POLL: Guinea Pig vs Hamster...You Decide!

[Wee Pip]

Dd is taking a class at co-op that involves choosing a pet to bring home and journalling about it. Dd wants cute and furry, and I want easy, and we don't want to spend a lot of money on this critter as far as regular maintenance goes. We've had a bad experience with hamsters - we babysat one that bit us whenever we tried to touch it, and it died while under our care (and we were meticulous with its care. It was 8mos old). Guinea pigs look really cute, but the web sites are saying you have to change its bedding daily (or more), trim its nails, bathe it, and essentially treat it like a king (sounds expensive and labor intensive!) But OTOH, I know many teachers have guinea pigs in their classrooms, so it can't be *that* labor intensive, right? Hamsters sound easier, but again, the bad experience is sort of making me less excited. We own a large dog, if that influences the decision.

[rafiki]

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[homewithtrinity]

I remember having guinea pigs growing up. The work wasn't all that bad and they were very hardy. We carried the poor creatures with us everywhere and dressed them in doll clothes. :D

 

Hope this helps!

[Pamela H in Texas]

If you keep a piggie cage clean, you don't have to bathe them but rarely, if ever. They are like cats in that they keep themselves pretty clean. Doing their nails every other week isn't tough either. The Bedding most certainly doesn't need to be changed daily unless they are in a tiny cage which they shouldn't be. You should visit http://www.cavycages.com and make one of those cages (cheaper than store-bought cages and much bigger). You will change out the bedding every 4-8 days depending. We used fleece in which case, we just shook it out mid week and changed it weekly (but we did have a MANSION of a cage too. You might have to do just a tad bit more than that depending).

 

I DEFINITELY say a piggie is a good first pet idea. They are pretty friendly, don't bite, and are fairly cheap. I wouldn't get a hamster no matter what.

 

I like reptiles but they are more costly to set up....a lot more costly.

 

Another choice: a giant millepede! Not costly at all, friendly, easy. Tarantulas are pretty good too. Oh, and hermit crabs can be fun, especially for girls who like cool shells.

 

HTHs,

Pamela

[Just Me]

To be honest, our gecko is the best pet we have - and I don't like reptiles. Otherwise, I say go with the guinea pig - they are much more loving.

[nutmeg]

Gerbils! They are cute & furry, responsive, and THEY DON'T SMELL!

[kristavws]

Guinea pig hands-down. We piggy-sat one for a week (granted it was only a week), and really enjoyed the experience. He was a lot of fun, and was very gentle.

 

My daughter had a hamster when she was young - this would be over 10-years ago. I.hated.that.animal. The only pet we have EVER had that I really did not love and enjoy. It was mean. You could not stick your hand in the cage without it trying to bite you. My cousin had a hamster that was the exact same way.

 

Krista

[Ellie]

We didn't change our piggies' bedding daily :-o Weekly is fine.

 

You just want to be sure that you buy a piggy cage that doesn't have a wire bottom. Piggies have very soft feet, not like rabbit feet with hard pads, and wire is just painful for them (their toenails can also get caught on the wire--ouchie).

[Parrothead]

Guinea pigs make those squeaking noises that can drive a person mad. I'd have to go with hamster for that one reason.

[Haiku]

Dd wants cute and furry, and I want easy, and we don't want to spend a lot of money on this critter as far as regular maintenance goes.

 

But OTOH, I know many teachers have guinea pigs in their classrooms, so it can't be *that* labor intensive, right?

 

This is a sensitive topic for me, so please don't take it too personally ...

 

If your primary interest in getting a pet is for your daughter to journal about it and "easy" is your main criteria, please don't get a pet. Pets (as you are probably aware since you have a dog) are lifetime companions. They are beings with their own needs and desires and, just like children, they deserve to be enjoyed and valued for who they are. Choosing to bring an animal companion into your home comes with the responsibility to meet that animal's needs faithfully. Yes, many teachers have guinea pigs. Many of them are horribly neglected, and it shows in their health and behavior. A place I am familiar with had guinea pigs "for the kids' enjoyment." Of course, the guinea pigs were horribly stressed out by the constant parade of kids, and their health and routine maintenence was neglected to the point that one of them had toenails so long they curled under and dug into her feet. They both died much earlier than they should have, and I'm guessing in misery. My point is, just because a teacher or whatever has a classroom pet doesn't mean it's the right thing to do or the right way to care for one.

