guinea pig?

[jadavi]

We're thinking of getting a guinea pig for the enjoyment and education of the mindees...has anyone got one? Are they easy? We have the offer of a long haired male in its own cage.
Advice appreciated!!
ja

[smurfette]

Do it do it!! We have guinea pigs dogs rabbit and hamster and have to say guinea pig is best pet for the little ones .. Will sit for hours being stroked doesn't bite or scratch and is a great size for little hands

Rabbit is scratchy and hamster is too small to do anything with except put in the ball which is fun to watch but not hands on

Long haired one might require more care I am not sure bit worth it!

[LOOPYLISA]

Do it, they are lovely, they are so friendly don't run off like hamsters :laughing:
The lovely squeeky noises they greet you with in the mornings, wish id got one sooner :thumbsup: ours is very spoilt and lives indoors :blush:

[Demonjill]

:laughing: Lisa - knew you would answer this one lol:thumbsup:

Def get guinea pigs they are brilliant. Ive had loads of pets over the years and piggies are the best.

I have 2 piggy boys just now Bailey and Duster. They are semi longhaired and i brush them once a week so you might have to brush him more but thats a fun job for the kids.

I agree they are so vocal its so sweet - mine know when the fridge opens:laughing: and when you chop anything on the board they think they are getting veg.:laughing:

[miffy]

Guinea pig fan here too! :thumbsup:

They really are a lovely pet for little ones - very gentle and they make a lovely noise when stroked.

Miffy xx

[watgem]

deinitely get one:) guinea pigs are friendly, not scratchy like rabbits, the right size for children to hold, I wish I'd let my kids have one when they were little, but we are making the most of ours now. Ofsted were fine with it too even though ours lives indoors:)

[appleblossom]

Yes. guinea pigs are the best pets for young children. Once they are used to being handled they will sit happily on a child's lap to be stroked. I have old towels which I spread on our laps for the piggies to sit on. Both piggy and child will like this even better if there are a few sprigs of parsley available:)

If I have a new child who is just settling in I find that sitting next to them on the sofa with a piggy on our laps is a great way to relax the child and give them something a little different to think about. I have also overheard mindees talking quietly to the piggies when theuy think I'm out of earshot. I'm sure they were telling their secrets.

We have had guinea pigs in our playroom for 6 years now. They go out in a run in the garden when the weather is warm enough.

However do try to get more than one. They are social animals and should not be kept singly. Although you may give them lots of your time human interaction is no substitute for one of their own kind. Have a look at the following link for more information:

http://www.erodent.co.uk/beforeyoubuyaguineapig.htm

[Penny1959]

We have 2 male piggies at our setting. They are brothers and live together. We all went to buy the piggies together and I wanted two girls and there were non available :( We like both these boy ones but were told they would hurt each other and so may not be able to live together.

We could not decide which one so brought both and agreed if they fought we would buy another cage so had one each - butso far they are fine and getting on really well.


Penny :)

[jadavi]

thanks. i ended up getting 2 males who've been together a year and are friends!! I dont like getting singles of caged species as they get lonely.

Hope it works out. Thanks for your help.
ja