# guinea pig nightly squeaking routine



## ~Jo~ (Jul 8, 2008)

had our guinea pig a good few years now and never had a problem with her, she's lived happily with serial different rabbits (this is not a debate on if they should or shouldn't be kept together!) and i've never had a single problem...

but recently she's started squeaking during the night

we have cats and occasionally we have a black cat (that bullies ours) come into the garden but its never seemed interested in the rabbits or guinea pig 

we've also found a ferret before but we're pretty sure it escaped or someone got fed up of it and let it go because of its coloring and how easy it was to handle when we caught it

so of course i first thought of it being another animal frightening her but i've checked loads and not seen anything, sometimes she does it when someones in the conservatory so i'm sure if it was another animal it would have been spotted at least once

i've also tried feeding her of an evening incase she was just hungry but that doesn't seem to help, as soon as she's finished eating she just starts squeaking again

so what else could it be???

i've checked her over and she looks fine, shes still as greedy as ever and she just seems perfectly as normal apart from this squeaking

i know some guinea pigs squeak a lot but i find it strange to think she'd start doing it now when she hasn't really before in all the years we've had her, plus its only at night

it is quite loud (can hear it from my bedroom upstairs) and its worrying my little brother so any ideas or suggestions that could put his (and my) mind at ease would be great!

thanks in advance (sorry bout the long post)


----------



## shelley_draven (Jul 5, 2008)

If she's kept by herself maybe she is lonely?

I have a group of three outside who live together fine. I have one who lives in my bedroom, he turned on the rest so he is kept seperate. He doesn't squeak but doesn't like other guinea pigs. 

Does she have plenty of material to bed down in? And a covered sleeping area so she feels secure?


----------



## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

Guinea pigs communicate by squeaking to each other and have a range of sounds. maybe she is shouting for a friend to converse with. I would imagine that a piggy that cant have a coversation with another piggy is a bit like us living our life with nobody to talk to.It would make you a bit stir crazy. Could you not get her a baby girl piggy or a castrated male? Are you sure the rabbit isnt bullying her


----------



## stephenie191 (May 29, 2007)

A cat meow's, 
a dog barks and 

guinea pigs squeeeeeek! :lol2:

I had 16 at one point, took in alot of recues and the noise at feeding time was crazy, 

make sure she has lots of veg, fruit, food and mainly hay.

Guinea pigs are social but i have found older girls may not accept another guinea pig when they're older



Ohh and it my not be a debate but Rabbits WILL

Chew guinea pigs ears, 
kick them
bite,
chase them

you cant watch them 24/7 so they may be porblems,

would you keep a royal and corn together? NO,

Because problems CAN and DO happen, its the same thing


----------



## ~Jo~ (Jul 8, 2008)

well i was told i could keep a adult corn with my year old boa and python, its all down to experience i guess (i didn't btw, but only cos i got a mating pair)

i wouldn't like to separate her from my rabbit, i think they'd both miss each other, and as shes an older GP she might not take to another GP and my rabbit wouldnt be able to have another rabbit introduced

and if i didn't separate them then my rabbit wouldn't accept another GP

they have got an enclosed sleeping area with a lot of bedding, i did notice the rabbit has been nesting slightly, could that have anything to do with it? maybe she feels unsure in the open and she doesn't want to go into the rabbits area???

i really have no clue because its nothing i've heard of and i've never had a problem with a GP b4

just want to know if theres a problem so i can try to sort it, worried about the poor little thing


----------



## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

Put in another sleeping area that only the Piggy can get into. Could you not add either a baby female piggy or a castrated male.We are constantly integrating Piggys in the sanctuary as we do believe that a single piggy is a sad piggy. They are so sweet when we have a single one brought in and we give it a friend they get so excited


----------



## SnuffBunny (Jan 23, 2008)

Guinea pigs are heard animals.
Go have a look in your local pets at home rescue/adoption bit, im sure you will have no trouble finding piggy company for your madam. And it does sound like she is squeeking out of lonelyness.


----------



## Andy b 1 (May 14, 2007)

~Jo~ said:


> well i was told i could keep a adult corn with my year old boa and python, its all down to experience i guess (i didn't btw, but only cos i got a mating pair)


 only cos you got a mating pair!!!! WHAT!!!!! are you joking? the snakes would fight like anytihng and eat eachother!!!!!!! dont ever mix species of snakes!!!