 

I honestly think that a co-op class that assigns kids to pick a pet to bring home is on the wrong track because it leads to people bringing an animal into their home for the wrong reasons.

 

Is this really something your daughter needs to do? Can she journal about your dog?

 

Tara

[Desert Rat]

We really, really enjoy our fire bellied toads. They're so cool to watch and do have little personalities of their own. They eat live crickets every 2-3 days. Not as gross as one would think. We buy them weekly and have a little container we keep them in. We have a terrarium (sp?) set up by our school area and love listening to them croak (which actually sounds more like a squeak) and the little water fall sounds nice.

Total cost was about $75 for the tank and stuff but we went elaborate. And the little guys were $8 each. Oh, and they can live for 15 years!

HTH

[Jen500]

I agree with Tara. Most pets are a big responsibility. My boys got hamsters this past year. I made them do their research before getting the pets, and they knew what would be expected of them and agreed before getting the hamsters. They've followed through, but even so, we've had some rough spots. (Taming the biting hamster, dog knocking the cages down, etc) I think journaling about your dog would be great. And if you still want another pet I'd just do it on your own, on your own schedule.

[RobotGirl]

Guinea pig, guinea pig, guinea pig, guinea pig, guinea pig!!!!!!! I would say hands down GUINEA PIG!:D:D:D

[Jenny in Atl]

Want easy... I say fish. Can't hold them or play with them, but if you stay small (a Gold Fish tank, Betta, or Tetras) they are cheap, and very easy/non smelly to care for.

[ticklbee]

We've had both hamsters and guinea pigs...have two girl guinea pigs right now. My vote would be for the piggies. Hamsters are nocturnal so your dc may not get much interaction with it.

 

We love our piggies...they are not hard to care for at all. Clean the cage 1X a week - fresh food, water, hay, and some veggies/fruit. They are wonderful pets. We had our first one for five years and they two new babies we've only had since June.

[Raini]

I voted Guinea Pig, but I'm wondering if you are borrowing a pet or becoming new owners?

 

Please factor in the possibility of vet costs. We adopted some rats from the Humane Society that we love just as much as if they are dogs/cats-and we have spent almost as much in vet bills. I am not kidding! :lol: With emergency vet visits, regular 'oh my the rat can't move it's leg', and medicine for very common repiratory infections, we must be close to $500.

 

OTOH, we foster Guinea Pigs for the Humane Society and have not had to take any of them to the vet unless they already were sick when we got them. (We have baby pigs due any day-very exciting!)

 

Just another thing to consider.

[Melinda]

If you're not sure which to get, maybe sign up with a rescue organization to be a foster family for whichever animal you think you may want. Then, if it is not a good fit, you will know without having it permanently in your home. Hope that makes sense and good luck with the decision.

[Remudamom]

I clicked pig and then realized I was wrong. You need a bunny. They are adorable, lots of different types/sizes/colors/looks to choose from and you can train them to use a litter box. They can walk on a leash and get along with cats and (some) dogs. If you have a good fenced in yard they can play out there for periods of time.

[Mom to Aly]

I hate gerbils (got bitten by one when little), but my dd has had two hamsters we have both adored--they have had more personality than I would have thought possible. That said, they are not as pick up and cuddly cute as a guinea pig, but I do know guinea pigs are noisy, and can be nervous.

 

Have you considered a rabbit? I know we are moving on to larger territory, but there are small ones, and they are wonderful pets, stay in a cage, don't make a lot of mess, and are easy to train (you can litter train them), plus lots of fun.

 

If not, I would still choose a hamster right now for ease of care, and ours were wonderful. They only live two years, which was the biggest drawback. But the last one we had would stand up and stretch out his arms whenever dd came towards his cage to be picked up, then climb up and rub his face against her cheek--too cute!!!

[sdWTMer]

Guinea pigs make those squeaking noises that can drive a person mad. I'd have to go with hamster for that one reason.

