# Keeping chinchillas/guinea pigs with cats/snakes?



## oddsleepjunkie (Jul 11, 2009)

As the title says really. Am considering a pair of chins or guinea pigs but before i look into them further do either get stressed by the scent of cats/snakes? The room i'd be keeping them in houses my royal, and although i could keep the cats out the room would they still smell them and get stressed? There's so much conflicting info on the net about whether you can keep either with these each other, and they say with chins they can get all sorts of diseases from cats but i'm assuming thats if the cat scratched or bit the chin? The cats would obviously not be allowed near the chin, especially without supervision. Also, what would be a good cage/hutch size for two chinchillas and two guinea pigs? Thanks : victory:


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## sammy1969 (Jul 21, 2007)

oddsleepjunkie said:


> As the title says really. Am considering a pair of chins or guinea pigs but before i look into them further do either get stressed by the scent of cats/snakes? The room i'd be keeping them in houses my royal, and although i could keep the cats out the room would they still smell them and get stressed? There's so much conflicting info on the net about whether you can keep either with these each other, and they say with chins they can get all sorts of diseases from cats but i'm assuming thats if the cat scratched or bit the chin? The cats would obviously not be allowed near the chin, especially without supervision. Also, what would be a good cage/hutch size for two chinchillas and two guinea pigs? Thanks : victory:


I used to keep guinea pigs and chins in the same room as my reps i have snakes and lizards and with two cats and had no problems at all they didnt seem to get stressed at all. When it came to exercising the chins the cats were always shut out of the room so they couldnt harm them and when in the cages they never had any problems if the cat sat on the top of the cage. They even bred with the cats being around so they couldnt of been stressed out. As for cages the bigger the better to be honest. I had one of the ones that you keep sugar gliders in i cant remember its name though. 
AS for the guinea pigs the same basic rules apply although i would give them cuddles out of a cage with the cats being around and there was no problems at all. It also will depend on whether the cats are used to other pets being around as mine were kittens when the chins were around so were used to seing them everyday. The best cages i found for guineas kept indoors are the Savic ones Easy to clean and well protected from the cats. Hope this helps.
AS for having the snakes out as long as they were nto allowed round the cages everything was fine soI dont think oyu wilhave a problem to be honest


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## DarkCarmen (May 17, 2009)

I've wondered about something like this before and never got much of answer but that was about keeping rabbit and snake in same room but doesn't matter now as not aloud snake.

anyway like sammy1969 said your cats will be fine it's just a case of keeping an eye on them as they will be curious to the new house mates. my cats didn't really bother my guinea pigs and they now avoid rabbit (probably because he looks bigger than them). One thing I would say though is that 2 chinchillas would need a bigger cage than 2 guinea pigs plus they like free roam sure I've read that a room like bathroom is good for that where as guinea pigs just need a run in garden or a pen for a run about inside. both have slightly different diet requirements but nothing too major that you've probably come across already.
I would also say try and get from breeder you might find one on here as you'll probably find they can give you lots of advice from experience and chances are they'll have been handled from an early age.
good luck with research and deciding which your gonna go for both are really good animals and make great pets


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## Kare (Mar 9, 2010)

I personally would be more worried about the snakes "tasting" the rodents in the room and possibly getting stressed due to this that the other way around.

Your snakes will more than likely know that they are there and may react in many ways, including possibly being snappy.


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## miss_ferret (Feb 4, 2010)

i keep my rats in the same room as my corn snake with no problems. only thing i noticed (and its common sense, which would explain why it passed me by :2thumb is dont pick the snake up after holding them. i made this mistake once and that was enough. he never bothered before or since and they even climbed on his viv once (causing minor heart attack on my part) tho i havnt let them near his viv since to be on the safe side.

my rambleing aside, they should be fine :2thumb:


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## oddsleepjunkie (Jul 11, 2009)

Thanks guys. Kare, is there anyway to stop the snake being stressed, or would it be best to keep any small rodenty things away from the room altogether? Also, is there any obvious signs to look out for when it comes to stress on the rodents part? Also, for the chinchillas cage i have enough room for a 3 feet long/two feet deep/five feet high cage, for two guinea pigs a four x two x two hutch. Would any of these sizes suffice?Edit: Miss Ferret, i'm interested to hear you kept rats with snakes!How did the rats and snakes cope? I'd love to keep rats, but one of my cats is a infamous ratter, and even keeping them seperate would still make me concerned


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## zoe6660 (Jun 3, 2007)

NEVER keep royals in with rodents my royal got out and way hanging on my guiean pig cage i sold them in the end coz i was living with fiance mother but chinchillas dont do well with smelly animals they hate it they load in the night tooo and i wouldnt let u cat in the same room as the chinchillas r pigs it may stress them out i know my pigs dont like my dog but my chins are okay but i wouldnt turst it. and iv got my rodents in one room and reptiles in another now.


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## oddsleepjunkie (Jul 11, 2009)

uh-oh. I guess chins are out if the scent of other animals stresses them 
Could i keep guinea pigs with monty because he has a locked vivarium that gets checked everyday to make sure he can't escape. Had a word with mum, she is adamant that the smell of reptiles/cats will make any rodent in here Ill with stress and that iw wouldn't be fair to them or the other animals


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## oddsleepjunkie (Jul 11, 2009)

What about rabbits? Would they get stressed with cats/snakes and vice versa? I understand they need a lot of space, what if i kept them in a 4x2 hutch indoors with run built in underneath it, and let them have a run around a room for a couple of hours each day? Or would i do best to keep them outdoors? Or could i keep them in 6x4 hutch outside from may to october, and from october to may keep in said hutch indoors?


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## miss_ferret (Feb 4, 2010)

i spoke to alot of people (including my vet) before i housed them in the same room. that said it is a large room and the rats are at one end and the snake is at the other (in as secure a viv as i can possibly make it). i keep my cats out of my room all together, none of them are big hunters but one has the spacial (sp?) awareness of a cannon ball ie tends to knock off everything in her wake. personaly id talk to as many people as possible and trust your judgement: if you feel they wouldnt be happy then dont do it


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