Rat or guinea pig

[la79al]

DD (5) really wants a guinea pig. I think she has seen them on various shows/in various books and keeps asking for one for gift receiving occasions. I have done a lot of guinea pig research and it looks like a guinea pig will need a lot of space and end up costing a lot of money (the animal itself is $36 and then the cage I'm looking at is going to be at least $50). We were at the pet store the other day and were watching a rat take a bath and it was so cute. I have had rats before and I really enjoyed them. I feel like a rat (or even 2 rats) would be cheaper, take up less space and possibly most importantly, be easier for the 5 and 2 year old to hold, play with, etc. I know that I am going to end up taking care of whichever and I am totally fine with that. Problem is, I suggested a rat to DD and she said she would still rather have a guinea pig. DD2 wants a mouse because she thought the one we saw running on the wheel was hysterical. I really think if we knew someone who had a rat and/or a guinea pig, she would realize how much easier a rat would be to handle and would then choose a rat instead of a guinea pig. So what do you think, rat or guinea pig? And if you pick rat, how far should I go in trying to persuade DD? I don't want her to say rat but still really want a guinea pig so she enjoys the rat but still constantly asks for a guinea pig, not trying to start a zoo here.

 

[Miranda Danda]

I've never had either, but I've heard from several people that rats are very friendly. I've played with friends' pet rats and they were SO sweet! They love to lick!

 

[ghoulishgirl]

I've had both and I think I prefer rats. Guinea pigs just sit in your lap (my experience) but they sure are cute when they hear you go into the fridge and they whistle.

Rats will sit on your shoulder and in my opinion have more personality. However, I do feel like they make more noise at night especially if you have a wheel.

Hamsters only go to the bathroom in one corner and watching them stuff their cheeks is really fun too! Just don't get the tiny russian dwarf hamster-every one I've had was a biter!

 

[Micca]

Guinea pigs are cute, but they just sort of...sit there. Rats are trainable and probably more interactive.

 

[java]

Ew on the rats. We moved here and I remember the horror when my son asked if we could care for the class rats. Um hello we are from NYC rats are not pets!

But the white ones grew on me a bit. They were just ok. It still creeped me out at night.

We have a Teddy gear hamster(along with 2 dogs) I think tbh is the perfect little pet. Ours is friendly. We spent a lot of time when we first got her getting used to us holding her, petting her ect. Now she likes to sit on the sofa with us

Smaller rodent smaller poop. Gp's need some vegetation in their diet. It smells IMHO. My hamster has a habitrail that doesn't smell. We clean her cage once every 2 weeks. Sometimes shorter times if we get around to it. My friend has a Guinea pig. He smells. But he is softer to hold and oes sit stiller than our hamster.

Out of your 2 choices I would vote guinea pig. But still have to do a shout out for the Teddy bear hamsters. Ours is funny!

 

[newMrs.Robinson]

I grew up with guinea pigs. They are calm friendly very docile animals. I got my first one at 4 years old and never had problems handling them. We never had a huge cage for them but took them out and handled them every day.

My kids have rats. 2 females that we got about a year ago. They definitely smell more. However, they are really smart. They beg for treats climb around on the kids and are much more active. I do feel like the rats are more fragile.

If I had to choose again I don't know what I would do. We actually went to the pet store to buy a lizard and ended up with the rats. They are both good choices for very different reasons.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

If your son plans on handling his pet, then I vote for the rat. We had rats when I was younger, and they are pretty smart. I really enjoyed them.

 

[funkychunkymonkey]

Ive had both! My rat was very smart and way to freindly (used to try to sleep with the cat). I currently have a guiena pig and hes mean.They do require alot of space, and they kinda smell (like bad, even when I chage the cage daily).Oh and the guinea pig is LAZY!

 

[luvmarypoppins]

We had a guinea pig. My ds loved him. Only problem was making sure you constantly clean the cage. They smell. The long haired ones are harder to stay clean. Loved his squeaking.

We also just had a dwarf hamster. A little too active but cute. They only live about 2 years.

My cousins dd had a rat. It went under the couch and my other cousin went to get it and it bit her. Long story short. She ended up in the hospital for about a week and they diagnosed her with rat bite fever. Sorry I would never get rats.

 

[mjkacmom]

Rats for sure - best pets ever (and we now have the most awesome rescue dog). Two altered males or females.

