Since guinea pigs have a social nature, it is advisable to keep more than one of them in a cage. But pairing the cavies can be confusing as you’ll need to consider factors like age, sex, behaviors, and even body size. If you’re planning on getting a few of these pets, you’ll possibly be thinking, what guinea pigs can live together?
Consider keeping two or more guinea pigs of the same sexes and body sizes in the same cage. Also, those with different ages and behaviors can live together peacefully. Anything apart from this combination may result in constant fights among your tiny pets.
Now, I believe you have a little knowledge of how to pair your guinea pigs to live together. But it may not be enough. You’ll probably be wondering, what is the best combination of guinea pigs?
Fortunately, you are in the right place! Just read on as I provide answers to this question and more in this guide.
Table of Contents
What Is The Best Combination of Guinea Pigs?
Knowing the best pair of guinea pigs that can live together without fighting is important. Even though your cavies are social animals, you must be careful about how you mix them up. Failure to take this part seriously can result in regular visits to the vet doctor’s office which can be time-consuming and stressful.
Therefore, here is the right way to combine your cavies:
Two Males
Keeping two male guinea pigs in a cage is excellent. They’ll bond with time and play together thereby preventing boredom. But ensure they both don’t have a dominant behavior because they’ll always harm each other.
In the long run, your cavies may start experiencing health challenges from the regular fights. It would be best you cage a calm and slightly dominant male. Housing a young and old male guinea pig is not a bad idea either.
Two or More Female Guinea Pigs
Naturally, female guinea pigs have a calm nature and make good mates. So, consider placing a few of them in a cage for companionship. Just ensure the cage is large enough to house them because a tight enclosure can cause discomfort.
Also, separate any of the female guinea pigs that show signs of aggression – they can harm others. Remember, female cavies are naturally calm, and whenever they fight one another then something is not right.
Check for signs of illnesses, mites, injuries, hunger, heat, and other factors that may cause discomfort when this happens.
A Sexually Immature (Neutered) Male Guinea Pigs With One Or More Females
Housing a neutered or sexually immature male cavy with the females is a smart move. Both male and female guinea pigs reach sexual maturity quickly. At 3 to 4 weeks, female guinea pigs can get pregnant. It is always best if they don’t because delivery will be difficult at that young age.
Living with a sexually immature male cavy makes the females comfortable to move around their cage and play. Besides, they will be free from getting pregnant prematurely as a result of consistent mating.
Take Note!
- If you have other pets, ensure their cage is not too close to that of your guinea pigs.
- Even though rabbits, hamsters, and guinea pigs look similar in some ways, don’t keep them in the same cage.
- Avoid keeping a male cavy less than 20 weeks in the same cage with a fully matured male.
READ ALSO: DO GUINEA PIGS LIKE TO BE HELD AND PETTED?
How Many Guinea Pigs Can Live Together?
Note that housing too many guinea pigs in a single cage can cause great discomfort to them. On the other hand, very few cavies in a cage can result in boredom and stress.
Let’s take a look at the perfect guinea pigs that can live together.
Can 4 Guinea Pigs Live Together?
Yes, 4 guinea pigs can live together comfortably. Remember that these tiny pets are social animals and enjoy the company of one another. However, avoid combining sexually mature males and females except the females are physically matured to give birth.
In addition, it would be best if you place guinea pigs with different personalities together so that they can complement one another. For example, you can keep dominant and calm cavies together in the same cage – they’ll connect quickly.
Can 2 Female Guinea Pigs Live Together?
Yes, two female cavies can live together. This is one of the best ways to combine your female guinea pigs, especially if they belong to the same family. Usually, female guinea pigs enjoy each other’s company and so rarely attack themselves.
But if they start fighting all of a sudden, it means there’s something in their environment causing pain or discomfort.
Can 3 Female Guinea Pigs Live Together?
Yes, you can keep 3 guinea pigs together in a cage as long as you introduce them to one another at the same time. Without doing this, there will likely be an issue because those in the cage would have gotten used to each other.
Although two female cavies make the best roommates there can be exceptions, which is allowing them to grow together. Adding more pets to the cage after a long time is not perfect.
READ ALSO: DOES A GUINEA PIG MAKE A GOOD PET?
Can Male Guinea Pigs Live Together?
Yes, male cavies can live together depending on two factors.
First, their cage must be large to house them conveniently. Make sure their present habitat is almost similar to that of the wild. By this, they’ll be able to live together without attacking one another.
Secondly, your male guinea pigs’ personalities are important when planning to keep them in a cage. It will be difficult to stop two dominant guinea pigs from fighting each other in their cage. That’s why you must study the behavior of each of your tiny pets before keeping them in a cage.
How Many Male Guinea Pigs Can You Keep Together?
Preferably, you should keep two male guinea pigs in a cage. However, since they are social animals, you can consider placing at most three of the male cavies in the same place. Don’t forget that guinea pigs are territorial; so you need to keep the roommates in their cage at once.
Introducing more male cavies to the cage after several weeks or months will likely result in a tug of war. There’s no limit to what these seemingly weak pets can do as a result of dominance.
READ ALSO: ARE GUINEA PIGS RODENTS?
What Gender Of Guinea Pig Is Nicer?
There is no right or wrong answer to this question as it depends on individual pet owners. While both male and female guinea pigs behave differently, it doesn’t change the fact that they are unique creatures.
For example, female guinea pigs have shy personalities, unlike males. In fact, the females hardly fight one another when living together, except one of them is sick, hungry, or bored.
On the other hand, the male guinea pigs tend to fight one another because of their dominant nature. At first, two young male guinea pigs can relate well to each other. But as they mature sexually, they’ll begin to fight regularly especially if a female is living with them.
Regardless, the male cavies are bold and often relate well with their owners compared to the females. And they tend to live longer than the females too.
Whichever guinea pig you go for, whether male or female, is good. But be sure they don’t fall sick easily, are not aggressive and always unhappy. Everything else is secondary once they meet these criteria.
Can Guinea Pigs Live Alone After One Dies?
No, it is advisable not to allow your guinea pigs to live alone after one of them dies. As you probably know, guinea pigs are social animals – they rely on one another for companionship. When one of them dies, the others may feel depressed or even fall sick.
Surprisingly, a cavy may die from grieving their partner, if they were two. As a pet owner, you need to keep a close eye on your tiny pets when one of them dies.
Always check for signs of illnesses or old age in your cavies, and separate the ones that show them from the others. Since you can’t predict if they’ll die or not, it is better to take precautions.
Get another companion for a grieving guinea pig as soon as possible.
Also, improve the living conditions of the cage by buying new toys, providing treats, or changing their cage to a new one. By doing this, they’ll get over the loss as fast as possible.
READ ALSO: DOES GUINEA PIGS BITE?
Final Thoughts
We have come to the concluding part of this article. Before you leave, here is a summary of what we talked about.
Factors like age, sex, behaviors, and body size matters when pairing your guinea pigs. Being social animals, your cavies do not like living alone. With the right combination, they’ll live a peaceful and healthy life.
Choosing the nicer one between a female guinea or a male guinea pig depends on individuals.
Finally, it is not good for a guinea pig to live alone after one dies.