----------



## ~Jo~ (Jul 8, 2008)

none of them or snake eating spices though, and my boa and python live together very happily, they sleep curled up together and curl round each other when i have them out.

i've also had the corns out with them several times and they don't seem at all bothered by each other

my dog lives perfectly happily with my two cats and my rat gets along fine with my mice, i think its much more about knowing your animals temperament 

anyhow, wouldn't my rabbit attack a new GP? i heard of some people they would and others they wouldnt????


----------



## Andy b 1 (May 14, 2007)

ok... right.... your snakes will get eaten at some point...you just dont keep 2 species of snake together, they dont come from the same areas, they all need different heat/ uv lights etc, thats bad reptile keeping imo


----------



## ~Jo~ (Jul 8, 2008)

can i just ask why you came on a thread asking about guinea pigs if you didn't intend to offer any help regarding them?

and my animals are happy and healthy, all except my GP which is why i'm asking for help

btw ppl meant to say i do normally keep them in pairs but her friend died about a year ago and it seemed to risky to introduce another as at the time she was living with two rabbits


----------



## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

If your bunny is used to living with pigs maybe get a castrated male(must have been done for at least 6 weeks) as it wont get trampled by the bun. If you have space and money you could get a Guinea pig house and put them in together and get an friend for your bun to live in the original house. Just ideas for you really. You could even get another pig and keep it in a pen next to the original pen. At least the pigs could see each other and communicate. Now this is turning into an essay:lol2: You could possibly get a castrated male from Animals in Need (in Lydiate. )Its not to far from Kirkby


----------



## kassie1991 (Aug 4, 2008)

hey i wasnt sure if your guineapig is currently living alone or with another animal? i know it has done in the past. if it is currently alone then it is probably getting lonely and squeaking to get attention, you could try handling it more? (again i am unsure of how much you handle it), my guineapig squeaks when it wants attention so handling her more made her squeak less 

hope this helps, if you have any other problems you can always pm me, ive owned alot of guineapigs of both sexes and living indoors and out


----------



## Nerys (Apr 18, 2005)

~Jo~ said:


> none of them or snake eating spices though, and my boa and python live together very happily, they sleep curled up together and curl round each other when i have them out.
> 
> i've also had the corns out with them several times and they don't seem at all bothered by each other
> 
> ...


both boas and pythons do eat other snakes. not to mention the fact that they come from different parts of the world and require slightly different environmental conditions. they should most certainly not be kept together.

these are some images taken by another keeper who was unfortunate enough not to listen to the overwhelming advice from other reptile keepers...

this is his boa after its dinner that day










as you can see its quite a big looking odd shaped dinner










if you look closely here.. you will see the pattern of the dinners skin, in the stomach over the boa..










and here is what dinner was.. his cage mate. 

unable to digest such a large meal, and in considerable discomfort once the dead and decomposing royal inside it started to bloat up, it regurgitated the royal it had eaten.










in this close up, you can see how the royals head and body have started to decompose whilst inside the boas stomach..










please do not be stubborn and continue to believe this will not happen to you.

as far as your piggy goes.. have you tried giving her her own house area within the run? one with a door that maybe only she can get into? i guess you could try sticking a small soft toy in there for her to cuddle up with ?

either that. or as suggested, a friend for her.. 

and yes i know this is a thread about g-pig advice, and i have tried to give some, but tbh, i am more worried that one day you will come down to the above scene, if we did not say anything, we would be remiss.

N


----------



## ~Jo~ (Jul 8, 2008)

yeah... that boa was clearly starving, look at how thin he is around is spine! if you can't look after animals properly and remember to feed them (its not hard, its once a week) then you shouldn't keep them. especially if things like that are going to happen (btw try finding another proven case) and then get blown up into a big hype!

if people are hungry enough they will kill and eat other people! called survival instinct mate


----------



## rachel132002 (Dec 4, 2006)

Snakes don't need to be hungry, i know of a group of BRBs kept togehter fed every 4days as youngsters and one ate another 2days after feed and they both died...hey ho though, people can learn the easy or hard way but for some reason many seem drawn to the hard way.

Guinea pig squeaking though, all i can think is wishing to communicate or looking for more food i know guineas i deal with squeak when they're hungry or could just be a boredom thing.


