Which animal makes a better pet: a guinea pig, rat, ferret, or chinchilla, and why?

Answer 1

Out of all of those i will put them in this order:

Rat...because they are the smartest and make great pets, although you will always get one or two with it's own stuck up persona, so be ye careful(smile). They are easy to deal with, but they really do make a mess when having to clean.

Piggies... they are so cute and completely trainable, , our can fetch, comes when called, gets happy to know we are home, follows us around the house and yes even cuddles up to listen to bedtime stories with the children. but they do make a big clean up mess as well, we clean her cage daily. SO it can get costly.

Ferret: although these guys are SO much fun, and adorable, they are only and bad,lol they are sneaky, steal everything not nailed down and love to bite bite bite, sometimes on purpose, sometimes not(all animals bit though). The upside is you can little box train them, so there isn't that much clean up, but they have to have space to run jump and play, so no small cages for these fellows. your start up cost for them will be greater.keep little baby fingers away from them as they love to nibble, i had a foster daughter who was taken away because her father ferret bite her little pinky off... so be careful.

The Chilla: i say not, they are SO fragile and because they are, it makes it hard for you to love on them, handle them. if their are small children, one good squeeze and it's over, you drop them from a high distance, ti's over. I know lots of people with them, but i say it's a no no.

All of these animals, no matter what you do, DO NOT buy pine shavings for them, yes it's cheap, but it will make them so very unfairly sick. All of them have to have toys, except for the rat, they don't' really care and would rather play with you instead.

Answer 2

I have never owned a ferret or a chinchilla, but I don't like the smell of ferrets. I think they would make a good pet with the right training, etc. But I don't think I could get over the musky odor. Chin's are high maitenance. They are still relativly new to the pet market, so I would think it would be difficult to find a vet for them. Guinea pigs are great pets for children, they don't do a whole lot. I had one, and they are very nosy and not very interesting. She did like to cuddle though, and was very sweet.

I do like rats, a lot! I have 9 right now, and would recomend them as a pet. They are somewhat fragile, so they are not good for really young children. With the work I've done with them, a young child who is able to understand how to hold and touch a rat, they are great pets. Rats are highly trainable (will use a litter pan, can walk on a leash, do tricks) and are highly adaptable to your routine. If you are home during the day, they will be more than happy to play with you then, where as a hamster or gerbil wouldn't be because they are so highly nocturnal. Rats do prefer night time and early mornings, but they love their people so much that they will make time for you whenever. Rats learn their names quickly and will come when they are called.

Make sure to get a well socialized ratty though, as those found a pet stores can sometimes be not friendly (because they haven't been handled much and because they are doomed to become someones lunch!). I have done some rescue with rats at pet stores, but this should be done by those who have some experience with rats, not a first timer.

Check out the following links:
Good luck in choosing your new pet!

Answer 3

Depends on what you are looking for in the pet. Ferrets are very active and take a lot of dedication- lots of time outside of the cage and can be expensive to take care of. Chinchillas have a lot of very specific requirements in temperature and most people can not accomidate that in their homes (we're talking a seperate AC unit just for the chins). Guinea pigs require less daily interaction and are good pets in general. Rats are very smart and sociable. They love out of cage time with their owner, but can cope if you aren't able to spend every second with them. They should be kept in at least pairs and make good pets.

Any small animal will have some expenses- caging, good bedding (as above- no pine or cedar!), good food and above all else- vet care. Just because the animal didn't cost much doesn't mean it will be cheaper to care for overall.

Answer 4

Chinchillas are pretty good pets. If you liked your rabbit, you'll like a chinchilla. The only thing is that they're much faster than a rabbit and they love to jump and run, etc... Oh and by the way, like you said, if you don't clean up after them, yes, they are smelly. But of all the pets you've already had, a chinchilla is going to be the LEAST smelly. If you can deal with having a rat and hamster smell, there's no doubt you can deal with a chinchilla.

Answer 5

I would say a guinea pig. Here is why:
1. rats are highly inclined to nip, may carry disease, and chew threw cables.
2. Ferrets smell and their bites really hurt.
3. If a chinchilla gets wet, it's fur is so dense and soft that it will never dry and the chinchilla will get hypothermia and most likely die.
4. I have owned 2 guinea pigs. The teach responsibility. They may not do to much, but they do love to cuddle. If you are pickingf a guinea pig, see if it has been handled by one worker or person often. If so it will not make a good pet. They are also not good for people with allergies. My daughter went to Petco once with girl scouts and got to handle one. it was later purchased by us and grew highly attached to her.

Answer 6

first of guinea pigs are LOUD day and night and if they get comfy in your lap they WILL pee(my ex-boyfriend had one and my husbands sister had one who died recantly of old age she had him for 5 years and the other owners???) rats can be loving and aggresive i have owned 4 and my first was decent my 2nd a monster my 3rd the best pet EVER and my 4th the devils rat. so they are ok i guess. chinchilla i don't know about but ferrets OMG i love them to bits. my 2 are awesome. my husbands is a stubborn but loving male and my female is a doll she knows a few tricks play dead and lay still are the ones she does good(which is a big deal for a feisty ferret). they have tons of play things for them and NO they don't bite well hard my 2 bite like puppies in play mode. but it is true none of the above should have pine or ceder bedding i use recycled paper i think the brand is Care Fresh and to be honest ferrets once litter trained don't really need bedding just somthing to sleep in like an old tee shirt or blanket but they do require lots of attention and interaction. check these sites for more info on ferrets ferret.org; essentialferretguide.com; ferretfacts.com and ferretuniverse.com to name a few (i have tons on my faves list)

Answer 7

Guinea pigs are fat and boring.....ferrets are extraordinarily fierce, and will chew through everything, including your oven....I've heard rats make nice pets, and are pretty active. Don't know enough about chinchillas. From experience I can say don't get a pet unless you've researched it fully, so don't rely on Yahoo! Answers.

Answer 8

I would have to say rats as they are the most intelligent, closely followed by ferrets.
Only wild rats carry diseases, pet rats dont. They are less likely to bite than any other rodent and if they do bite, it might hurt but it rarely breaks the skin and rats dont hang on like other rodents. You can teach rats different tricks and I think there is nothing cuter than watching a group of babies playing or a group of them all cuddled up sleeping together. Its a myth that rats have to chew things. They grind their teeth to keep them from overgrowing. I've never heard of a rat chewing through cables, chewing through a plastic cage base yes, but not cables. Some rats(usually females) have a "thing" for chewing through plastic cages, but thats easily solved with metal cages. Its not the norm though. Rats have such unique personalities, there is nothing like them.

Answer 9

i would say a ferret. they are not fierce, unless you find one in the wild. They are sweet. and love to play. they love company. they remind me of a cat, so curious. a guinea pig, rat and chinchilla are like hamters.

if a rat bites you, you will bleed. if a ferret bites you, nothing happens. it will never pierce the skin.

Answer 10

For kids or adult?
for adults i would say whatever you feel you like best......for kids i would say guinea pigs.
I`m not a big rat fan ferrets i herad are not so good for kids because they will bite quickly if they don`t like something,and chinchillas they sleep the whole day its not fun for kids.