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kindredspirits
19-08-2008, 06:54 PM
i want to get george a little pet - his bro and sis have a guinea pig that he keeps looking at every time we go over and its just adorable. so i was thinking either a guinea pig or a rabbit - have been told that g.pigs make better pets for young children (he's only 18 months) - we haven't got any grass in our garden just a 'weed' bed that i could put some grass seed on, d'ya think that would be ok?
i thought about a hamster but dh says they stink the house out??!

anyone elses LO's got pets?

Trouble
19-08-2008, 07:06 PM
i have three guinea pigs with such caracters and they make excellent pets they are all in together so they have to be cleaned out every 3rd day or they smell

also they eat tonnes of veg, same as rabbits but worth every penny

rascal(daddy guinea pig ) gives you kisses

and if you handle them all the time they dont bite even if they do they only nip not like some rabbits

LOOPYLISA
19-08-2008, 07:08 PM
Don.t get a hamster your hubbys right they wiff, all i ever seem to do is clean it out:angry: x

LisaH
19-08-2008, 07:26 PM
Yes guinea pigs are lovely!! Wish I still had one.

We currently have a very stroppy rabbit, 3 cats, fish and a snake!!
Snakes make great pets too but not for the very young.:laughing:
Our bunny lives in the house too in an open top 'pen'. Eats more carrots than we do in an average week.:laughing:

haribo
19-08-2008, 07:28 PM
ive got a hamster or rather my 16 yr old dd has but i have to pet it etc as shes never in. i have got attached to it its so tame but i wouldnt get another it stinks well the cage does if its not cleaned twice a week. ive a cat as well and the kids love it and she just goes upstairs if it gets too much lol. id love a dog and am researching breeds to see which is best for kids. id like a little cross breed really but want to wait till my inspection is over so im not struggling with house training when ofsted call ha ha :laughing:

Nic0412
19-08-2008, 07:28 PM
We have 2 cats and 4 rats. The rats are perfect pets for older children but not really for a wee one like yours, my 4 year old complains that their nails are too jaggy.

I have been wanting a guinea pig for ages but dp has told me we got enough lol.

LOOPYLISA
19-08-2008, 07:46 PM
We have 2 cats and 4 rats. The rats are perfect pets for older children but not really for a wee one like yours, my 4 year old complains that their nails are too jaggy.

I have been wanting a guinea pig for ages but dp has told me we got enough lol.

I used to have a rat he was lovely, when you tell people youve had one they look at you like your an alian:laughing: We also have 3 cats i mentioned the smelly hamster earlier!!!!!!! x:thumbsup:

maple
19-08-2008, 08:00 PM
I have two guinea pigs and two cats.

Guinea pigs make lovely pets. Ours aren't handle as often as I would like them to be but have never biten. lovely litle squeaky things.:)

muminamini
19-08-2008, 08:20 PM
Another Guinea Pig fan here!

We recently got two females and they are excellent - my 15 month old comes up and kisses them when we have them out. All the kids really enjoy watching them run about. We got a hutch with a staircase to a downstairs run on the grass which is a great idea.

They eat LOADS! and our two are growing FAST!

I got round my husband by saying to the kids that if they worked hard and earned their stars for a month then the treat was the Guinea Pigs.....he didn't have the heart to say no to them ! HA HA

I was worried that my cat would torment them - he likes to watch them intensley but has worked out that there is no way he can get in and so has given up!

tulip0803
19-08-2008, 08:25 PM
We have a dog, a rabbit and a rat. Unfortunately we started the year with 2 rats and 2 rabbits as they like company but lost the partners. When I was minding before I had the dog, 2 rabbits, 4 Guinea pigs, 2 rats and a hamster.

I love guinea pigs:) . They are soooo cute and funny

The rabbit we have left is a rescue rabbit unfortuately he has cost us £250 in vets bills:eek: but feel bad asking the charity for the money:( . He now has no front teeth and licks anyone that comes near.:)

lolatallulah
19-08-2008, 08:25 PM
We have 2 guinea pigs, Pinky & Dinky, they're so lovely. We've had them for 6months from tiny, they're handled every day by the kids aged from 1 upwards & no-one's ever been nipped yet!
Even the kids who are nervous around animals are confident with them, the kids love to pick our home grown carrots to feed them whenever they want.

We clean ours out every other day, not too much of a chore if all the stuff is kept near the cage, & they are out in their run every day except if it's wet.

We also have a kitten who loves our busy house as there's always someone to play with him and a warm seat to snuggle into - very easy to look after!

