DD9 wants a pet..UPDATE we adopted a Lionhead Bunny bringing him home in 3 wks! YAY

[mrseace711]

Originally she wanted a hamster until we actually stopped into the petstore today just to get a better feel of them. The Dumbo Rats freaked both her and I OUT she would not touch one. The sales person highly recommended the Rat but DD wouldnt hear of it =) The Guinea Pig she instantly fell in love! She wanted to bring one home today =) They only had pics of the bunnies and chinchillas but she decided she wanted one of the three. We will be adopting our new friend but I want more info. If we get a Guinea Pig I will be adopting 2 females from the same litter since the house is empty 8-10 hours due to work and school during the week. But how about rabbits and chincillas? The ease of care? Best for children? Cost of care? Start up costs cages and food ect?I am not sure of everything I need to ask I have googled some info but I like to get info directly from other parents since I know I will be helping in the care of the new pet Ive always wanted a cuddly pet. No dogs or cats here now or in the future

 

[auralia]

It's not cheap. They Need lots of space to run in. The best you can do is make cage yourself you use material from a sign shop and wire shelves from target http://www.guineapigcages.com/

Good info there

The cages at the pet store are too small. The bedding needs to be changed every week or so and you have to use the good stuff as they are sensitive to certain kinds of bedding. They are very cute and nice but they are alot of work. I spent at least 2 hours per week cleaning up after them minimum add in play time and feeds and it really ate into my time. In the end i spent about 150$ to get set up to have them but only kept them for 6 months because once my daughter hit her twos I found it hard to find time to give them the attention they needed and keep the house clean and dinner on and everyone who wanted my time happy so I gave them to a family with older children who had more time for them. All in all i'd say I spent around 500$ those 6 months on them.

 

[Finding Gigi]

We currently have 2 guinea pigs. In the past we had a rabbit and 3 rats.
The rabbit was super friendly, pretty easy to care for, and good with our 2 yr old at the time. It needed a large cage and I cleaned it every 2 weeks.
Cost of food: $10-15 for rabbit pellet food really depends on the brand
Cost of hay: $11 for 48 ounces of timothy
Cost of bedding: $8-15 depending on the size I used Carefresh One bag was good for 2 cleanings.
Other items: Fresh veggies everyday, treats once in a while
Would not do another rabbit again since we have dogs.

Our friends had chincillas. He built a cage out of a book case with chicken wire across the front. They are rock dwelling animals and love hopping around. They need dust for dust baths. I am not sure on other items needed.

Guinea pigs: We adopted 2 girls from a shelter. They did not get along and one had 2 babies. Rehomed the boy baby and the mother. Put the girl baby with other girl and now they are buddies. I built their cage. It cost around $70 with the fleece liner I sewed. They need a 7.5 to 10.5 square foot cage. It takes up a ton of room.
Cost of food: $9 depending on the brand for pellets
Cost of timothy hay: $11 for 48 ounces lasts 2-3 weeks for 2 pigs
They need Vit. C everyday so I give them veggies to meet this requirement.
I personally like them the best since they talk to you and beg for snacks. They are a little difficult to get out of the cage. They are super fast. Try to find 2 girls from a shelter or a rescue group. They are easier but harder to find. Check out www.cavycages.com to get an idea of homemade cages.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I will second they are alot of work and money. Plus if they aren't upkept as they should be, they STINK! Some stink even when the cage is cleaned everyday.

DD (7) begged for a rabbit last year also. Then switched to wanting a chinchilla when the neighbor girl down the street got one. With the Chinchilla , they also need a bowl full of dirt to use every once in a while. They take dirt baths. Thats how they clean themselves.

No thx. Just more added work for me. I knew the novelty would wear off in a couple weeks, then it would be moms pet.

We have 2 dogs . Thats enough for now.

 

[npcougar]

We have two chinchillas. We bought them a large multi-level cage for around $100. They must constantly chew on objects to keep their teeth short. They also can't get warmer than 72. If you live in a warm area, that might be a concern. We keep pieces of marble in their cage to give them a cool spot to lay. Overall, we really like them. They don't smell and are fun to watch. Yes, they must take a dust bath at least once a week but it fun to watch them roll around in the dust. I had a guinea pig when I was a child and I would say a Chinchilla is a much better pet than the guinea pig. They are friendly, and adapt well to being held and petted if you get one that was hand raised. It is fun to watch them figure out how to get to food and then raise up and eat the food they hold in their paws. Finally, Chinchillas are a long term pet. I think they can live up to 15 years.

 

[vsimeone]

I recommend the chinchilla. I had one as a classroom pet when I taught 3rd grade. I was tired of explaining to every class of kids about the hamsters dying! Chinchillas live about 15 years and are SUPER sweet. Mine would ride on my shoulder to the office every day after school for me to pick up my mail. Other kids in the building waiting for rides and such would come visit him. Of course, he spent summers at home and my own kids fell in love with him. While he has passed on, my daughter adopted one as soon as she moved out of the house!

