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Guinea pigs/rabbits/chinchilla questions!

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Willzilla

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Hi everyone I am in the process of building an aviary (2 flights) and I want to have a few guinea pigs and maybe rabbits! I know that is fine im guessing chinchillas would be bad an a bird aviary (with birds) but what do you need for pet chinchillas inside? Anther thing I want to do is if I get to keep my pet cockatiel i love so much inside would it work to have a guinea pig in the bottom of his cage? He is young (or she) and has no use for the whole bottom half of the cage and im wondering if I could have a guinea pig down there, just as another pet. I think chinchillas are cool because they are good climbers and fast and stuff but what do you need for them?

The main question is though what foods do I need to feed birds and guinea pigs/rabbits can I feed them the same things as the birds or just some of the same things?
 

RandomWiktor

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I hate to sound rude, but this sounds like a really poor idea to me. Guinea pigs, rabbits, and chinchillas all have pretty different care needs, and none of those needs involve snuffling around in bird waste at the bottom of an aviary. I feel like you really need to do some research on each species, plus the birds you are thinking of keeping.

I'm gleaning from your post that these are outdoor aviaries? I don't know much about New Zealand's climate but keep in mind that all three species you mentioned are sensitive to heat (especially chinchillas) and temperature fluctuations (guinea pigs especially have a very narrow range of tolerated temperatures). Chinchillas are also very sensitive to humidity.

Guinea pigs, rabbits, and chinchillas are all predominantly grazers. They are best fed on a large ammount of hay plus a high quality species-specific pelletted diet. They can also have moderate ammounts of leafy greens, veg, and small ammounts of fruit depending on the species. They can't eat bird pellets, bird seed, discarded fruit/veg from birds, etc. In fact, a chinchilla that eats too much fruit is likely to get diabetes. It doesn't mean they won't try, however, and eating such foods can make them ill. Most vets say not to offer any seeds to guinea pigs as they can actually choke on the husks.

You can't mix guinea pigs and rabbits. People have, but vets and responsible keepers do not. They have different dietary needs, different gut flora (that can make one another ill), different social behaviors, etc. Plus, a well placed kick from a rabbit can kill a guinea pig with ease. You also shouldn't mix chinchillas with either species; the behaviors and needs are too different. Chinchillas and guinea pigs are both social and should be kept with conspecifics. Rabbits are slightly less social but a 'buddy' is still reccomended, however, the rabbits will need to be spayed and neutered to prevent breeding and fighting.

Finally, it seems like a really bad idea to have any of these species on the bottom of a bird cage with waste, food waste, etc. IMO it begs for an illness. We know that birds can carry bacteria harmful to humans in their waste. I don't think it's a stretch to assume that some of those bacteria, such as salmonella, could harm other mammals as well. Mixing species is just generally a bad idea for a myriad of reasons. I would personally keep rabbits, guinea pigs, or chinchillas as INDOOR pets with only their own species.

</$0.02>
 

birdman78

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I agree with Ren. Sounds like a bad idea. But I may not be understanding correctly. Is this one cage with 2 seperate compartments or just one big cage and you want to put both birds and the others in? If there 2 seperate cages and there is a floor to the top cage then it should be fine. I would never put these animals in the same cage as a bird.
 

Willzilla

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What I was going to do is just have guinea pigs or rabbits in the bottom of the big flight of the aviary, which ive heard is ok to do the petshop used to do it but they dont have and guinea pigs left. I was just wondering about chinchillas as pets, You would need a big cage right? and did you say another chinchilla would be alot better? (so I have 2)

with guinea pigs in aviarys i read that they need a safe spot so that they arnt under perches and stuff. I could build a small hutch for them to go into that has a roof but they could also go out into the main area of the aviary if they wanted.
 

RandomWiktor

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In my experience, if a pet store is suggesting it as husbandry, it's probably incorrect. There is a world of difference between things you can do with animals, and things you should do, IMO. I really don't think it is wise to have animals with such different care needs housed together, and the bottom of an aviary just isn't a good environment for a guinea pig or rabbit. What substrate did you plan to use? What was the cleaning schedule to be like? How did you plan to keep the rabbits/pigs from eating the bird food and vice versa? How did you plan to keep the rabbit/pig's hay source from being soiled, especially of the birds decide it's a good place to nest?

As far as chinchillas as a pet, they are very active animals, so a big cage is definitely a must, as is time out of the cage. They jump and climb so a multi-level cage with several shelves is best. They can be pretty messy; they need to dust bathe regularly, have small waste that they often scatter out of the cage, require timothy hay, and do shed as well. So they probably shouldn't be kept in an area of the house that you want to keep pristine-clean.

They should be fed a high quality chinchilla pellet, not rabbit food or rodent blocks, and have constant access to hay. They can also be fed little bits of fruit, veg, grain, herbs, etc. but only very sparingly as treats. Do not buy a chinchilla food that contains these ingredients, as they'll pick out the 'junk food' and neglect the pellets. Water needs to be kept very clean as these guys are very sensitive to the algaes that sometimes grow in insufficiently scrubbed bowls and bottles.

Temperature and humidity are important considerations for chinchilla owners. They do NOT handle humidity well, and getting wet can cause fungal infections. This is one reason why they have to be indoors. They also can't take high temperatures; in the wild they live in temperatures around the 50's for much of the year. If your chinchilla is exposed to temperatures above 80, there is a very good chance that it will perish. the 60's-low 70's are best. Keeping below 75 is a good temperature goal.

This is a basic intro to some elements of chinchilla ownership, but you should check out some reputable husbandry sites.
 

Willzilla

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Thanks RandomWiktor for the help. I was just looking into the guinea pig/rabbit thing i dont think I will do it anymore. I live in the south island of new zealand so its pretty cold here we dont normally get very hot and my room (wouldnt be chinchilla safe atm) is never very hot. I can keep a window open at all times plus would a cage 45Dx76Wx91H work? I have one that big for my cockatiel I got it for $150 and I would say it is a good cage I could add in platform and stuff. Chinchillas arnt just a impulse thing to get, Maybe I should go with a rat or a inside guinea pig? I only am thinking of it as another pet and because I can. I have had my cockatiel for about 3 months and im doing great with him I can give him scritches from today!

I was going to have ( at maximum) 2 pairs of cockatiels and 2 pairs of budgies in my main bigger flight and in my smaller flight I was going to get ringnecks but maybe love birds im still not sure.
 

Cynth

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I know this is an older post but I think I understand the idea you are going for. In certain acquariums and zoos they do this but you have to remember they have immensly huge areas...like the size of some peoples houses and at least two stories high. I have a chin and they take a lot of work but are a lot of fun....but a lot of work and their diet is very important or they can die within a year due to too much snack food...tooo much would be more than 3 raisins a week. No joke. Guinea pigs woulod probably be fine if there is a nice are to run them in...maybe turtles. but I agree with above posters, the animals who have seed diets can't be with animals who can't have any protein. and also, ask zoo keepers, not pet stores, zoo keepers aren't trying to sell you anything. :rolleyes:
 

Renae

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I'd like to know.. do you have a plan in place for Vet bills if you're going to be getting all these birds.
 
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Emmilyy

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^^ I kinda find this offensive. Just because someone is young doesn't mean they can't have alot of pets and not be able to take care of them properly!.
 

Renae

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Where'd I say he won't be able to take care of them properly?

I was just curious.. if he's going to be getting these birds, each one will need to be vet checked anyway, especially being in an aviary together.
 

Emmilyy

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Well, i meant the vet part. You made it sound like its impossible for someone that age to be able to take their birds to a vet.
 
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