And finally .... for the moment ... a puppy coming in September, which I'm sure will be an absolute nightmare & quadruple my workload .... but hey chaos is my middle name !!!!!:laughing:

Let you know about that one.

nadinescott
19-08-2008, 08:33 PM
I have 2 guinea pigs(lovely), 1 hamster(cute), 1 cockateil(noisy), 2 children(messy) and 1 husband(!!!!!!!) ahahahahahah:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

miss mopple
19-08-2008, 08:44 PM
Another vote for guineas here :D

I have 2, (Pip and Squeak) and they are so sweet and easy to care for. I have them indoors in a cage at the minute as its so wet outside I worry about them getting cold outside. When they are outside they love it and have a huge hutch and run to play in.

The kids love them, and even the younger ones like to stroke them.

I have a neighbour who keeps them too, and hers are inside all the time (they have their own bedroom :laughing: ) so I wouldn't worry about the lack of garden too much, as long as they have plenty of hay and fresh veg they should be ok.

kindredspirits
19-08-2008, 09:11 PM
thanks. i was bitten by a guinea pig as a kid so i am a bit warey but then dh was bitten by his rabbit and is now scared of them!! :laughing: actually i was bitten by my hamster as well (but i was letting him lick leek and potato soup off my finger at the time!)
I think we'll take a trip to the petshop soon :eek: maybe without dh, when i mentioned it he said ' you can as long as you clean it out' - to which i replied i wasn't one of his kids!! lol

angeldelight
19-08-2008, 09:38 PM
Oh get a tortoise like my pebbles

They are soooo easy to look after and are great the kids love him already

Angel xx

SimplyLucy
20-08-2008, 05:53 AM
Have a look at this website http://www.petsandkids.co.uk/ it' really useful for going through the pros and cons of each pet.

Have a think about a small lizard for little children. They are great to watch, cheap to keep, active and exciting. Long tailed lizards are a good option and aren't expensive. http://exotic-pets.co.uk/asian-long-tailed-lizard.html

In my house we have

2 x stick insects
2 x leopard tortoises
1 x cat
1 x dog (miniture dachshund)
1 x hamster (never smelt!)
4 x gaint african land snails
1 x tropical fish tank (was 2 until one leaked though my kitchen ceiling!)

Very soon we'll also have a corn snake too.

Oh and 4 x children and 1 x DP :D

angeldelight
20-08-2008, 06:30 AM
Oh meant to say Hamsters do not smell ......... but if you leave the pet for the child/children to clean out .........

Well that could be a different story ha

Angel xx

mimo
20-08-2008, 07:25 AM
At the moment I have 2 very friendly cheeky rabbits although in the past i have had a few fierce rabbits .I have had a guinea pigs in the past but we have always prefered rabbits. We also had hamsters but they tend to be very noisey in the night ,even if they are in a different part of the house Gerbils were better as aleast they were awake during the day. Whatever you get you will need to handle it alot to make sure it become friendly and stays that way. Hope you find a pet that suits you all

Nicki L
20-08-2008, 07:28 AM
According to my sister who is a vet nurse, ginea pigs are the best for children.
I cant have one as my mum is allergic to them and she has my children every afternoon at my house - think i would be looking for alternative childcare!!!

Mollymop
20-08-2008, 08:04 AM
I will never have another hamster - they do stink, i have to clean mine out all the while and he bites!!!

Hannahlg
20-08-2008, 08:16 AM
well i have 12 guinea pigs and a cat

all the childminding children love the guinea pigs

kindredspirits
20-08-2008, 11:22 AM
we're getting a guinea pig!!! ;O) WENT to look at petcity today and they didn't have any, then wood green animal shelters popped into my mind so i've left them a message - would rather rehome an animal anyway i think! got all my cats from there when i was a kid and its a really lovely place, so we're gonna go down tomorrow and have a look. :D

Minstrel
20-08-2008, 04:05 PM
When i was a teenager i kept mice. i had 4 in all and 3 hamsters but 2 of the mice escaped:eek: mum was a bit freaked as to where they went!! They can fit through such tiny bars that consider carefully the cage u buy.
Also my hamsters never smelt but they were noisy at night chewing the bars non stop. even if they had plenty of chew food and toys they still did it! Drove me mad that did !

Pedagog
21-08-2008, 08:24 AM
we're getting a guinea pig!!! ;O) WENT to look at petcity today and they didn't have any, then wood green animal shelters popped into my mind so i've left them a message - would rather rehome an animal anyway i think! got all my cats from there when i was a kid and its a really lovely place, so we're gonna go down tomorrow and have a look. :D

I don't want to throw a spanner in the works, but most re-homing centre will not re home animals to a house with a child as young as 18 months. Worth a try though.