There has been many questions to the Manual about introducing two or more guinea pigs,

which are the best male/female cavy matches for best-buddy experience, and which matches could bring the most problems in their social lives.

I hope this article will makes things easy for you to decide on your guinea pigs’ social lives and make them live happy together.

1. Why do you need more than one guinea pig?

Because guinea pigs are very social animals, it is always recommended that they live with at least one another cage mate. Having just one guinea pig makes his/her life lonely, regardless how much time you spend with him or her, because you are not (presumably, as you are reading this) of a cavy species, but human – which just doesn’t cut it. We don’t speak their language, although we can mostly understand what are they trying to say to us.

Solo guinea pig could get lonely, less curious, less vocal, less active, less funny. It is not natural for them to live without any other of their kind.

When living together, guinea pigs would communicate together, play and run around more, follow and groom each other, and possibly even sleep cuddled up together.

When choosing cage mates, it is usually best to have the same gender, or different gender but neutered – because there are lots of abandoned guinea pigs in local animal shelters, and breeding is usually not recommended, because you can save the ones from the shelters. This, of course, highly depends on your geographical location and guinea pig population.

2. Fancy terms

• Boar: Male guinea pig.
• Sow: Female guinea pig.
• Sexing guinea pigs: Determining if a guinea pig is a boar or a sow.
• Neutering: A general term used to describe the castration of a male animal. It consists of removing the testicles.
• Spaying: A general term used to describe the ovariohysterectomy of a sow. It consists of a removal of a sow’s reproductive organ – either all of it or a considerably large part. It is a drastic and complicated surgical procedure.

Both spaying and neutering are surgical procedures that render the animal incapable of reproducing. They are performed by a veterinarian. They are mostly done because of the overpopulation of animal shelters – it is better to save the ones which exist then to breed new ones.

If having a choice, always neuter your male guinea pig. The operation is more complicated for female guinea pigs. Always consult your guinea pig veterinarian first.

3. Preparations before introducing newbies

1. You need to be 100% sure that you know the sex of your guinea pigs. There are some great pages for this, like on this link. If you are still not sure about the gender, ask your veterinarian. Don’t rely on the information given to you by the pet shop employees.
2. Prepare a large enough cage – you can find the minimal recommended dimensions on the guinea pig cages page.
3. If having two boys, prepare separate hiding places and food bowls, so each one could have “his own stuff”.
4. The cage and all the cage accessories should be cleaned using vinegar, to remove all previous scents. Rearranging the cage interior is also recommended to remove the existing “personal touch”.
5. Wash your guinea pigs to somewhat hide their natural scent. One great tip from Jackie’s Guinea Piggies is to rub the hay from the existing guinea pigs cage on the new comer. That way the newbie would somewhat smell like a member of the herd.
6. Quarantine period for a new guinea pig. Your new guinea pig could carry some illnesses which could incubate for a while, and spread among your existing cavies. Therefore, it is important to quarantine your new guinea pig for at least two weeks, so potential illnesses would show in time to prevent epidemic. Keep the newcomer away from your residual guinea pigs, and always wash your hand after handling the newcomer.

4. Guinea pig matches

The following guinea pig matches are ordered from easiest to potentially troublesome.

1. Two baby guinea pigs
2. Baby guinea pig and an older guinea pig of the same gender
3. Neutered male and one or more females
4. Two females. It is possible that they would not get along – depends on their personalities
5. Two males could live in harmony, but that depends on a specific case – again, on the personality of the guinea pigs in question

5. Introductions rules and tips

1. When introducing new guinea pig, never put your new guinea pig directly in the cage where your old guinea pig is already living.
2. Their first meeting should be done on the large, enclosed “neutral ground” – somewhere outside the cage, in a space that is new to both guinea pigs, like an enclosed area of a kitchen or a bathroom.
3. Place a pile of hay and treats (vegetables) into the center of the area.
4. Place all your guinea pigs into the area.
5. Prepare some towels, in case they start to get physically aggressive.
6. Observe they behaviour: ignoring one another is normal. Then, all this could happen: mounting one another, teeth chattering, chasing around, purring accompanied by swaggering walk, etc. It is a natural thing for them – establishing hierarchy, who’s the boss, who’s the friendly neighbor and who doesn’t care. This could take about an hour; after that, you should still observe them for another couple of hours.
7. After the observing period (about 3 hours alltogether) they should appear comfortable with each other. You can place them at the cage together.
8. Observe their behaviour in the cage for another period of time, just to be sure they are ok.
9. If they don’t seem to get along after their time together dedicated on the neutral ground, read further. If they start to get physically aggressive and fight, you will need to throw a towel at the aggressive one and separate one from another.

6. What if they don’t get along?

It is possible that your guinea pigs won’t get along, no matter what you do and how carefully you have read the instructions on this Manual page. Don’t be alarmed or disheartened – nature just works in this way.

If this happens, you will need to keep them separated in some way. The best thing to do is to keep them close enough so they could see, smell and talk to each other, but are separated with some kind of a partition. They are still social, and having another guinea pig in their vicinity would be a great deal for them.