I freaking love Guinea Pigs!

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

What's your favourite fur baby? Hamsters? Dogs? Cats? Ferrets?

 

[Kitty 34]

cats

 

[slo]

I love our Guinea Pig too, but I love my dog more.

 

[nw6675]

*warning - gross alert*

Since one of my cats decided to throw up down the front of *my* chair while I was sitting in it drinking my coffee this morning, my Shih Tzu is my current fave.

 

[kcool]

Cats!

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Bunnies!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We love dogs, but we’ve had a lot of hamsters, too! I wish they lived longer.

 

[cheryl.UK]

Oh, I love GPs! It's the chirrupy sound they make when they are happy. When I was a kid I had GPs one after the other and I called them all Topsey.I loved the name and it just seemed to suit them.

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

We love dogs, but we’ve had a lot of hamsters, too! I wish they lived longer.

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They break my heart As soon as you make a connection, they're gone I miss my hamster, Chips

 

[PollyannaMom]

We love dogs, but we’ve had a lot of hamsters, too! I wish they lived longer.

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Oh my gosh, cuteness overload!!!

Cats are my favorite (and we have two right now) but DS used to have a guinea pig and I still miss him sometimes.

 

[tcufrog]

After having a gerbil that kept getting out of the cage and hiding, I told my family that we weren't getting another pet that could hide easily. That meant DS14 couldn't get the snake he wanted. I'm allergic to cats and horses so I'm a total dog person.

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

Lizards are pretty cool Depends on what type of lizard suits you. I've had a couple of Leopard Geckos and I adored them. Very exotic! Other lizards are more of a handful. One of the lizards I had escaped and ran up the freakin' wall and onto the ceiling. Took the whole afternoon to catch the blighter!

 

[snappy]

Dogs forever

 

[leebee]

We are huge cat people, but currently our only critter is DD's hamster, Mia. She (the hamster) is adorable and loves to tunnel in her bedding. She is pretty funny to watch! We have had her for two years now and still find it fun to watch her run on her wheel (until she flings off!)

 

[anniemae]

For you guinea pig people, how are they as pets? Hard to care for? What do they eat? Start up costs? Frequent vet visits? My son has been asking for one and I am looking at animal shelters that have them. I am trying to educate myself and not cave into my son without knowing the good and bad, but have to admit that I am softening a bit as I am looking at pictures.

 

[columbusdizfan]

For you guinea pig people, how are they as pets? Hard to care for? What do they eat? Start up costs? Frequent vet visits? My son has been asking for one and I am looking at animal shelters that have them. I am trying to educate myself and not cave into my son without knowing the good and bad, but have to admit that I am softening a bit as I am looking at pictures.

We have two Guinea pigs. I love them but they take up a lot of space and are time consuming to care for. They are herd animals so you should have 2 same sex pigs (or they should be neutered). 2 males together require 9-10 sq feet of cage space. 2 females require 7.5 sq feet minimum. They require fresh veggies every day and must have mounds of hay all the time. Our cage, reusable liners and other necessities were at least $300 to start but you could probably do it cheaper. Vet visits aren’t frequent but can be expensive. Our 10 year old provides 80% of their care - about an hour a day. We help with big cage cleanings each weekend and with laundering the reusable liners. I’m not trying to scare you away but it’s more involved than I really realized before we said yes to our kiddo. (I had Guinea pigs as a kid and didn’t know any of this care information.) That being said, the pigs have been a really positive pet for our kid who has done a great job with daily care. And they are so darn cute.

 

[luvnwdwgal]

Dogs. I’ll pass on the rodents.

 

[PollyannaMom]

For you guinea pig people, how are they as pets? Hard to care for? What do they eat? Start up costs? Frequent vet visits? My son has been asking for one and I am looking at animal shelters that have them. I am trying to educate myself and not cave into my son without knowing the good and bad, but have to admit that I am softening a bit as I am looking at pictures.

I found that bedding expenses added up quickly ( mostly because we only liked a specific kind ) but food wasn't bad. Cleaning the cage can be tedious, but playtime is super fun! They need toys and things to chew on, but those weren't super expensive, and you can even make some yourself.

They also have way more individual personality than I expected - so don't just pick them based on looks. Spend some time observing and handling them at the rescue.