Guinea Pigs and Hamsters Share your experience... AGAIN.

[Mom of XX&XY]

My 8yo DD has been wanting a pet. We have had fish. My hubby decided that if she could afford a pet she could get one. One of the ways she earns money is grades. Well guess what she made the honor roll! Anyways we were prepared to get a hamster even though I did not have the best experience as a child. I figured they were low maintanence and would be a good beginner pet. However, last night at the pet shop a 7 mo old Guinea Pig named Popcorn was up for adoption. I could not say no so he is on hold until tomorrow. What do I do??

[twowhat?]

Guinea pigs are adorable and great! But they are almost like little dogs in their social needs - they do better in pairs (I think most guinea pig rescues will only adopt in pairs) and a single piggie will need lots of attention and cuddling to really thrive. They also need bigger pens than you might imagine, and you'll need to be sure you have access to a vet who understands their needs.

Here's a good page on care in a nutshell:
http://theguineapigrescue.com/?page_id=47

And some pics of appropriately sized pens:
http://theguineapigrescue.com/?page_id=43

Hamsters are easier in terms of maintenance but they sleep much of the day, and can bite. (Guinea pigs CAN bite but rarely do. I've been bitten by hamsters. Never by guinea pigs. Though I realize this probably depends on how well socialized they are).

[JBaxter]

Hamsters escape, bite, smell because kids don't keep the cage clean. Will chew cords and woodwork. Won't have another one < we had several with the older 2 boys>

[ellies mom]

Skip both and get a rat.

[squimp]

We have two - my daughter wanted one for..ev..er. We finally caved (that's a little joke - the animal group is called "cavies"). They are nice little pets. She did a ton of research reading and we finally got her one when she was 8.5. Her favorite book is this one but she has read them all! The Animal planet guide is also good.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Guinea-Handbook-Barrons-Handbooks/dp/0764122886/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353209197&sr=8-1&keywords=guinea+pig+care

They are social and all her research showed we should get two together so we did. They are really cute and she just loves them and does a great job taking care of them. They eat lots of hay and about a T of pellets each day. Girls are supposedly more calm and work together in pairs better while two males can supposedly be more aggressive to each other. Definitely make sure about the sexes if you combine them, unless you want more guinea pigs! We got ours at a 4-H showing, I definitely recommend that if possible because the breeders know a lot about their animals. Also, supposedly the American short hairs are good choices for first piggies. The Abyssinians are really cute but supposedly have more quirks and are a little more challenging.

We have to clean the cage about twice a week and that's really the only hassle or maintenance. We got a nice big cage (about 24 x 40") at the humane society, used for about $15. There are lots of great you-tube videos on guinea pig care which have helped us with nail clipping, and cage choices, etc.

I think they're a really nice first pet for that age. But I know for some kids the excitement can wear off so it's important to know that they can live a really long time - like 10 years. So be prepared and make sure you talk with your DD about this being a long-term committment.

[KLD313]

I had a guinea pig when I was 13. It bit and those big teeth hurt! They poop a ton, like more than you would ever imagine and they pee a lot too. We were always scooping out shavings and replacing them in between cleanings. She was really noisy, always squealing. They have to alfalfa daily and we alays gave her fresh veggies along with her pellet food. She was very anti-social. My friend had one and it was really sweet and friendly, that's why I wanted one but mine was wild and mean.

[trcy]

IME guinea pigs are nicer and don't escape like hamsters. With both, you have to keep up with cage cleaning.

No personal experience with rats, but I have heard the are awesome pets.

[sophiesmom03]

We got 2 from a rescue. They are both males, neutered. One is very passive and the other more curious but both are sweet and social. DD is good at feeding and watering but not great at cleaning the cage (DH helps; I said no rodents and was overruled - so I refuse to clean th cage - though we all know I would if it got bad).

They like veggie scraps like carrot scrapings, apple skin, wilted lettuce.

I'll admit they are kinda cute I just did not want another animal in the house.

[sophiesmom03]

Question for squimp and others - what bedding do you use? We use the paper stuff, they put it in deep and change it once/week, but it's almost $10/week - that's more than a big bag of dog food for my Newfs! I'd love a cheaper yet still clean solution...

[Mom of XX&XY]

I feel so bad for this little guy but the info did say he liked to nibbe fingers and of course they made that out to be only if they smelled like food. So I think I will pass for the nibbling, the fact that I don't want 2 and I hear they can be a handful if you don't have 2, and the larger the animal the more and bigger poop. I am going to go into the hamster experience with positive thoughts. Wish me luck!

[Pennylane]

We've had two hamsters, they were both sweet and fairly easy to care for. My only advice is when choosing one try to get a young one and make them take it out and let your child handle it. Some of them would run away and not want to be touched. The ones we ended up with would let my dd hold them.

Ann

[AlbrightRC]

I had a male guinea pig that lived by himself and he was awesome very friendly and social loved being held..only bit one time and that is because he was sick. He died and we now have two girls. They don't like being held and they are constantly nipping at each other...Next time around I will get a single male. For bedding we line his house with fleece and we switch it out once a week.

[geochick]

I agree with the pp who suggested getting a rat. We're looking at getting another pet for our dd, and I'm now looking at rats after considering many other cute, fluffy things. Look into rats.