Owning a guinea pig?

[Ash in Wonderland]

Is it a good pet for a 14 year old girl? My daughter wants one and I don't know if it is a good idea. What are your thoughts on letting her have one?

 

[goofystitchfan]

I had 2 while growing up. They do not have a long life span and the cage needs to be cleaned all the time, or it can really stink! Their nails grow very fast, but unlike my cat, the pig would not let me cut them. Not sure if I had uncooperative pigs or what. That being said, I loved the 2 which I had (I got another after the first one died) however I would not get another. Not sure if this helps or not.

 

[DizFan101]

if this is her first pet i'd say go with a hamster.
guinea pigs are cute but what i have seen in the pet store they are skiddish and wouldn't even let me pet em.
but i know nothing about them to be able to say anything.

 

[rileyroosmom]

My ex got one for my dd10 over a year ago. She pays no attention to it what's so ever! Guess who takes care of it? Me! Thinking of posting it on Craigs List actually.
He is very sweet. Allows me to hold him, but I must "chase" him around his cage first. Lots of work. More than I bargained for. Cage must be cleaned a least once a week. I spray it with vinegar/water mix. Newspaper then bedding. He loves to eat. Goes through a handful of guinea pig food a day and 2x a day he gets fresh vegetable; carrots, parsley, lettuce. And he has access to hay all day every day. I actually have a bail of hay in the garage which will probably last his whole life and I take from that for him. Nails grow fast, my ds's gf cuts them for me.
I would never get one if I knew then what I know now.

 

[mamacatnv]

We have two
They are super cute, super vocal and a pain to keep clean.
We also discovered that they make me itch and sneeze so I can't hold them.
They do live 5-8 years

They are social and should always have a cage mate, they also need a large cage as they are active and need lots of space. Our girls cage is 4' x 6'

We feed them a good brand of pellets, timothy hay daily and then assorted fruits/veggies as treats. Romaine lettuce is a staple and recently discovered they like butternut squash.

 

[Michelle67]

I had hamsters, gerbils, a guinea pig, a rabbit, a rat, a snake, cats, and dogs (no, not all at the same time, although the snake and some of the cats were cohabitants, and that was pretty interesting...) and if it were me I'd go with a cat.

 

[KimR]

I've not had a guinea pig, but based on the previous responses, I'd go with a hamster. They are very easy to care for. You do need to spot clean the cage daily and give it a full cleaning once a week. You can also litter train them very easily (or so I've heard - we've not done this). If you litter train them, the cleaning is even easier.

The downside is they don't live very long (2 - 3 years). Also, while they don't require as much attention as other pets, say a dog or cat, you do need to interact with them and take them out of their cage to play on a daily basis. Also, if you get one from a pet shop they can sometimes be very skittish and bite at first because they are not used to being handled.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[Sandy321]

I had hamsters when the boys were young, they bit, and were nocturnal

Guinea Pigs - They are so wonderful - DH whistles at them, when I come in from the grocery store they wheeek wheeek wheek - they are so talkative -

when we first got them (from Petfinders.org) we were told they like to play "catch me if you can"

you will need to clean their cage, give them fresh water - and timothy hay and pellets are a staple, but boy do they love fresh fruits and veggies (give them an ear of corn - lovely!!)

My favorite guinea pig was Bing - he had the best website for info, and it was so sad when he passed!
http://piggy-wiki.intodit.com/page/bing-movies

wait to you see the homes you can make out of those cubes!!
http://www.guineapigcages.com/

Go Guinea Pigs!

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Is she really going to devote enough time to caring for him/her.

I ended up doing alot of the work, begging our ds to clean the cage and I mostly fed it and talked to him.

If she is not into sports, boys, after school activities etc, then I guess it would be ok.

Our guinea pig lived for about 3 years.

Where will the cage be kept? It can get really smelly for sure.

 

[southern_redhead]

We have two
They are super cute, super vocal and a pain to keep clean.
We also discovered that they make me itch and sneeze so I can't hold them.
They do live 5-8 years

They are social and should always have a cage mate, they also need a large cage as they are active and need lots of space. Our girls cage is 4' x 6'

We feed them a good brand of pellets, timothy hay daily and then assorted fruits/veggies as treats. Romaine lettuce is a staple and recently discovered they like butternut squash.

Yes, they need lots of space. When choosing a cage mate 2 girls is best (from what we were told), 2 males may fight, and a male and a female just mean waaaay more than 2 guinea pigs (learned that the hard way - thank goodness they were so cute and easy to give away!)

