guinea pig owners

[elephantmeg]

what kind of cage do you have? Any regrets? DS wants a pet to sleep with him and isn't having much luck getting our dog to love him like he wants her to. So I was thinking hamster/guinea pig. We had a hamster pre kids and I didn't love it but we do have all the cages etc still...

[kristenk]

I've posted on here about our experience with guinea pigs before, so I went searching. Here's (http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=415335&highlight=guinea+pig) an old post about guinea pigs. I think it might help a little!

[lhafer]

I have 2 guinea pigs. Got them last summer. I built their cage and use fleece. I much prefer it over the bedding material. But I am looking to rehome them. They aren't a TON of work (compared to say....dogs), but enough that we just don't have the time to give them that they deserve. This semester DD1 started after school tutoring 3 days a week, plus she's in gymnastics and girl scouts. We are on the go all the time. And it's always ME that is feeding them, cleaning their cage, etc. DD1 pays attention to them 1-2x per week. They are in the living room, so very visible.

They are cute. They can get quite loud when they are hungry and want attention. They poop more than any creature on the planet. I would keep them if we just had more time to give them.

Found this site to be very informative: http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/forum.php

[MSWR0319]

I had a guinea pig growing up and there was no way that thing would have slept with me. He was a wild maniac! He escaped his cage too many times to count and died because he got out of the cage (with the lid on) and got too cold. I think he was "special" because our other one wasn't that wild, but he definitely wasn't cuddly. They were ok pets, but never lovey pets, but maybe that was out fault.

[ahisma]

I had two in high school, one lived forever. My poor parent were stuck with him for eons after I moved.

I can't imagine that it would sleep with a child, or that you'd want your child to sleep with it. Poop. Lots of poop. They're really not cuddly either.

ETA: maybe another dog, or a cat? I don't think any other sort of pet is cuddly. Also, guinea pig / dog could be a bad combo. We had a dog who was a master hamster killer. Total parenting train wreck.

[elephantmeg]

lol, I meant in the same room, not in bed. Thanks for all the input... I think we'll look elsewhere for a pet..

[lcarlson90]

We didn't have a great experience with our piggies. They are supposed to live for a long time but we must be horrible pet owners because our first one lived for 5 months and our replacement one only lived a year. I thought we took care of them pretty well but they are very susceptible to respiratory infections.

[onerubberducky]

We loved them but they are such dirty animals.

[randomkid]

I've posted on here about our experience with guinea pigs before, so I went searching. Here's (http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=415335&highlight=guinea+pig) an old post about guinea pigs. I think it might help a little!

I was the OP in that link above. My, how things can change in such a short time! I was actually smiling while re-reading that thread :) I was not so sure about a GP and shortly after that post, felt very compelled to go into our local pet store one day. I went in to look at GPs and cages, etc. They happened to be having an adoption event that day. I stood there looking at cages and thought "Ugh, I do NOT want to clean a cage!" I meandered over to the adoption event to just look around and...went home with a purebred dachshund! It was not an easy decision and I was there for HOURS, but I have not regretted it for a minute. He has been a great addition to our family. He was only about 8 months old and the adoption fee was very reasonable. The way the whole thing went made me feel like it was "meant to be". There were actually 2 and they were obviously litter mates. A couple was there and wanted one. They picked up the one I had my eye on, so I grabbed the other guy. I started chatting with the girl and told her I needed a calm dog because of DD (the guy I was holding was quite squrimy). She said "Do you want to trade? Here." and handed me the dog she was holding. He calmed right into my arms. She said "Oh, he's much calmer. You take him", then she walked with me to the ATM to get cash and held him for me whenever I needed an extra hand. It was just so heartwarming that I knew it was the right decision.

OP, sorry to get off track, but just thought I'd let you know how things went for us after I posted about possibly getting a GP.


lol, I meant in the same room, not in bed. Thanks for all the input... I think we'll look elsewhere for a pet..

To this, I would say...Ewwwww, no!!! We took care of the class GP over Spring Break this year. He was very sweet and calm, but kind of just sat there. DD would sit with him and cuddle with him for an hour. She knew to put him down occasionally to pee (she'd sit in the bathtub with him). We kept him in the laundry room for the week and it smelled like a barn in there when we first brought him home. I had to clean his cage everyday so it wouldn't reek. They pee A LOT! I do think they could be litter box trained if you had a big enough cage because he peed in the same spot all the time. GPs do have very different temperaments. We found a young one in a pet store that was super calm and sweet - I wanted to get him, but it was before we took care of the class pet. After that experience, I said "No way!" Oh, and they shed like a cat. We had Guinea pig hair all over our clothes the whole week he was here.

For a small pet, we ended up with gerbils. I would not recommend them. They are less likely to bite than a hamster, but they are hyper and you can't really handle them much. We do keep the gerbils in DD's room and I clean the cage about once a week. It doesn't really get stinky in her room if I stay on top of it.

[dogmom]

For a small pet, we ended up with gerbils. I would not recommend them. They are less likely to bite than a hamster, but they are hyper and you can't really handle them much. We do keep the gerbils in DD's room and I clean the cage about once a week. It doesn't really get stinky in her room if I stay on top of it.

We had a hamster we adopted from an animal shelter. She was a dwarf hamster and handled every day at the shelter, unlike PETCO or the like. She was actually good, never bit, and we made sure we handled her once a week. It even got to the point where I could cut her nails. 2 year life span also, that's a plus.