Rat or guinea pig

[tikilyn]

Have you thought about a ferret. Yes a little more expensive but the cuteness of a guinea pig and the playfulness of a rat. We have two and they are the
cutest thing ever! Mine are even litter box trained! You can take them for walks.Mine love going out in the late afternoon and play in the grass. My cage is huge by choice, it can hold up to 8 ferrets but I only have two.

 

[JediBonas]

Have you thought about a ferret. Yes a little more expensive but the cuteness of a guinea pig and the playfulness of a rat. We have two and they are the
cutest thing ever! Mine are even litter box trained! You can take them for walks.Mine love going out in the late afternoon and play in the grass. My cage is huge by choice, it can hold up to 8 ferrets but I only have two.
http://s18.photobucket.com/user/tikilyn/media/20130514_154525_zps3ee95632.jpg.html

http://s18.photobucket.com/user/tikilyn/media/0E6904_zpsb86f0f26.jpg.html

http://s18.photobucket.com/user/tikilyn/media/0A7C77_zpsb4eeadf0.jpg.html

I feel like 5 is pretty young for a ferret. They are a lot of work and with the vast majority here in the states ending up with adrenal disease and needing surgery they can get expensive. Don't get me wrong, I love ferrets and think they make amazing pets (I had two and they were the best!) but I do think they're better for older kids or adults.

 

[ghoulishgirl]

Have you thought about a ferret. Yes a little more expensive but the cuteness of a guinea pig and the playfulness of a rat. We have two and they are the
cutest thing ever! Mine are even litter box trained! You can take them for walks.Mine love going out in the late afternoon and play in the grass. My cage is huge by choice, it can hold up to 8 ferrets but I only have two.

Color me jealous with the ferrets! I live in California and they are illegal here I think they are so cute!

 

[sonnyjane]

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

This point CANNOT be understated lol! Make sure you do NOT have a breeding pair. You have no earthly idea how quickly a few "girl rats" can turn into 30-something babies!!!

 

[Arsenal1982]

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.

Guinea Pigs live significantly longer than rats do. My guinea pig that I had when I was in middle school lived till he was 11. Rats only live about 2-3 years. So if you plan on replacing the rats after they die, the guinea pig may end up being a cheaper option.

 

[wiigirl]

Ferrets are SO cute!

 

[HM]

We currently have a rabbit. She has a large cage and we do let her roam occasionally.
What I preferred as a pet for the kids was our Gerbils. Those things are so easy to care for. Their only real downside is their short lifespan (~3 yrs). We had two and then we had three.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

I have had both rats and Guinea pigs. I've liked both. Both are wonderful social rodents (although, if you go with rats, I'd suggest sticking with males). I would estimate their difficulty of care and cost to be about equal. I don't know where you read that Guinea pigs would necessarily require more room than a rat. I have worked in science labs and, although perhaps not the best models for happy pet life, the Guinea pigs did not require anything more than the rats did. One point of interest, rats can climb. This is important if you intend to let the animals roam at all.

I've also had ferrets. They are considerably more expensive and time consuming than either rats or Guinea pigs. They are also significantly more destructive. Like the poster below, don't get me wrong, I love them. They're awesome. But they are not a good "starter" pet.

 

[rottiemom]

First off, you're being very smart researching the rodents before you commit. Look into the costs of cages, food etc as well (she says after having someone give her son two turtles and 200$ later have them set up in their home ).

I emphatically second the PP that suggested checking your local shelter for a rodent to adopt. Our local shelters have them constantly because they end up getting dumped for being "too much work".

I always thought that guinea pigs were dull until my bestie got one. Her guinea pigs are absolutely delightful. You have to interact with them and they will blossom. Hers would follow her around the house, chirping and bupping. They would purr as soon as they saw her, purr when she held them in her lap. Her last little guy would tug on her pant leg to get her attention. They are serious chewers and they WILL chew your stuff if you let them loose and don't keep an eye on them. As I understand it males are more outgoing than females. Yes, you want to make sure to give them the correct hay and add lots of fresh produce to their diet. Also make sure they get enough vitamin C (they love dandelion greens).

Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[FINFAN]

we've had years (and many) of both. I would say Dumbo Rat. Look for a breeder. They are very intelligent, lovable, quiet (unlike most of the g pigs we had). I'll never forget the big Harry Potter celebration our town had and my kids were walking around with their rats on their shoulders~everone kept wanting to pet "Scabbers". They are social and you should get a pair ideally, tho both of the same sex!

 

[Christine]

I can't give a preference but I wanted to say that my DD (21) got a guinea pig about 6 months ago. He's home with us for the summer during her college break. He is sweet and pretty but, dang, he is more work than my dog.

I feed him salads twice a day (and yes we make them fresh!!) and cage cleaning is really a pain in the butt. We hold him once a day but I think he's just terrified everytime.

I really would probably not get one for a 5 year old. I'm sure they will love them but I don't feel like this is a "small child" animal.

 

[Arsenal1982]

I can't give a preference but I wanted to say that my DD (21) got a guinea pig about 6 months ago. He's home with us for the summer during her college break. He is sweet and pretty but, dang, he is more work than my dog.

I feed him salads twice a day (and yes we make them fresh!!) and cage cleaning is really a pain in the butt. We hold him once a day but I think he's just terrified everytime.

I really would probably not get one for a 5 year old. I'm sure they will love them but I don't feel like this is a "small child" animal.

When I had my guinea pig, I would give him a whole big carrot in the morning, it was gone when I came home from school. Then at night, I would slice up an apple and give it to him. He loved both of those things and ended up living for 11 years (unusually high).

 

[Christine]

When I had my guinea pig, I would give him a whole big carrot in the morning, it was gone when I came home from school. Then at night, I would slice up an apple and give it to him. He loved both of those things and ended up living for 11 years (unusually high).

I will have to give that a try. We are always looking for new foods for him. He LOVES bananas and watermelon but really hates some other things.

Also, the guinea websites freak me out sometimes because some foods you think are okay, can be quite toxic.

 

[Poohforyou]

I can't give a preference but I wanted to say that my DD (21) got a guinea pig about 6 months ago. He's home with us for the summer during her college break. He is sweet and pretty but, dang, he is more work than my dog.

I feed him salads twice a day (and yes we make them fresh!!) and cage cleaning is really a pain in the butt. We hold him once a day but I think he's just terrified everytime.

I really would probably not get one for a 5 year old. I'm sure they will love them but I don't feel like this is a "small child" animal.

We've always had female guinea pigs and they're typically less messy and smelly than males and more friendly. We look at them as living composters. We give them all kinds of things like pepper tops, cucumber ends, melon rinds etc. We put small pieces of things in cardboard egg cartons which they'll chew thru and stay busy doing so.