----------



## stephenie191 (May 29, 2007)

~Jo~ said:


> yeah... that boa was clearly starving, look at how thin he is around is spine! if you can't look after animals properly and remember to feed them (its not hard, its once a week) then you shouldn't keep them. especially if things like that are going to happen (btw try finding another proven case) and then get blown up into a big hype!
> 
> if people are hungry enough they will kill and eat other people! called survival instinct mate


YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE PETS!

Your everything thats wrong with the rep world, 
stubborn, unwilling to take advice and i feel sorry for your poor corn, 

You should split the guinea pig from the rabbit 

and the corn and boa!!!!

You have people with years of advice telling you that :censor:


----------



## Nerys (Apr 18, 2005)

~Jo~ said:


> yeah... that boa was clearly starving, look at how thin he is around is spine! if you can't look after animals properly and remember to feed them (its not hard, its once a week) then you shouldn't keep them. especially if things like that are going to happen (btw try finding another proven case) and then get blown up into a big hype!
> 
> if people are hungry enough they will kill and eat other people! called survival instinct mate


firstly, snakes do not all need to be fed once a week.. people who keep them and understand them, understand that 

secondly, if you cannot understand that two reptile species from different parts of the world, should not be housed together. then it is YOU who should not be keeping them.

i have, as it happens, many proven cases documented... its not hard to find them, you just have to have an ounce of common sense.. something which you are clearly missing to begin with.

i would say that 99% of the people on here, now think you are a uneducated twat who is practicing bad husbandry..

to be honest i dont give a monkeys about you or your feelings, but i do feel very sorry for the unfortunate animals under your, so called, care.

Nerys


----------



## shelley_draven (Jul 5, 2008)

~Jo~ said:


> *can i just ask why you came on a thread asking about guinea pigs if you didn't intend to offer any help regarding them?*
> 
> 
> Can i ask you why you bothered wasting people's time by asking for advice and clearly disregarding it?


----------



## Faith (May 17, 2007)

Nerys said:


> firstly, snakes do not all need to be fed once a week.. people who keep them and understand them, understand that
> 
> secondly, if you cannot understand that two reptile species from different parts of the world, should not be housed together. then it is YOU who should not be keeping them.
> 
> ...


:notworthy::notworthy::notworthy::notworthy:


----------



## ~Jo~ (Jul 8, 2008)

i asked advice about my GP and i've taken in what people have said, however when i've asked what people think about trying to house another GP with my current one who is currently living with a rabbit i have only have one suggestion which is to get another, house it separately and and then they can communicate and i wouldn't be splitting up my GP and rabbit

and i know all snakes do not need to be fed weekly, i've dealt with my corns when they were mating and of course they weren't eating weekly. i've also not fed my boa weekly when he gets a mouse left over from one of the other snakes who isn't hungry and he's already recently had a rat.

and i don't just ask peoples opinion online, because you have no idea who you're talking to or what real experience they have, it would be quite plausible for someone who hates reptile to join a site like this, say their the head carer in a reptile house with years of experience and then purposely give people bad advice.

i also know that people love hype, and if they hear a story they spread it around, so once case becomes dozens as if my magic

i have asked friends of mine (including respected reptile breeders and pet shop owners) about the case that was posted and they said exactly what i thought, the boa was clearly overly thin. now you can't judge what i think best for my animals on one proven case (one unless you can find photographic evidence of more, just like a lot of people are convinced that snakes can eat people but yet there have never been a documented case and only one set of photographs that could have been faked) where it is clear that the owner was not looking after his snake properly to have aloud it to get that thin, so thin in fact that it did the only thing it could, which was eat another snake.

and perhaps different spices will eat each other when they are said not to be snake eaters, but they are not the kind of snakes that i keep.

and for the record, as people can't read, its my python that lives with my boa, not the corn, the corn snakes have their own viv but do get along fine with my other two snakes when they are out together

and i did not ask for advice on my snakes, why i'm not taking it, its all hype, people say these things to be interesting, they write them in books to be interesting, and, oh, they post them online to be interesting. unless its happened to you personally i don't wanna know, and good luck finding anyone who'll say it happened to them who wasn't mistreating their snake by starving them

wouldn't be surprised if the person who took those pictures didn't deliberately starve their snake just to try and prove a point, for people like you, media crazy with even less fact


----------



## mask-of-sanity (Dec 27, 2006)

~Jo~ said:


> i asked advice about my GP and i've taken in what people have said, however when i've asked what people think about trying to house another GP with my current one who is currently living with a rabbit i have only have one suggestion which is to get another, house it separately and and then they can communicate and i wouldn't be splitting up my GP and rabbit
> 
> and i know all snakes do not need to be fed weekly, i've dealt with my corns when they were mating and of course they weren't eating weekly. i've also not fed my boa weekly when he gets a mouse left over from one of the other snakes who isn't hungry and he's already recently had a rat.
> 
> ...


you need to do your research then ...what you gonna do when the boa is bigger and would you house a wolf with a yorkie both canines arnt they


----------



## stephenie191 (May 29, 2007)

YOU SHOULDN'T MENTION SOMTHING IF YOU DON'T WANT A COMMENT ON IT!

As a member with a brain, and as a forum of snake lovers, we advise AGAINST HOUSING A BOA WITH A PYTHON!

Most people in reputable rep shops etc would also, not just this forum!!!!!!


Housing totally differn't species together, is not just advised against for snakes but 99% of all animals :bash: :bash: :bash:


----------



## ~Jo~ (Jul 8, 2008)

well clearly we shop in different places

thing thing is, i love my animals, and, truly, if i believed that there was a chance of any of them being in harm i wouldn't stand for it

and honestly i did get worried when i saw those pics, because i knew there wasn't any other proven case of a boa trying to eat a python, which is why i double checked

listening to hear say seems silly in comparison to being able to having in depth discussions people i trust who i know have years and years of experience _and_ who have done immense amounts of research too because its their line of work

now i don't think you can have a proper discussion online, theres not realistic turn taking. however if anyone would like to give me the nme of a pet shop close to where i live that they reckon would be against housing boas and pythons together i will happily go down there and have a real face to face discussion with the owner or a member of staff

as it stand and snakes clearly like each other company and will always stay together even when out and able to go their separate ways and i don't want to disturb their happy lifestyle when i don't believe it is necessary 

and as regards to their health with them having 'slightly' different requirements, i do get them checked over regularly as a matter of course as i do with all my reptiles (i feel comfortable with my other animals as there are a lot of experienced family members who see them often)

and lastly, in regards to my GP, i'm not sure if people are taking into account that she is only squeaking of a night, just because no body has mentioned it. i have today put in a GP box for her than the rabbit cannot get into and over the next few days i am going to have my friends GP over to give her someone to talk to for a few hours during the day and if this doesn't work i am going to sort out a small hutch and try keeping my friends GP in it overnight, if this works i shall then sort out getting a new GP of my own. and i have been making sure there if food during the night, it was one of the first things i tried after checking there was nothing around scaring her. thank you to everyone who made helpful GP suggestions, i shall let you know what works but any more suggestions are welcome on the GP topic as long as it is not rabbit related (most pte shops do house them together and most rabbit books and GP book recommend it, if you think differently that's fine, i just don't want to know)

other than that i hope people can forgive any rudeness on my part, i do get offended when it seems like people are accusing me of not looking after my animals properly and therefore not caring for them. if anyone wishes to leave a rude reply feel free but the only kind of reply which will in any way possibly prove your point is to re-faire me to a professional who i can talk to in person, which i will happily do

Jo


----------



## Andy b 1 (May 14, 2007)

there are always cases of snakes eating other snakes, even other snakes eating their tails thinking its another snake!!


----------



## stephenie191 (May 29, 2007)

Hear-say?

Are you serious?

The pictures you can find, i've seen one of a royal in side another after eating it. :bash:


People like you really make me sick, you ignore advice, well i tell you what, go in to GOOD rep shops, and see if they mix species,

Coast to coast - never even have two snakes in a tank,

Theres lots more down south too


----------



## ~Jo~ (Jul 8, 2008)

well i said close enough for me to visit, would take two and a half hours to get there and i don't live down south so thats out too

maybe the difference is that people just do things differently here

are you really telling me you think its wiser for me to listen to strangers online than to talk to professionals in person

and i never said snakes don't eat each other, just that there isn't a recorded case of a boa eating a python when housed together

to me it seems a bit like saying sometimes dogs violently attack their owners so we should be afraid of all dogs

even if in a few extreme cases (were we do not know the circumstances) a boa has attempted to eat a python these are only going to be a very small percentage of the time, however learning that these snakes can live together doesn't get people up in arms discussing it because it's just not as interesting


----------



## ami_j (Jan 6, 2007)

~Jo~ said:


> and i never said snakes don't eat each other, just that there isn't a recorded case of a boa eating a python when housed together
> 
> even if in a few extreme cases (were we do not know the circumstances) a boa has attempted to eat a python these are only going to be a very small percentage of the time, however learning that these snakes can live together doesn't get people up in arms discussing it because it's just not as interesting


youve just condridicted yourself there saying theres no recorded cases then saying there has been cases...did you LOOK at the pictures?

youve been given shops, u dont have to visit you can phone...but you dont seem to want to change imo...i guess its just a case of waiting for the inevitable before u realise your putting your animals in danger. 

books do say that gp can be kept with rabbits, these are outdated. ive seen what happens to gps that have been kicked full force in the face by a rabbit. its teeth were knocked out and it was dead...not nice to find as a child...cant be any fun for ur gp either stuck in a cage, being a vocal, group creature that thrives on communication with a rabbit it doesnt understand....these ppl giving u advice dont have any ulterior motive they just care about the animals...not like a shop which is there to make money...not saying all shops are bad by the way...but what do the ppl on here gving u advice have to gain by giving u bad advice?€


----------



## Andy b 1 (May 14, 2007)

there are too many recorded cases!!! 

and let alone they come from 2 different climates from different sides of the world


----------



## stephenie191 (May 29, 2007)

WHAT ABOUT THE PIC ABOVE??? 


No 'professionals' i have come across would EVER say house a boa and pythin together!!!! 

Just us? :blah:

More like 99% of people but you trying to talk your way out of being to cheap to buy two vivs, if thats not the case then you have issues i think


----------



## Titch1980 (Mar 6, 2006)

right just my 2p here, maybe there are no other documented cases because they did it ignoring peoples advice and didnt want to hold their hands up and say you were right i was wrong and look what happened? 
also you say anyone could come on saying they are head keeper etc etc, so why would you take advice from someone off a forum about guinea pigs but not snakes? 
i have dogs and cats in the same house but they have been domesticated for hundreds of years, they are not the wild dogs you will find in other countries etc.
but snakes temps/uv etc vary widely so it does seem like you dont care. 
i also agree on pets shops just out to make money(obviously not all). 
and you say you have advice from people how would you feel if an rspca inspector(yes i know lots of people on here dont like them me included, but.....) came and said seperate them we'll come back to check would you do it then? and if not how would you feel if they returned and took all your animals?
these are all thoughts that entered my mind whilst reading through this thread.


----------



## Andy b 1 (May 14, 2007)




----------



## stephenie191 (May 29, 2007)

THIS PICTURE IS NOT FROM THIS FORUM, 

It is of somone who owned up to keepingtwo pythons together and this was the outcome






















Now these where even the SAME SPECIES


You STILL know better than everyone else now?


As for the guinea pig, ask any guinea pig or rabbit forum


----------



## ~Jo~ (Jul 8, 2008)

ami_j said:


> youve just condridicted yourself there saying theres no recorded cases then saying there has been cases...did you LOOK at the pictures?


one case were the snake was clearly starving; "looking like a Toblerone bar of chocolate"

and i've been given one shop, which i'm looking into, but they say that royal pythons need to be "Kept in a similar manner to Common boas." and then don't give any details on how to keep them, they gave information on how to keep the common boa, this would indicate that you could use the guild lines given for the boa to set up a viv for the python, clearly Coast to Coast think its okay to keep them in the same conditions. it does not say either way anything about housing them together but i am looking further into it and aiming to start a discussing with a staff member 

oh and the first quote was from them too, in what to look out for when seeing if a snake has been cared for correctly, i don't think anyone can say that the snake from the pictures had been to be that thin


----------



## stephenie191 (May 29, 2007)

Your an idiot, your relly are so stuborn and a know it all.


COAST TO COAST WOULD NEVER ADVISE TO KEEP BOAS AND PYTHONS TOGETHER,

SIMILAR CONDITIONS MEAN NOTHING!


Would you keep a tiger and cat together?

Or wolf and dog?

But why not they have the same conditions :bash:


----------



## ~Jo~ (Jul 8, 2008)

Andy, not the spices we're talking about

and Stephenie, i was referring that to what people has said bout them having different requirements, i said they hadn't said anything about putting snakes together, but i really think if it was such a big risk as people are making out then there would be a warning on the website of this shop that i've been told to look at, feel free to recommend another shop

why would anyone own or work in a pet shop if they did not at least like animals, they would hardly deliberately give bad advice to such an extreme that you wouldn't go back there again, because thats what'd happen if if one of your animals got hurt when you followed direct advice from a place, you wouldn't go there again, so even if they are only out to make money it wouldn't be a way to go about it


----------



## Faith (May 17, 2007)

Ill tell ya what PM bob clark, one of the biggest python and boa breeders in the usa a member of the forum who was prob keeping snakes before you were born.
Ask him if its ok to keep a boa and a royal together! 
See what response you get.


----------



## stephenie191 (May 29, 2007)

Faith said:


> Ill tell ya what PM bob clark, one of the biggest python and boa breeders in the usa a member of the forum who was prob keeping snakes before you were born.
> Ask him if its ok to keep a boa and a royal together!
> See what response you get.


:no1: i would love to read that email, but he isn't an aducated 'profesional' this girl oviously takes her top advice from:whistling2:


----------



## Faith (May 17, 2007)

stephenie191 said:


> :no1: i would love to read that email, but he isn't an aducated 'profesional' this girl oviously takes her top advice from:whistling2:


Tbh your not going to get more educated than bob clake when it comes to royals and boas, geez ill even send it for her if its going to give the person a slap of reality
Or oh there is a mod that owns a pet shop her name is Athravan im sure she will tell you that your not able to put a boa and royal together!!!!


----------



## stephenie191 (May 29, 2007)

Faith said:


> Tbh your not going to get more educated than bob clake when it comes to royals and boas, geez ill even send it for her if its going to give the person a slap of reality
> Or oh there is a mod that owns a pet shop her name is Athraven im sure she will tell you that your not able to put a boa and royal together!!!!


 
If somone said i wasn't giving my pets the proper care i would be devestated! 

To be so self-defensive, i think this member knows she is doing wrong


----------



## Faith (May 17, 2007)

stephenie191 said:


> If somone said i wasn't giving my pets the proper care i would be devestated!
> 
> To be so self-defensive, i think this member knows she is doing wrong


Well if by now she cant understand that keeping a common boa who is going to grow to at least 8-10ft an keeping a royal who grows to 6ft is wrong then your banging your heads against the wall, ill just watch for the "oh i think my royal has escaped post" then the " my boa has funny lumps" posts.


----------



## Asha (Mar 21, 2007)

Dear god, there's so many things wrong with what you're saying. Apologies for the long post!



> none of them or snake eating spices though, and my boa and python live together very happily, they sleep curled up together and curl round each other when i have them out.


this is because they are absorbing each other's heat, NOT because they like each other!



> i've also had the corns out with them several times and they don't seem at all bothered by each other


do you speak snake? how can you tell they don't SEEM bothered by each other?? they only tolerate each other - the same way they tolerate humans.



> yeah... that boa was clearly starving, look at how thin he is around is spine! if you can't look after animals properly and remember to feed them


What?!? How exactly are you now the expert? Can you tell the boa's length, age, and weight from just those pictures. I can honestly say it looks quite healthy (apart from when the python is inside it!) - and not skinny at all!



> and i don't just ask peoples opinion online, because you have no idea who you're talking to or what real experience they have


Why not ask them?? Or spend a little time finding out who's who, and what they do - it doesn't really take long on this forum to figure those things out.



> perhaps different spices will eat each other when they are said not to be snake eaters, but they are not the kind of snakes that i keep.


 Actually, yes they are. All the snakes you have will eat other snakes if they feel like it - it's rare, but it does happen with boas, pythons, and corns.
Check out more pics here: :: Ians Vivarium - Cohabitating Snakes ::
No, the species are not naturally cannibalistic - but they are all opportunistic feeders - regardless of weekly, regular feeding can you guarantee neither of them will ever get the munchies and decide to try the other? Or even upset the other? What happens if one of your snake gets sick? How will you know which one it is... how will you prevent the other from getting sick too. Obviously these are risks you've decided to take, but in the long term just setting up another enclosure will be far cheaper than x2 vet bills.



