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Both genders of guinea pigs make fantastic pets, but there are a couple of things to factor in when making your decision. Firstly, do have any other guinea pigs? If so, are they neutered? Both male and female guinea pigs can be neutered, and if you don’t want to be overrun with babies then you’ll probably need to neuter one or the other gender. Neutering males or females can be done by taking a trip to the vets, and it will probably cost somewhere in the region of £50 per pet. Many experts recommend attempting to keep your guinea pigs in gender combinations that don’t necessitate neutering, as any operation for a guinea pig is pretty stressful and risky.
Take precautions so that you're not overwhelmed by babies
For owners thinking of homing more guinea pigs, one important thing to note when making the ‘which gender?’ decision is that it’s dangerous to introduce sows to unneutered males if they are a.) over one year old, and b.) haven’t ever had babies. This is because it’s extremely risky for these sows to get pregnant, as by this age their hip bones will have hardened and they’ll have a hard time delivering pups, if they manage it at all. Make sure that you know for certain which gender of guinea pigs you have, and which gender your prospective guinea pigs are before taking the plunge.
Baby guinea pigs are very cute, but they can multiply very quickly!
Another factor you may want to consider is that if you do have other guinea pigs, it’s usually a good idea to adopt more of the same gender. One of the easiest (and therefore the most popular) combinations of guinea pigs is an all-female troupe. Like all animals, there’ll be some tiffs whilst they sort out their hierarchy, but many have found that this is the combination in which they fight the least. All-male groups are also a popular choice, the very best of which tend to be brothers. Keeping guinea pigs who have known each other since birth means they’ll be used to one another and have likely already sorted out who’s in charge. If they’ve figured this out, then you get to skip the vast majority of the nasty squabbling that can be quite stressful to watch. For more tips on introducing guinea pigs, visit our introducing guinea pigs section.
Comments
Kacee, 8 January 2020
Hello What Names Is Male & A Female Names.
Victoria, 10 September 2019
Very helpful very cute pictures
Kayte, 9 August 2019
Kylie - guinea pigs get very, very sad if there is only one of them. Look into getting a pair from a rescue where you can get a better deal. Also, guinea pigs need a lot more room than pet stores say! Consider building a cage. Most people make a C&C cage. Look it up online! On YouTube, you can learn a lot about piggies. I listen to Saskia of the Los Angeles guinea pig rescue the most. She knows a lot!
Guineapiglove543, 6 July 2019
Which gender of guinea pig is more social?
Marcie, 22 May 2019
Either one is good, but they are pack rodents, which means they do better with another one. Why don't you ask your parents to match another guinea pig to the one you buy as part of your early Christmas, or birthday present. Just remember to keep them the same gender.