 

[turkeymama]

I've had both. While I love guineas and I think they are precious, if I had to choose between the two I would pick a rat. No they aren't as "cute and fluffy". They are very friendly, personable, and enjoy being around people. My Nicodemus passed away just last year. He was a nice little fellow and liked climbing all around in my hair. He enjoyed sitting on shoulders too. I've never been able to handle guineas as much as I handled my rat.

 

[hereyago]

Dd14 has had both a guniea pig and she has had 2 dumbo rats since 7th grade. I she has an albino rat and his brother looks like a teddy bear,lol. Both breeds need alot of social interaction. I have actually gotten used to the rats and they are smart. Since YOU will be taking care, you have dibs on what to get.

 

[DisneyWalle]

I have had 3 guinea pigs ---- Loved them! I had a fairly large custom cage and a play pen. The only time they were in the cage was to sleep or while at school/work. I had a huge ball that they rolled around the house in --- so much fun to watch them. They also got excited when I got up in the morning or home from work -- they would squeak and whistle (SO CUTE)! Mine loved to be held and cuddled. Squeakers loved to sit on my shoulder while I sat on the couch. Fluffy loved to be brushed and she would "purr" as I did it. Bama, was my son's guinea pig but became mine, was a bit of a loner.

I personally wouldn't recommend guinea pigs for small children. However, they would make great pets for older children, teenagers and adults. They do require attention because they can get bored and lonely.

Squeakers would throw out his bedding when he was ready to get out of the cage, so they can be a little messy. As for the smell, yes they have an odor. I cleaned the cage everyday and changed the litter every 3 days. I, also, gave them baths with baby wipes. (Don't bathe them in water as they easily get respiratory colds). Doing all of this, kept the odor almost nonexistent.

I don't have guinea pigs anymore. I cried and cried when I found Squeakers and Fluffy dead. They had both gotten to the end of their life span but I wasn't ready. Since the two of them grew up together and had never been separated, Squeakers died first and 4 days later Fluffy died. Those last few days Fluffy didn't "purr", whistle or make squeaky sounds -- she just sat with me. Those two piggies were one of the best pets I have ever had --- don't plan on having anymore though.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We really like the Teddy Bear Hamsters

 

[Poohforyou]

We have 2 guinea pigs and love them. They are a lot of fun and very social. I personally wouldn't let a 2 yo hold any animals and be very careful with letting a 5 yo but that's just me. I don't think they need a lot of room or cost a lot. I actually joke the clues are a living compost heap.

My choice between the 2 hands down would be a piggie.

Oh, we got ours from the 4h program so hey were very socialized when we got them and much less than $36.

 

[SadieDog]

Rats make wonderful pets. Smart, friendly and social. We have had 2. My daughter used to take her 1st rat many places with her when she was in high school. I used to call her Lucy The Party Rat. She was so bonded to my daughter, she didn't need to a leash. She would explore a little and go right back to her. She even went to several outdoor gatherings. If people were sitting around a fire, the rat would go around to different people, climb up their legs and sit on their shoulder. When she was done, she would return to my daughter. She was such a cool rat.

 

[clm10308]

I grew up having guinea pigs as pets. I remember them as bing something you mostly just watched. We did have a large enclosure that my dad made so we could take them outside on nice days.
Unfortunately, I am now severely allergic to guinea pigs so they are no longer an option.

 

[mamacatnv]

Rats!

We have had both, the guinea pigs smelled, their cage was a hassle to keep clean, they were noisy and trying to hold them was always an adventure in trap and capture. They are social with each other and should have a cage mate, they also require a very large cage. Trimming their toe nails was difficult and they could never be left overnight because they don't self regulate food. A weekend camping trip required we get a piggy sitter. Never again.

The rats did not smell, they stock up and hide food so an overnighter is easily do-able. They are smart, trainable and social, They do not run and hide when you approach their cage.

My one word of advice regarding the rats would be to get them from a private breeder. The rats we got at PetsMart/PetCo always had health issues and several of them developed large tumors. We had to haul a few rats to the vet to put to sleep due to tumors.

 

[robinb]

We had rats for years. They are very smart and outgoing. You do need at least 2 of them since they are such social animals and you do need a big cage for them because they are so active. An appropriate cage would cost in the $50-$100 range. The footprint will be smaller that a piggie cage, but it should be multilevel. I would start looking now on Craigslist for a cage. For bedding, I used Care Fresh for a very long time but changed to just regular towels after a while. It was easier to clean for me just to do "rat laundry".

 

[crayon3448]

If you are getting a pet- look into local animal shelters, not buying from the pet store! Our city has lots of small animals available for adoption.