Daughter wants a rodent....advice? Opinions?

[Mom of three]

DD, who just turned 12 informed me that she really wants to get a guinea pig. Im not opposed to the idea as I think she would take good care of it. Thats not to say im going to rush out and get her one. This is an important family decision.

I just don't know anything about them and can only assume they are messy and stinky.

Can anyone elaborate or share their experiences with taking care of a guinea pig?

Thanks!

 

[jen_uk]

I've never had one but my step sister has them, they always seem very nice and gentle, as long as they are cleaned regularly I don't think they smell much. I think you have to get a pair and not one so that they have company

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Guinea pigs are nasty and ugly. Hamster are cuter but even dumber. The good thing about hamsters is that they don't live that long. If you want a good rodent pet (God only knows why), I recommend a rat. My sister had all three when she was a kid and the rat was a much better pet than the guinea pig or the hamster.

 

[Jennasis]

DH had guinea pigs growing up and says they were awesome pets.

 

[Boo'sMom]

My son has a guinea pig, and the secret we've found to keeping the smell down is to use Yesterdays News for cage liner.

 

[Jupiter&Wolfe]

We've had every rodent under the sun. Like jen_uk said, you should get more than one as rodents are social creatures. Unless your daughter will be the sort to carry the pet everywhere around with her and always have it by her side, they need a friend for company.

Guinea pigs are very sweet and calm, but I always found them a little boring. It's hard to teach them any tricks and they sleep a LOT. Still, you don't have to worry much about them biting or running away. The only way any rodent really smells is if you don't keep up with cleaning the cage. At least once a week I'd recommend if you want no stink.


I would strongly recommend rats. They're very smart, active, expressive and fun. I taught my rats as many tricks as I taught my dogs, and they get very attached to their owners. They've got such big hearts! They're happy to sit on your shoulder as you do things around the house. They're very clean rodents, but again, they are rodents, and cleaning their cage is so important.

I think Guinea pigs are always fine pets if taken care of properly, but I always found rats much more fun and engaging. Good luck!


EDIT: Oh, and by the way, no matter WHAT you get, DO NOT use cedar chips for cage lining! It's actually very bad for their respiratory systems and their skin! ESPECIALLY don't go with scented!

 

[mjkacmom]

Guinea pigs are nasty and ugly. Hamster are cuter but even dumber. The good thing about hamsters is that they don't live that long. If you want a good rodent pet (God only knows why), I recommend a rat. My sister had all three when she was a kid and the rat was a much better pet than the guinea pig or the hamster.

I love our rats - it's very important you get at least 2, as they are very social, and groom each other. We have 2 females, and one is prone to tumors. We've already had one removed (benign), and she has another one. If I were to do it all over again, we'd get 2 males, and get them fixed (they're calmer than females, but pee on you territorially if not fixed). Cheaper than getting tumors removed. We got ours from a reputable breeder. My kids bring them out a couple of hours each day, and they are so friendly and gentle!

 

[Mouse Maineac]

We have had guinea pigs, bunnies and rats. The rats by far are the smartest and most social. My son taught his to come when called. Regular cleaning is a must. The previous poster is absolutely right about the shavings.

 

[ckay87]

Guineas are as sweet as can be, but they are a lot of work. They are not unlike rabbits, except you keep them in the house. They need timothy hay in addition to their regular food. You should also give them fresh vegetables. That's a lot of care right there. And you need to clean their cage daily to keep the stink down. Not a complete change of bedding, but a scooping out of the pee (which they keep in one corner, fortunately).

They are sweet and fun to hold but they shed profusely and poop A LOT. So you can hold them forever and they love it, but we never did so without an old towel spread over us.

Furthermore, they are not tiny. IMO any enclosure that you buy in a pet store will be too small for them. I made my own and it was huge. DH was not happy, but he's not the animal lover I am. He took it upon himself to replace my big enclosure with a much smaller aquarium one day. Piggie died within a month after that. That may not have been the cause...he WAS pretty fat....but still, I think they need something big, roomie, and airy to be happy. Again, they are the size of small rabbits, just to give you an idea.

 

[monkey68]

For some reason, the idea of a rat as a pet bothers me, maybe it's because it's something I actively try to avoid having in my home. But I did have a friend who had a hamster growing up, and he was kind of boring, didn't really do much except look cute.

 

[Mom of three]

Wow! Thank you so much for the responses and insight to this. I understand that regular cleaning of the tank/cage/enclosure is key to keeping down the odor. Similar to a litter box I imagine.

Yeah, guinea pigs are a bit larger...we were trying to persuade her to consider a hamster instead.

It also occurred to me that the release of "G-Force" may play a small role in the sudden interest of a guinea pig. She's going to be disappointed when her furry little friend isnt necessarily the interactive spy she thought it would be.

Thanks again for all your advice!

