I have a Guinea Pig. Not too big of a cage though. People tell me to get her a friend...?

This is a difficult one....

You are absolutely right that your guinea pig needs a friend. Guinea pigs are a social species and need the company of their own kind, it is cruel for them to live alone.

Either another female, or a neutered male would be great.

However - space is really important. Your cage only gives about 4 sq feet, which is only half the recommended minimum requirement.

There are two problems with this.

One, your piggie can not exercise, explore, run lap or play in a cage this size. There is also very little room to provide much in the way of toys. A guinea pig in this sized cage is likely to be unfit and bored.

Two - lack of space is one of the most common causes of fighting. Two animals housed in the same cage need to be able to get away from eachother, and to sleep seperately if they want to. A cage for two guinea pigs therefore needs to be large enough for at least one hidey per pig, plus toys, food etc and still have enough space for them to both run around and play without bumping into eachother.

In a cage as small as yours there is a high chance your pigs would fight.

If this happens, your piggie will not benefit from the compnay, and she will have even less room than before.

I'm really pleased you want to do the best for your pig, so please try to make room for another cage. It can be surprisingly easy to clear a bit of space - and for an animal the size of a guinea pig every couple of extra inches really does help.

Believe me, before I got my pigs you would not have believed I could fit even a shoebox anywhere in the house - but with a bit of spring cleaning I managed to find room for a 13.5 sq foot c+c cage.

The way to do it is to go through all your stuff and get rid of any old stuff you no longer need or want. Oonce you have done that, rearrange the rest - things like putting up a shelf or getting underbed storage boxes can be a great help. You could also build one of those raised c+c cages so you have lots of storage space unerneath it.

Anyway - my general suggestion would be to do everything you possibly can to make some more room and get a bigger cage - at least a 2x3 grid c+c (about 7.5 sq fet). When you have the bigger cage, then yes definately adopt her a friend.

Hope this helps!

Yes, you need to get her a female or neutered male friend. The cage will be fine for a while until you can get a bigger cage. Guinea pigs are herd animals, and they thrive when they have a companion. In the wild, guinea pigs travel in herds with hundreds of members, and to deprive them of what they know, is simply cruel.

BTW, an hour of out of cage time is not nearly enough time for a single guinea pig, or even a pair of guinea pigs. A pair of guinea pigs should receive 3 or 4 hours of out of cage playtime a day. Seeing as your guinea pigs live in a small cage (as far as guinea pig cages go), they should really get no less than 5 hours out a day. Guinea pigs spend all day with each other, so a single guinea pig needs 14 to 16 hours of pure socialization and comfort from a human a day. As you can see, humans simply cannot provide that kind of companionship.

There is the occasional piggie that doesn't want company, but this is the exception rather than the rule. Guinea pigs are very social animals and end up happier and healthier if paired with a friend. Its great you have good floor time, but they really need the company of another piggie.

http://www.cavyspirit.com/sociallife.htm

You will need a bigger cage. The dimensions given (4.09 square feet) are not sufficient for one piggie. You need at least twice that and preferably, around 10 square feet.

Please consider adopting from a local shelter or guinea pig rescue.

Good luck!

It is hard to say, She may love a friend or she may attack any new animal that comes close to her. You can always try it out but I don't think you will be able to just put the new one in the same cage so you will want to have an extra cage for her, just for bonding time then you can use your cage. It is big enough! Let the new one get use to her new cage and your place before even trying to introduce them. When you do make sure you don't put either one in each others cage. Make it a neutral place to meet for the first few times. I use my bathroom,but whatever safe place you have will be fine! If they like each other leave them alone for a while, but keep an eye one them. If they start to play and love each other then you may be able to put them in the same cage. It is nice if you can to give them a friend but your bond with her will not be the same if you do because she will bond more with her own kind. O and if you can get a very young one so she knows it is a baby that really helps with females and she may love her from the start. Sorry so long lol good luck!!

Your cage is not big enough for two guinea pigs. Yes they can be happy alone, however, that requires much more time than one hour a day. It is not as hard as one might think to give them the time they need, you just need to let them do your day with you. Set them in your lap while on the computer, lie them on your chest while you watch TV or listen to music. Carry them about with you as you do your day. Talk softly to them while doing this and you have a happy guinea pig. Please remember that a guinea pigs health is dependent on its happiness, a unhappy guinea pig is a dead guinea pig.

Well, guinea pigs are social animals and they love other guinea pigs' company, but some guineas still cannot get along.

Your cage should be big enough to contain the food bowl, water bowl, her "hut" or "house" and some toys AND have enough space for her to run around. if you get another guinea, make sure you have enough space for BOTH of them.

im getting a gunea pig soon and did lot of research aboutthem and yes u should buy her a female friend u dont need a bigger cage only if u have 3 u need a bigger cage so yea you should buy her one

that cage will probobly fit 2 giunea pigs but if you spend a lot of time with your guinea pig dont worry

yes most definitely they are very social animal i have only one he is bound up that he always wants me to hold him but with another her social urges will be fulfilled but even with to you still need to handle them

maybe you should wait a while...