cutie_cavie
New Born Pup
I was wanting to get 2 female guinea pigs, but I was wondering if they both have to be siblings. Please answer ASAP! I also want to know if they aren’t siblings, do they need to be the same age?
Siblings?
- Thread starter cutie_cavie
- Start date
Lady Kelly
Senior Guinea Pig
No, a good bond is down solely to personality. Age and genetics don't have an impact necessarily though some piggies can become more grumpy with age especially if they have been kept alone
Guinea pigs do not have to be related or the same age in order to get on. Key to any successful bond is character compatibility and mutual liking. My own best friends are/have been often not related and can be very different ages whereas my various sister pairs have often had a somewhat squabbly phase as teenagers. Bit like human siblings/friends...
Take your time to observe if possible and choose piggies that like hanging out together.
Please always make sure that you double-check the gender of any new piggies upon arrival. Mis-sexing is surprisingly common in shop and breeder piggies!
Sexing Guide
FurryBabyMama
Junior Guinea Pig
I agree with Wiebke about double checking the gender of whichever guinea pigs you end up getting. I double checked mine as soon as they let me handle them enough to do it, and my sisters turned out to be brothers.
cutie_cavie
New Born Pup
Ok, thank you all. I’m trying to get some info before I decide if I should get. This helps a lot!
The by far best and safest place to get guinea pigs from is a good standard rescue with mandatory quarantine, vet care and a mandatory pregnancy watch for all sows over 4 weeks. This means that you are only adopting healthy and guaranteed not pregnant and stably bonded piggies with the rescue supporting you during settling in and if you can no longer keeping your guinea pigs. That is A LOT of extra service you get for a bit of extra effort and for neatly avoiding all the usual pitfalls that await the unwary new owner.
Since anybody can call themselves a rescue (or a breeder) without licensing or control, please make sure that quarantine and vet care do actually happen.
Our forum advice and recommendations comply with or surpass animal welfare standards, so by following them, your adoption offer should be accepted.
These are the rescues we can guarantee for that you are in safe hands:
Recommended rescues UK: Recommended Guinea Pig Rescues
Recommended rescues in some other countries including US and Canada: Guinea Lynx :: Rescue Organizations