They are easy and don't smell - since they live in the dessert they don't drink much and only pee a drop a day!

Let me know if you have any questions but it's my recommendation!

 

[frzndaqiri]

My family had a rabbit - you hear about "breeding like rabbits" but no one talks about the POOP!! It was a LOT of work to clean and care for and my mom (it was really her rabbit) would not get another.

My sister had a guinea pig that she adored. He was very sweet, loved to be held, and lived quite a long time (8 or 9 yrs). I have several friends who swear by gp's as awesome companion pets. Very talkative and bond to their favorite owner. As said, they require more room than you would think and are social so you're right on about getting 2.

I had a hamster that I loved but it is true their life span is quite short. A hard thing to deal with but he was awesome. Hams are escape artists!! You must have a locking cage (the ones at the pet store are no match!) to keep them in. Mine got out (he unscrewed the lid, kid you not!) and managed to get into the central air vent and wandered all the way into the furnace. Dad had to disassemble the entire thing to get him out.

Good luck deciding!

 

[mrseace711]

WOW!! So much info from everyone here already!! The info I googled did not even touch on the concerns brought up here I had no idea on the large cages needed for Guinea Pigs!! DD9 has our homes original master bedroom she has so much space we considered putting a small couch in there! She is very neat and organized she just has a dresser, corner chair and her twin bed in there she has space for a large cage BUT.... Im liking what I am reading about the chincillas No heavy odor!? is a PLUS.... I really like the life span. DD9 had a fish when she was 4 it passed away one day and she was devastated for weeks!! She had nightmares Shes our sensative one and would like a pet to cuddle with and just hang out with shes a very chilled kid (please note our other 3 kids in no way model after her and we are NOT looking for real pets for them for another 5 years or so) With us being gone during the day should we consider getting 2 chincillas?? There is a breeder I found online in our area that can sell them in pairs.

 

[MrsPete]

From someone who's owned both:

I suggest you give the hamster another look. Being smaller, they require less space. They eat less food and need less bedding. Most importantly, they poop less, which means you're cleaning the hamster's cage every two weeks rather than the guinea pig's cage twice a week. It's the cage-cleaning that'll kill you.

If you do go with a hamster, choose something with the word Bear in the name -- Teddy Bear, Black Bear, Panda Bear, Honey Bear. These are Syrian Hamsters. They're larger and slower (read: easier to catch), and they like to live alone rather than with another hamster. Dwarves, on the other hand, prefer to be with other hamsters and distain contact with people.

Either a hamster or a guinea pig will be very friendy and gentle . . . IF you get it young and put in plenty of time holding it gently and teaching it to trust you. An idea we read in a book that worked well: Let the child and the hamster get into the bathtub (fully clothed, no water). Cover the drain with a washcloth to prevent a huge tragedy. Let the two of them get used to each other in that space, where the hamster can't escape.

 

[MrsPete]

I had a hamster that I loved but it is true their life span is quite short. A hard thing to deal with but he was awesome. Hams are escape artists!! You must have a locking cage (the ones at the pet store are no match!) to keep them in. Mine got out (he unscrewed the lid, kid you not!) and managed to get into the central air vent and wandered all the way into the furnace. Dad had to disassemble the entire thing to get him out.

Our first hamster never escaped from her wire cage.

Our second hamster has escaped twice from his plastic Ovo cage. At first I accused our youngest of leaving the cage open, but then we discovered that our ham-friend was chewing on one certain spot, which caused one of the "doors" to come open. We don't think he was smart enough to do it on purpose; rather, he'd chew a while, and when a crack opened, he'd take advantage. We tried to discourage the chewing by brushing hot sauce onto that spot of the cage -- now he likes hot sauce. So we keep duct tape on that one door, and he's not escaped again.

The two times he did escape, we caught him using a trick from our hamster book: We built a trap. We put a wash cloth and some food in my mop bucket (food to attract him, wash cloth to soften the fall), and used books to build a stair step for him to get to the top of the bucket. On the top, we placed a thin piece of cardboard, so that when he walked on it (food on the edge to attract him), he fell into the bucket along with the cardboard. We put a tiny bit of food around the base of the trap, and since he'd been out all day, he was very hungry. It worked like a charm, and we found him in the bucket sleeping.

 

[mrseace711]

Confession I may be just as excited as DD9 is about a pet.... I will be stopping into our used bookstore to locate a book for DD to read and keep her occupied and prepare her until Christmas. I have been looking at pics on the petfinder.com for the last hour my hubby keeps peaking in to 'Ohhh and AWWW' with me

 

[JMJ3553]

We have a rabbit and a hamster.... The rabbit is much more rewarding. She is super sweet! Rabbits should be out of their cage at least a couple hours a day. You do have to wAtch them because they love to chew wires. It costs us $1.00 for 1 lb of pellets. We usually get her a couple of pounds which lasts about a couple of weeks. We buy hay in a sack for like .75 which lasts forever and she has fresh greens everyday... Swiss chard... Cilantro... Carrot greens... Etc... I think she is adorable and loves to jump around. I clean her cage about once a week and I don!t find her too smelly... She resides in our living room.