 

[castmemberb4]

Guinea Pig, Hamster, rabbit anything that lives in a cage requires a lot of care. They live in a very small space that you have to keep clean.
I recently rescued a rabbit that my 12 year old niece won at a fair. She quickly lost interest when it wasn't as cuddly as a cat or dog and took more work. I had a Guinea Pig when I was about 12 I remember giving it to my older brother.
Really common animals like cats & dogs are easier.

 

[FredinFL]

Guinea pigs are cute eating/pooping/eating poop maniacs that stink their own unique kind of stink. They are work. If you have no other pets, by all means have at it, I couldn't wait to get rid of ours.

 

[ShiPooOwner]

I think a Guinea pig would be a great pet for your daughter. Guinea pigs have a lot of personality unlike hamsters or gerbils. They make cute sounds and don't sleep all day long like a hamster would. She would have to clean the cage a couple times a week (trying to remember what bedding we used....aspen chips maybe? I remember some types of bedding were much healthier for the Guinea pig but can't remember what kind....)and make sure its water bottle is full of fresh water each day. My son and I would cut our Guinea pigs' toenails with a regular fingernail or toenail clippers every other week or so before they got too long. When we had a longhaired piggy, we had to bathe her because her long hair soaked up the urine when she went potty. Yes, they required some work and care, but they were great pets.

 

[KimR]

Why are guinea pigs so much more work than hamsters? I would think the care of the animal would be similar. Are they just not as meticulous about grooming themselves as hamsters?

 

[FredinFL]

GP, Groom?

"Bathe me mummah. Then peel me a grape."

 

[Squirrel!!!]

Why are guinea pigs so much more work than hamsters? I would think the care of the animal would be similar. Are they just not as meticulous about grooming themselves as hamsters?

Guinea pigs are just huge as compared to hammies, so they produce a lot more waste. Their diet is also a much "wetter" mix. Hamsters eat mostly pellets and seeds while guinea pigs eat a lot of veggies with high water content. All this adds to a whole lot more urine and a higher water content to their poo pellets, greater stink, greater need for cleaning.

I had piggies growing up, and I loved loved loved them. My last one lived for 8 years.

My DD11 wants one, and I am not up for another pet to take care of, even though I enjoyed mine. Great little personalities, quite silly. But smelly unless you clean the cages all the time, and I am busy, and I know my kiddo would not keep it up to my satisfaction. I have the most sensitive of noses.

Your DD might be the perfect Guinea pig owner, they are truly delightful!!! I am so tempted, whenever I see one.

 

[Poohforyou]

We have 2 and they are so much fun and very easy to take care of. My DD was 8 when got our 1st one. She'll be 12 over the summer.

I would recommend getting a pair of females. They are very social animals and will keep each other and your family entertained.

I call them our living garbage disposal because they love all kinds of vegetables and fruits including peels.

They need dry food, fresh food, hay and water each day. We clean their cage every 5-7 days (more often when it's really hot) and give them a bath every few weeks in the summer and less often in cooler months. We just bathed them today and they were so funny running around the sink shaking out their fur.

They're a bit shy when you first get them but before you know it they'll be squealing when they hear you. They love to be held and petted.

What I love best is that they are as friendly and cuddly as a dog but they can be contained and the whole house doesn't smell like we have a pet.

 

[FredinFL]

Ours would actually whistle when they heard me come down the stairs, they knew who got them the good stuff, lol.

 

[A_Princess'_Daddy]

Our DD6 has two of them, and while they take some work (the cages do smell if not cleaned regularly), they are much more engaging and social than hamsters and other pocket pets and, in my opinion, are a lot more fun. They do best with a partner guinea pig (we have two females) but ours like to play with us, as well.

They are vocal (we call them "the wheekers" because of the sound they make), but they are diurnal, so they sleep at night (versus hamsters, who seem to like to run on their wheels all night long). They are super cute when they get excited; they "popcorn" around the cage, jumping about whenever they see us and especially when they see us bringing them an orange or other treat. They also are pretty good cuddlers, although ours have been handled a lot since we got them, so they are social and not skittish. If you don't handle them a lot, they will be nervous (remember, they are prey animals, so being handled is usually a bad thing for their kind). I will generally get one out of its cage each night to snuggle when I'm reading a book, and they are really sweet to me.

I will say that they live a while (5-8 years is the norm, I believe), so if you're looking for a "disposable" pet, you may have one that lasts a lot longer than you are expecting. Also, and not to lecture anybody, but remember they are living creatures with their own dignity and should only be adopted if you are prepared to love and care for them for their lifetimes.

 

[MichelleinMaine]

FWIW, gerbils are also diurnal (active in the day). We can get by 2-3 weeks cleaning our cage. We've had the school guinea pigs for summer vacation before- definately more work with a guinea pig cage (and it also takes up more space.)

Love our gerbils!