Does anyone have a guinea pig? or two?

Hillbilly Housewife wrote: I'm looking into getting a pair of them.

I've read up on them, blah blah blah... i've bene reading up on them for a while... but I don't actually know anyone with them, so I havne't been able to gauge their personalities, so to speak.....

Does anyone have some? Are they good with kids? Are they friendly?

gr33n3y3z replied: I had them when I was a kid we had 3 of them
They never bit me.

And we watched one last year for a friend and it liked to snuggle
The rabbit and the guinea pig got a long GREAT!!!!

Crystalina replied: We had one before the kids were born. His name was Gizmo. He was a cutie but a he stunk. I had to clean the cage out all the time (I mean all the time) and if the room wasn't smelling like stinky cage it smelled like the cedar bedding.

He died after I experimented with my new food dehydrator (when they first came out). I dehydrated him some carrots and he choked to death.

hawkshoe replied: I have had many guinea pigs. I absolutely adore them. They are so cute and cuddly. They love to be held. They do require quite a bit of cleaning (probably twice a week), but I think it is worth it.

Hillbilly Housewife replied:


Ew. I had hampsters and gerbils when I was younger, and the smell of the bedding would make me GAG.

I would be getting this fluffy stuff (can't remember the name) but it's not wood shavings... and it absorbs most of the smell. That, or I'd just line the cages with fleece.

What about cages? What was yours? They need lots of room, so I'm going to be buying these grid type things that pretty much just click together and I secure them by using those little annoying plastic things...the ones that hold toys to boxes... lol

I don't mind daily maintenance. I just don't want A LOT of maintenance. Like, I don't want to have to empty the cage every day etc... but obviously feeding everyday, and cleaning up poop everyday is ok.

And Crystal - choking to death? OMG. I'd feel awful... I mean, it's nt funny, but it kinda is.

MyBrownEyedBoy replied: If you get them young and spend the time to socialize them and hold them, they make great pets for kids. But don't get an older one, I did that once and he was a biter.

hopefulmomtobe replied: We had one and it would let you hold it for a short time if you could catch it. They are real skidish, he would jump in a complete 360 if he thought you were trying to get him. They smell to high heaven too! EWWWW I dont care how much you clean out the cage....it is gross!

Crystalina replied:
Well whatever you do don't let your FIL make one out of wood! He's a carpenter so he made a huge log cabin for Gizmo. It was beautiful and big but it was wood and Gizmo chewed up whatever he could. He was working on one spot by his door that he may have gotten out of but that darn carrot did him in before his work was done.

And I agree, it's kind of funny now. DH always says that my cooking killed him. Sun-uv-a...

Have you had hampters before? They are just like a hampster except they are bigger.

jcc64 replied: I had 32 (!) guinea pigs as a kid. We started with a male and a female, and well, you know how it goes. I don't know what my mother was thinking! They do make great little pets- they are very social animals- they will greet you when you enter a room with their cute little squeals ans squeeks, they like to be held (once you catch them), and apparently, they can be housebroken. I have never attempted this, but I did read online that it is possible.
My advice- do not get 2 males- they will fight. We started with 2 males, and they fought so much that I swear one of them died because he was traumatized by being on the losing end of the constant power struggle. My mom has 2 females, and they get along fine. I still have 1 male, and I often wonder if he's lonely, but in the end, I think all he really cares about is eating. He's my little compost bin- he eats all of my apple peels, broccoli stalks, leftover salad, carrots, mangoes, etc.
We clean out his cage once a week or so, and he never gets a chance to smell at that rate. We use recycled newsprint bedding called "Yesterday's News" , can be found at your local Petsmart. It's better than cedar shavings. And I wouldn't recommend a wood hutch- they chew it and it absorbs the pee. Good luck.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: I was planning on using the corrugated plastic as a base, and just regular grid as the rest of the cage...

Yes, I've had hampsters before.

lisar replied: When I was growing up a friend had one. All I remember is we could hold it and play with it and it never bit us but man did that thing stink. I think you just have to keep them real clean.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: Totally unrelated - but did ya'll know they're a source of food in the Middle East? lol

Hmmm. Maybe I should breed em and eat em














TOTALLY KIDDING!!!!!!!

jcc64 replied: Very popular meal in South America as well. Probably not unlike a cornish hen??

Crystalina replied: