Piggies are very social animals and should have at least one other guinea pig friend. In the wild they live in large groups. They usually have one main leader who bosses everyone else around, and the pecking order goes down from there to the most submissive piggie who will go as far as even letting them all eat first to stay out of their way. This hierarchy is harder to see in domestic cavies as many people don't keep more than 2 or 3, but even tiny groups like these usually have a cavy who is dominant over the other(s). Living in groups helps to protect wild guinea pigs from predators (safety in numbers!), and in addition they really do love each other's company. Anyone who has seen two babies cuddled asleep together, or one cavy carefully grooming another can see that. Still, keeping single cavies is far too common these days, because people don't realize just how important keeping more than one cavy is. Hopefully this page will give you a better understanding of the social life of piggies.

Why not just one? This is a question asked by many new cavy owners. After all, if you play with your cavy enough, wouldn't it be happy? And anyway, a single cavy will be more bonded to me than one with a cavy friend, right? The answers to both questions are no. As has already been mentioned, guinea pigs are very social animals. It isn't fair to leave them in a little cage all alone while you're off at work, school, or at the computer for that matter. You may say, 'well my guinea pig is happy,' and understandably. Sure guinea pigs can survive without a companion. Let's put it this way: imagine for a moment that someone placed you in a world without another human being. You would learn to adjust eventually. You would learn to co-live with the other animals there, and even appear to be quite content while in their company. But during the long hours when you were alone, and none of them were paying attention to you, you'd get kind of lonely, right? Of course you would, you'd long for another human to sit next to you, talk to you, and share this strange world with you. It's much the same for a cavy. It isn't fair to keep him cooped up in his cage all alone while you're at work, school, or sitting at the computer for that matter. Unless you can literally be with your cavy 24/7, it is your responsibility as a pet owner to make sure he is happy by getting another cavy friend. Two cavies are really little more work than one, and when you look over your shoulder on your way to work and see them playing happily together instead of just one cavy sitting bored in his hideout or trying to amuse himself by running around in circles, you can be gone all day with a clear conscience.

Introductions - Introductions are usually not a problem. Buy a same-sex cavy, preferably a young one, especially if your current pig has been living alone and keep it in quarantine (different cage, different room) for two weeks in case it's carrying any diseases it may not be showing signs of yet. Bathe both cavies the day of the introduction so they'll smell the same (guinea pigs recognize each other by scent so this will help them to accept each other). Introduce them on neutral ground and then put them in a large, well scrubbed, clean cage with lots of hidey places. Plenty of veggies will help them to relax as they get to know each other. There will probably be some chasing, nipping, squealing and rumbling at first as they establish their pecking order, but there is no reason to separate them unless there is blood.

Strawberry and Shakira