 

You have to constantly hear them running on those wheel thingamajigs. :001_huh:

[E_Edgerton]

I had a hamster and a gerbil growing up. The hamster (Chloe) was not a very good pet, but the gerbil (David Letterman, I am not kidding, that is what I named it) was very sweet. However, the kids I work with have two guinea pigs and they are great pets. Sorry, I am no help!:glare:

[Kris]

I picked guinea pig -- though we've never had them -- because I haven't had the best luck with hamsters and reptiles are, well -- no reptiles. We have plenty of them outside already. :lol:

 

Guinea pigs just seem more "sturdy" than hamster. All of my hamsters died within two weeks! I guess they were probably sick when I got them. I did keep mice when I was a kid -- they were pretty kewl, low maintenance and lived a long, long time (just so you know I'm not just a "bad mom" :D).

[Cheryl in NM]

I would recommend a rat. We've had a hamster and a guinea pig. Neither were friendly or fun for our kids. Rats are very social. Over the last several years we've had about 6 rats (not a the same time!). We keep 2 together because they are social and like the company all the time; they will also groom each other, just make sure they are the same sex (we prefer females, when you see the males you'll know why!). We've never had anyone bitten by the rats;they are curious and friendly. 2 of the rats would sit on my step-daughter's shoulder while she was on the computer for hours at a time. Ds's 2 rats run around his bed while he reads at night. My step-son taught his rats to climb a ladder. Our family thinks that rats are THE BEST small animal pet there is. We've had nothing but success with them. We've loved all our rats. Of course, there is a stigma that you need to get over. I was surprised that I liked them too.

 

ETA: We've never had to take a rat to the vet. We buy them from the pet store as babies. I have found that the cage needs to be cleaned once a week though. Sometimes one of the rats will have a sore, probably from aggressive grooming and I'll just give her a bath with baby shampoo and she's fine. Another thing about rats is that they can eat anything. You can feed them dog food and not have to purchase "rat" food for them.

[Sarah in FL]

We change our guinea pig cages about every 2 weeks....we probably should do it a little more frequently. But they've lived for 5+ years so I think they're doing ok. They have been good little pets for us, and the kids have done most of the work.

HTH!

[Wendi]

Rabbits need to not stay in a cage all the time; they need exercise and attention! And many rabbits will chew on things quite a lot; they need supervision and having the house "bunny-proofed".

 

They also live ten years or more; it doesn't sound like she's looking for a long-term commitment.

 

Wendi

[abbeyej]

Having been taking care of the neighbors' guinea pigs for the last week, I vote FISH. Ugh. The wee beasties stink to high heaven (and I know people who have them don't smell it, but trust me, they *stink*), they make that awful noise... Ick. Go for a fish.

[Nakia]

I second (or is it third) the rec to get a rat!! We love our rats. We have 2 females and they are so cute and so smart! Easy to care for, and like someone else posted, they can eat anything!

[Erica in PA]

I vote "no" on the guinea pig. We had one, and we *all,* kids included, were glad to give it away after a couple of years. It was smelly, and developed the anal gland problem that is so common among males-- which basically means that I had to carry the smelly thing back to the bathroom and squeeze his bottom over the toilet, or else he'd just be stuffed with, you know what. :ack2:

 

Besides that, as if that weren't enough, he wasn't an intelligent or interesting pet. He just sat there, and squeaked for food. We even tried taking him outside, thinking he might run, but nope. He sat there like a lump in the huge yard.

 

On the other hand, we had a hamster that we really enjoyed. He was at least *busy* in his cage, playing, stuffing his cheeks, arranging his bedding, etc. He was doing *something,* unlike the guinea pig. The only bad thing about hamsters is that they try to escape. But with the right cage you can pretty much avoid that.

 

Erica

[Laurie4b]

I clicked "other" to recommend a rat, too.

[Raini]

Yes, rats really are wonderful pets. Just don't buy one that's sneezing-even if the vet says it'll be OK ;)

 

Guinea pigs vary a lot in their friendliness level. We've had some that don't like to be held, and we've had some that come up to the side of the cage and seem to enjoy being held.

 

Rats LOVE interaction. I don't know if they ever get enough.

[Mama2Three]

I vote for the pig, too! We pig sat for a month -- and the pig was a much more lovable and rewarding pet than any hamster that I've ever owned. Life expectancy is quite a bit longer for the pig -- not sure whether that's a con or pro, lol.

 

One question -- what kind of dog do you have? While most would probably accept a little furry pet, you may need to be very careful when you let the pig out of his cage.