 

[GoldieSaysMeep]

I have 2. They are okay but smellier than I expected them to be. Cage needs to be cleaned at least every other day.

They eat a lot & require hay & vitamin C drops and things to chew so they can get expensive.

They are very gentle animals. They're funny to watch and they will squeak for attention. But some are not social with people at all. I have one of each. One is a social butterfly, the other hates being touched.

I love the pggies. They're my pets, after all. But honestly, if I had to pick a pet again, I'd probably stick with rats. I've had 4 or 5 rats and adored them all. Rats are very gentle and affectionate and require only weekly cage cleanings. They are very clean. They almost never nip like hamsters.

 

[Nie0214]

I have a friend who has a rat that is adorable, affectionate, and quite cute! I'd go with a rat if I were getting a rodent.

 

[natenapril]

I gave in to the begging for a rodent last year and bought my children a guinea pig. While he was a sweet pet he was a whole lot of cleaning added to our chores. He could get smelly quick. He died after only 1 year and broke the kids heart so we are done with rodents.

 

[robinb]

Guinea pigs are nasty and ugly. Hamster are cuter but even dumber. The good thing about hamsters is that they don't live that long. If you want a good rodent pet (God only knows why), I recommend a rat. My sister had all three when she was a kid and the rat was a much better pet than the guinea pig or the hamster.

My DD has rats. They are sweet and smart and not too stinky if you clean their cage regularly. If you go with rats you should get at least two rats (of the same gender!) as they are very social animals.

 

[sharynjean]

What ever you do, don't get a ferret. (although, technically, they're not rodents)

I had a hamster once. She was so cute. I'd let her run around my room and she'd crawl up my body and perch on my shoulder and play with my hair. So sweet.

 

[mamacatnv]

DD had rats and we kept having health (tumor's) issues - several of our rats developed large ugly tumors and I got tired of paying the Vet $50 to put them to sleep.

We now have 2 guinea pigs - we have had them for several months and we love them. They are cuddly and very friendly. DD takes them out into the front yard and lets them play. We also block off a large area in the house and let them run around and have floor time. We have girls but have read that the boys are actually more docile. They are very social and you should have 2.

They are very temperature sensitive and heat can kill them quickly. They should be kept indoors in a climate that is between 65-75 degrees. They also are vulnerable to drafty areas so place their cages with care. Ours are in our family room. We can talk to them and they do talk back, plus they know all our footsteps and chirp and whistle when we come into the room.

Our cage is huge - 3' x 5.5' - we built it with grids according to the directions we found on http://www.guineapigcages.com/ this site is awesome and has tons of information regarding care, feeding, grooming etc. in the forums.

Piggys are vulnerable to vitamin C deficiency and therefore need a good quality food, Timothy Hay and daily vegetation. We feed ours OxBow kibble, a good Timmy hay that I get from the feed store and romain or red leaf lettuce. We add asst. veggies for variety (bell peppers, cucumbers, parsley, cilantro, apples, oranges etc). They are not necessarily "cheap" to maintain.

Do not listen to the people at the pet stores 100% - the majority really do not know much. A little bit of reading and research will take you a long way.

Our cage has 2 litter trays with a good absorbent litter in it and the rest of the cage is polar fleece with a layer of towel underneath. I pull out the trays twice a week, vacuum the poop out daily with our shop vac and then take the fleece out and wash it every other week or so.

Good luck, I hope you decide to go down the piggy route, we love ours.

 

[sharynjean]

Do not listen to the people at the pet stores 100% - the majority really do not know much. A little bit of reading and research will take you a long way.

Couldn't agree more here. I once worked at a pet store. The manager was talking to a man who was surrendering one of his ferrets. She was a biter. He then asked her if she thought the other two would be ok on the plane ride to California. She replied that they would be fine, and probably love California weather. I interrupted her and informed the guy that, although they may fare well on the plane ride, once they reached California they would be seized and probably put down, as ferrets are ILLEGAL in the state. Next day, I was fired...but it was so worth it. And the "biter" ferret that the guy seized lived the rest of her life at my house. She was a little nippy at times, but otherwise very sweet.

 

[sharynjean]

Couldn't agree more here. I once worked at a pet store. The manager was talking to a man who was surrendering one of his ferrets. She was a biter. He then asked her if she thought the other two would be ok on the plane ride to California. She replied that they would be fine, and probably love California weather. I interrupted her and informed the guy that, although they may fare well on the plane ride, once they reached California they would be seized and probably put down, as ferrets are ILLEGAL in the state. Next day, I was fired...but it was so worth it. And the "biter" ferret that the guy seized lived the rest of her life at my house. She was a little nippy at times, but otherwise very sweet.

And seeing as I can't type, that should be the ferret that the guy surrendered. Oy.

 

[Aisling]

http://cutiecavies.proboards.com/index.cgi

This is a guinea pig forum that my niece posts on. There's a lot of information there.