Should I get a guinea pig?

Question

My mom wants a dog, my sister wants a cat, I (originally) wanted a snake, and my dad doesn't want another animal in the house. (We have a dog.) Somehow we narrowed all the choices down to a guinea pig.

Answer 1

Guinea Pigs are great pets. I have 3 of them (plus a cat and 2 dogs. we live in a zoo LOL : o). They all have their own special personality. They don't bite just to bite. The only time one of mine bit was because my daughter was feeding him a piece of parsley that got to small to hold and he bit her eating it. It wasn't a bad bite either, just like a paper cut would be. Just make sure you are prepared for one. They need a fairly large cage so they have room to move around, and they need a diet high in vitamin C because they can die of scurvy. They are unable to make their own vitamin C. You can feed them lots of different fruits and veges, just not iceberg lettuce. It's toxic to them,. I feed mine oranges, apples, seedless grapes, carrots, kale, parsley, & peppers. Make sure you get them pellets fortified with vitamin C too. They also need a good hay to eat. They sell it at the pet store. Don't feed them alfalfa hay because the calcium can build up in them from it and give them kidney stones. We feed mine Timothy hay. They love to be around people and held and cuddled. They have a sort of purring noise they make when you pet them. I love mine and everyone that is around them learns what great affectionate pets they are. Most people think they are like hampsters or mice, but they aren't (not saying hampsters and mice are bad, I had those growing up too) They have, in my opinion, more personality. They really do love you if you treat them right. Just like a cat or dog would. One other thing is for bedding, never use pine or cedar, it hurts their respiritory system. There's all kinds of different bedding you can use, I use a mix of Aspen (no aromatic oils in it) and Critter care (it's recycled paper you can get in in a bunch of colorsafe colors too).
There's lots of info on the internet about them. All I can say is our guinea pigs are a big part of our family. And they are pretty easy to care for. Just change their cage every week, like you would a litter box for a cat, and gives them loads of love, and I think you will be happy with it.

Answer 2

Just be patient with them. It can take a while for guinea pigs to get used to people. I've had my guinea pigs for about 4 months now and they still run away from me and hide when I come into the room. If I sit still in there though, they will eventually come out and be normal. I take mine out for about half an hour to an hour for cuddles and they get an hour or more of grass time pretty much every day, so just keep doing what you're doing, but if you want to see faster improvement in their behaviour, take them out for longer periods of time and include them in your daily routine. They're called guinea PIGS for a reason! You can try to litter train them if you have the patience for that. There are many websites and YouTube videos that can show you how to do this. That might help cut down on the mess. I've just come to the conclusion that that's what they want in their cage, so just let them do it. I'll place their boxes and hideys the way I want, but the next day, they've moved them all and it's a pigsty in there. :D I don't know about windex. I use vinegar to clean my cages. It's natural and there's no chemicals in it. I also sometimes use dishwashing detergent. But whichever one I use, I make sure I rinse it off really well, just in case the piggies can get sick from it. Bedding is a personal preference with guinea pigs, I've found. I use fleece bedding and find that it works really well for me, but I know guinea pig owners that use wood shaving and CareFresh and all sorts of other stuff that they swear by. You could try Aspen shavings and see if it makes a difference in your cage. Good luck with everything!

Answer 3

My daughter is 6 yrs old and we got her a *piggy* for her 5th bday and she absolutely loves the G.P! As long as you hold it and play with it frequently so it is used to being handled you shouldn't have probs with biting. Yes the thing does poop pretty frequently ours does the deed in one corner of her cage so we can scoop that out daily or even every other day and put a little new bedding in- then weekly change the whole litter. We use this odor absorbing recycled paper kind of stuff that can be bought any where they sell small animal bedding/litter.

I would suggest getting a G.P. because they are a lot of fun- they make numerous different squeeks and whistles and chatter/talk that you get to know what each sound means. The GP almost purrrs when my daughter holds it- she knows who her *momma* is! lol

Good luck! I think it's a great idea for a pet since it doesn'thave all the requirements that go with having a dog and some other pets.

Answer 4

Guinea pigs are great pets. They are easy to handle, friendly and cute. They do need cleaning out fairly regular, every day or two is possible, they also get lonely so really need a companion. Better to get two if you can, of the same sex unless you want a lot more. You can keep two males together as long as you get them fairly young, preferable from the same litter, and don't let them come into contact with any females. Even the smell of a female can set them off, then they will fight and it can get nasty.

If you think you can take care of one, get one, they are lovely.

Answer 5

Sure, get the guinea pig. ^^ but a word from the experienced, only get ONE guinea pig. we started off with four and finished with 23. :s
They smell a little, and some of them molt a lot, and the *eeet* noise they make is kinda annoying, but i lamb them. ^^

Answer 6

Sure,
They can be great pets. They make noise however, make sure you research before getting a guinea pig. I think the fluffy ones are cute.

Answer 7

Get a rat....It is a cat/dog/guinea pig all in one. It lives in a cage so it won't bother your Dad.

Answer 8

I don't think you should get it jsut because it's the only pet you *can* get.

However, if you do decide to get one, make sure you research beforehand and learn all about how to care for them and what to expect, so you know what you're getting in to.

Answer 9

but a guinea pig bites you sometimes and it poops every where.

Answer 10

sure if you don't mind the sounds they make