Good luck with your choice... My daughter wo is 7 is obsessed with animals so wenhave and have had our share

 

[KBW]

Not to throw a monkey wrench into things, but is someone in the family allergic to cats? The guinea pigs, hamsters, and chinchillas seem like more work than a cat and A LOT less payoff.

 

[nilseks]

I can't fully answer your question because I'm not that familiar with Chinchillas, but as a pet sitter, I'll chime in what I know...

If you are going to keep the animal(s) in DD's room, I would seriously reconsider guinea pigs, especially 2 of them. They really do smell a LOT. I have a client with a guinea pig and I can smell it as soon as I walk in the house, despite the fact that they really work to keep the cage clean.

Guinea pigs and rabbits both scatter their bedding a lot, too. And that bedding usually has poop in it. I don't know if I would want that in my child's bedroom, particularly if it's carpeted.

Again I'm not too familiar with the chinchilla but if smells bother you, that sounds like the way to go. It sounds like you are definitely set on a furry friend but if not, I always tell people that geckos are a great starter pet for kids. They are VERY low maintenance, hardy, no smell, quiet. My youngest son has had one for 3 years and he loves it. He got it from a kid that went off to college and my son (8) has worked hard to handle him properly and get him tamed. He's a lot of fun to watch! But not furry and cuddly. Younger son has the gecko and older son has a Pacman frog--both can be left for a week while we go on vacation with no problems.

 

[SoonerSarah]

We have two dogs and a chinchilla. I have had another chinchilla (got sick at 4 years, vet thought some sort of stomach obstruction, quit eating and died).

Chinchillas do not have nails. They also do not have parasites or fleas, and with the exception of the dust, they are great for people with allergies.

I've also had hedgehogs, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, tarantulas, scorpions, a parakeet among other animals growing up.

The chinchilla is honestly the easiest animal we have had.

This is our chinchillas cage. We also have a large exercise ball to let her roam around in. She gets a dust bath 2 or 3 times a week, we do not keep it in her cage because she will end up going in there and pooping. No smells, pretty clean animals. Some will train their chins to play in a room without problems or to be litter box trained.
http://www.amazon.com/Super-Pet-Fir...HWZC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317002355&sr=8-1

Here are a few pictures of our chin from 2 years ago, right after we got her.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

We recently got 2 guinea pigs, females from Petsmart. This is the cage we got on amazon, it's great!

http://www.amazon.com/Midwest-Homes...0DPY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317004528&sr=8-1

We also got a wooden habitat from amazon they can chew up.

We use special pine bedding from Petsmart, I think it was about $11, so far has lasted over a month.

The food was about $5 for a pretty large bag. They need unlimited timothy hay which isn't too expensive.

We clean the cage weekly, takes about 20 minutes or so. So far no smell that I've noticed.

 

[branham]

This is my very first post and it isn't Disney related

I have 2 house rabbits and although they are the most loving creatures on the planet they (rabbits) are not always a suitable pets for kids. Most don't like being picked up and are fragile. They should not be cooped up in a cage all day and need to run around. They can be potty trained and I change my litter box (Yesterday's News-unscented) every few days as two bunnies share the same box. They must must must be neutered/spayed not only so they don't reproduce but it helps greatly in their behavior. They won't be as territorial or aggressive.

You can learn a lot about bunnies at rabbit.org. I'm so glad to see you'll be adopting a pet, a lot of times the bunnies are already altered from a rescue or shelter. Vet bills are higher for them than for traditional pets (dogs/cats) as they're considered exotic. It cost me over $200 to have just one of my rabbits altered.

If you have the time and patience they are wonderful loving pets. Although I don't routinely pick mine up they do snuggle with me on the couch. They also give kisses. I've had a few bunnies over the years and they are all so different. I've had some that just aren't into people and others (like my current two) who can't get enough attention.

Good luck with your pet decision

 

[elcodfish]

I have had hamsters and guinea pigs and they are a LOT of work. Plus we have always had trouble with having more than 1 guinea pig in a cage, they kept fighting. They will chew on anything near the cage, and can be very snippy.

In my opinion, a cat is much easier to take care of, smells less, and you get the joy of affection that is lacking in a small animal. Even if the hamster is used to be handled, it is not the same connection you get with a larger animal.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

DD really wants a guinea *her cousins have a couple* thanks for posting the Midwest cage - here's a great youtube video showing it off *love the fleece held down by rocks.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

I see that you plan on putting the cage in your Dd's bedroom, I would suggest not doing that if you get a guinea pig. They are nocturnal feeders and can make quite a bit of noise at night. We had ours in a playroom next to our kitchen and he was so cute, he would squeak for a treat every time he heard the refridgerator open.