Myth #1: Male Guinea Pigs Can't Live Together

Somewhere, sometime, someone started a rumor that two male guinea pigs cannot live together. In time, the rumor developed into a full-blown myth that's been hard to erase. There's rarely a week that goes by that Cindy doesn't have to debunk this myth for a prospective adopter.

Fact: Two or more male guinea pigs can live together quite happily, and seem to be less prone to the kind of surprise falling-outs that we've seen within pairs and trios of females. A perfect example of a happy trio of males is Cheech, Chong and Diego, three sanctuary pigs profiled on our Web site.

Fact: Two or more males can't live together if there's a female in the cage with them. Having a girl in the mix stirs up spatting and outright fighting amongst the boys for alpha male status. Inevitably, the female, and one of the males, gets hurt. No bonded pair or trio -- no matter how long they've been together -- is immune. 

Fact: In many cases, two or more males can't live together peacefully if there's a girl or two living next door in an adjoining cage. There are exceptions, but they're the minority. 

Ultimately, successful matches between guinea pigs -- in any species, for that matter -- come down to individual personalities. Some mix, some don't.

We'll debunk other myths about guinea pig relationships over the next couple of days. In the meantime...have stories about successful pairings of male guinea pigs? Share them in the Comments section!

Comments

[gill]

Hello all from England. I have read your comments with interest. I agree with just about everything apart from keeping pigs and rabbits together. Over the last 20 years I have been rescuing guineas badly hurt from injuries caused by rabbits. Yes, I am sure some rabbits are OK with pigs but, even if by 'accident' a rabbit can kick out with its back legs and break a pig's back. Please, please don't take the risk. Kind regards, Gill.

[Katie]

I have two male guinea pigs and one is obviously dominant than the other one. However, today I was watching the dominant one mount the other one, and I'm pretty sure he ejaculated...Charlie is definately a male guinea pig...what in the world is that?

[Whitney]

Shane:
I'm sorry to hear your two males won't get along. It does happen -- males won't get along with other males, females won't get along with other females, males and females won't get along.

I've written in several of our "Myths" posts that it ultimately always comes down to personality.

Some pigs will refuse to share a cage, but do very well as next-door neighbors...they can socialize without either of their spaces being "invaded". Some pigs simply won't like each other...to the point even that they can't be neighbors (i.e., they can't even seem to stand the sight of each other).

Whitney

[Shane]

I got my first male about 1 year ago, and about 6 months ago i got a second male. At first I kept them seperated for about a week, so the new guinea pig could get aquinted with me before being introduced to the other one. After about a week I started letting them see each other outside of their cages. And that's where the trouble started. They immediately started fighting and biting each other, i had to seperate them. I've tried numerous amounts of times to get these two to like each other and not fight but I have gotten nowhere. I can't imagine under any circumstance these two males living together.

[Whitney]

Agnetha--
The pet store owner is right in that guinea pigs and rabbits should never be *cage mates*. Rabbits can be ornery about kicking out their back legs, and those back legs carry a lot of power and strength that could hurt a guinea pig...badly.

Your point about giving both species ample room (such as a free-range situation) has validity. For the uninitiated, however, it's important for us to stress that while letting rabbits and guinea pigs run free range gives enough space to keep the pigs out of harm's way most of the time, there's always a risk that a lively playtime could go awry for the guinea pigs.

I've heard of other folks like you who have free range bunnies and piggies in their homes, and the operative phrase with them (as with you) seems to be "vigilant watchfulness".

[Whitney]

Julie--
It sounds like there might be a power shift going on. The behavior you're seeing...called "mounting"...is one pig's attempts to exert dominance over another. Perhaps you have someone who's been the follower all this time and now wants to be the leader.

You need to monitor the situation and ensure no one is getting bullied. If one pig escalates the attempts at dominance (the mounting behavior) to the point that the other pig is cowering in a corner and exhibiting signs of depression or fear, you will need to step in and separate your boys. The separation may be temporary, or it may be permanent.

But you don't want to wait until the wannabe alpha male becomes relentless with his domineering behavior. Your other pig will show you the signs that tell you his roommate has gone too far.

If you haven't already, there's information about guinea pig socialization at http://www.cavyspirit.com/sociallife.htm.

[Julie]

Hi
Our cavies have been together for over 2 years and now one of them seems to be getting intimate with the other one - help do we seperate them?

[Agnetha]

I have two lovely male piggies; Egon and Cin. Cin was bought from Petco and Egon was adopted but they are a match made in heaven! They are the best of friends. We later added a baby bunny to our family, Jackie so now there's a trio. Piggies are such easy creatures, they take the day as it comes and show happiness in absolutely everything they do. Jackie loves her brothers and kisses them on their forehead when she passes them. Cin crawls on her like she his mother eventhough she is younger them him (3x bigger though!) The man at the place where we got Jackie told us that rabbits and piggies do not go together, that's not true! Piggies are so kind and thoughtful, they go with everyone! Just remember to keep them cage free and give them a lot of space. :)

[Whitney]

Hi Sindy Lou -- thanks for reading.

Here at the rescue, Cindy has had good luck putting babies in with male guinea pigs. They often turn out to be receptive and attentive cagemates.

You'll need bigger cages to house each brood (male and female). Babies are active and rambunctious, and tight quarters will tip the balance against successful living arrangements.

You'll also want to move the cage of males away from the cage of females -- across the room or in another room. As the babies reach adolescence, they (especially the males) will react strongly to the smell of the opposite sex and the group dynamic in each cage could be affected as hormones cause the boys to jockey for "alpha male" status and the girls for "alpha female" status.

Know, though, that as the babies mature there will still be some jockeying for "alpha" status even if they're not near the other cage. This is just typical maturing. It's hard to tell how this will go, because it all will come down to personalities and how many in the cage do, or do not, want to have "alpha" status.

You'll want to read "Adding A 2nd Cavy," "Adding a 3rd Cavy," and "Introductions" at http://www.cavyspirit.com/sociallife.htm.

[Sindy Lou]

I have 4 beautiful gp's 3 female Hugs & kisses 5 mths & Dora 3 mths to my suprise pet shop owner didnt tell me Dora was pregnant
Then i have my new male 5mths gp who hasnt a name yet i got him today..
I was told by pet shop owner when dora as babies i can part the males from Dora & put in with my male when there 4 weeks,is this ok?

[Whitney]

Hi Stacie:
Thanks for dropping by Pig Notes!

I think you'll find the answer to your question in our Myth #6: Piggies & Bunnies Can Be Roommates posting.

[Stacie]

Hi. Can a male guinea pig and female bunny live together? I always see them caged together at the mspca but do they also have to be the same sex?

[Vicky]

My Abbott and Costello were brothers, and they lived happily together for almost six years.

They never fought. Never had even a little spat. I had to hold them together on my lap because they didn't like to be separated.

I can't believe someone's been telling people that boys can't live together, because they absolutely can!