person (or more) to bond to.
To me though, for a lot of pets it seems to be just as easy to have two as one.
One of my finches got adopted by me from the shelter basically just because he was all alone and I couldn't bear the thought that some idiot might just get him and not get him a friend. So he came here to live with my group.
1 person likes this
@GnosticGoddess (5626)
• United States
2 Apr 07
That is true about dogs. I feel sometimes though that we don't get to play with her as much as I feel she needs.
You are a wonderfully caring person to take in all those sweet little animals. I believe your life them is a rescuer. :)
@Destiny007 (5805)
• United States
31 Mar 07
At one time we had 15 piggies.
We couldn't keep the males together of course, and for a while we had a regular nursery going on.
We paired them off and had several 10 gallon tanks that we kept them in.
We used fans to ensure they had fresh air, and played with them often. The foster kids used to really like them.
They would make a lot of noise, demanding to be fed and held, and it took several hours to make sure each one got their turn at some attention.
We finally had to find a home for them, and they went to a lady who had lots of room for them and was setup to handle them all.
They are very social and seem to love people once they get used to a person.
@Pigglies (9329)
• United States
31 Mar 07
Why couldn't you keep the males together? I've had numerous male pairs before. It's a myth that two males will not get along.
But I suppose you couldn't expect males to get along in a 10 gallon tank (yikes!). For others reading with piggies, try www.guineapigcages.com for better cage ideas.
They definitely do get used to people fairly easily though. I have two currently that I'm fostering, they're getting pretty tame. Both came from shelters where they were dumped, and they came to me still pretty scared. Now they realize that I'm the one with the cilantro and hay, so they like me.