> wouldn't be surprised if the person who took those pictures didn't deliberately starve their snake just to try and prove a point, for people like you, media crazy with even less fact


The full story on those images is actually posted here: boa constrictor boa constrictor boa constrictor boa constrictor boa constrictor boa constrictor boa constrictor boa constrictor boa (scroll down halfway)... the owner (Markus Bär) had no reason to starve his snakes.



> i have asked friends of mine (including respected reptile breeders and pet shop owners)





> well clearly we shop in different places





> however if anyone would like to give me the nme of a pet shop close to where i live that they reckon would be against housing boas and pythons together i will happily go down there and have a real face to face discussion with the owner or a member of staff





> are you really telling me you think its wiser for me to listen to strangers online than to talk to professionals in person?


Clearly the pet shops in your area are useless. Why would you put all your faith in pet shop staff anyway? What makes the people you are speaking to professionals? I'm sure some may be - who have you been speaking to?
Most are unfortunately only in it to make money (obviously there are a few exceptions and some very knowledgeable/experienced rep keepers with shops)... but you also have to bare in mind that some are just normal pet shops that have obtained reptiles to sell and don't know much about them.
There are plenty of GOOD reputable shops you could call and speak to on the phone - why should they only be in your area... sorry but Liverpool wouldn't pop into my mind if I was trying to think of a decent reptile shop to visit.



> as it stand and snakes clearly like each other company and will always stay together even when out and able to go their separate ways and i don't want to disturb their happy lifestyle when i don't believe it is necessary


Again, can you speak snake? They are solitary creatures, they do not need a 'friend', and come together for mating in the wild.



> and i never said snakes don't eat each other, just that there isn't a recorded case of a boa eating a python when housed together


you've just been shown the photographs!



> but i really think if it was such a big risk as people are making out then there would be a warning on the website of this shop that i've been told to look at, feel free to recommend another shop


Websites don't usually feel the need to warn people about housing different species because generally people have common sense!!



> why would anyone own or work in a pet shop if they did not at least like animals, they would hardly deliberately give bad advice to such an extreme that you wouldn't go back there again, because thats what'd happen if if one of your animals got hurt when you followed direct advice from a place, you wouldn't go there again, so even if they are only out to make money it wouldn't be a way to go about it


Unfortunately many shops routinely give out bad advice because they have no idea themselves. I'm only talking about what I'd consider as bad shops here (you only need to scan the forums for plenty of first hand experiences) but many people own or work in such places for money - they don't care what they're selling, or who they're selling to.



> to me it seems a bit like saying sometimes dogs violently attack their owners so we should be afraid of all dogs


They do!! And personally I think we should be afraid of them!! I'd never leave a child in a room with a dog, even if it was considered a trusted family member. It only takes one poke in the eye, tug of the ear or tail...

As for your GP...
Ami-J has given the best reasons for not housing your GP and rabbit together really.


> i wouldn't like to separate her from my rabbit, i think they'd both miss each other, and as shes an older GP she might not take to another GP and my rabbit wouldnt be able to have another rabbit introduced





> i do normally keep them in pairs but her friend died about a year ago and it seemed to risky to introduce another as at the time she was living with two rabbits


So why not just have one enclosure for rabbits and one for GPs?? I can't see why neither of them may not take to a friend of the same species - maybe it's what they both are craving... but then how could you know as you obviously speak better snake than you do guinea pig and rabbit.




> other than that i hope people can forgive any rudeness on my part, i do get offended when it seems like people are accusing me of not looking after my animals properly and therefore not caring for them.


I do believe you care for your animals. But I DON'T think you are looking after them properly.
Anybody would be offended in your situation, but when so many people are taking the time to inform you of what is wrong - surely you could simply correct these things and become a good, responsible keeper? Maybe be a little grateful for the advice, and ask more questions about what you could do to fix things?
Instead you are just coming across as arrogant.


----------



## Andy b 1 (May 14, 2007)

heres what bob clark said - I would just say that I like to give each animal its own enclosure.


----------

