Guinea Pigs - Fort Worth,TX

They can be loud... squeeling. The males can be very smelly if not neutered... recommend a female short haired... long hair requires more work. You must trim their nails once a week, no less than once every other week.

We have 2 bonded male piggies and we love them! We adopted ours from a woman who rescues and fosters them. I'd be sure to know that they are more of a commitment than a mouse or hamster, and that they require more attention than either of those as well.

Like you, I read up on them and knew what to expect and we haven't been disappointed. Feel free to Pm me about any specific questions and I'll give you more info. I think the only "downside" is that they do require some space. We made our cage out of sign board and wire racks, and it's large. When I hear about people saying that they had noisy or smelly guinea pigs I often wonder what size the cage was and how much attention they got. We change their cage on a weekly basis and don't have a problem with a stinky cage, and as mentioned we have 2 since they do like a friend. If my kids are busy and we don't give them the love they want we hear about it, but otherwise I don't think that they are noisy.

Good luck! I think a piggie (preferably 2) is a good choice for your son!

You can PM me for more information than can be contained in one post, IMO. :)

I think it's very responsible that you are asking ahead and looking at a rescue pig. Consider 2 - they are social/herd animals. I posted elsewhere that you can build your own cage (cavycages.com) and you might want to also check out cavymadness.come for beginner care tips. You also need to find a good exotics vet. The Humane Society will probably know who to recommend. Pigs can be hearty animals most of the time, but when they get sick, they are SICK. As prey animals, they hide their symptoms til they really need care ASAP. Not that I think you'll do this but it makes me want to poke people in the eye when they think small animals are below vet care.

The only reason I don't currently have pigs is that we lost 5 pets one fall and I'm not ready for more. We got another cat, but I'm not ready for more pigs. My pigs were all old (one was almost 7) and 3 were brothers, so they died around the same time. They are wonderful little critters for the right household. And, yes, my boars lived together. Most can. Don't let people tell you all they'll do is fight.

Edit re: lettuce - iceburg is full of water and has little nutritional content. Leaf lettuces and other leafy greens are fine. If anybody eats nothing but iceburg, they'll die from malnutrition. http://www.guinealynx.info/diet.html

Re: cages - cages need not be sorry places. Check out cavycages. com for some really awesome cages people have built with tons of room and cuddle cups and even "carpet" (fleece). This does not negate floor time and does not mean the pigs should be ignored.

If a pig is smelly, you need to figure out why. They should smell like warm hay. Boars will scent a new area or when showing off, but it should dissipate. If that doesn't happen, he may be impacted or have an infection. If the cage stinks, it needs to be cleaned. Don't let old food or hay linger.

We got my five year old son a guinnea pig for Xmas last year and he loves her. He named her Darwin after the movIe. We gave him the movie as well and now he sees her as more of a friend than an animal. She is really easy to care for and very quiet. She does squeak and chip and purr, but only when you are giving her attention and it is not annoying. I think it is really cute! They love veggie and we give her some green pepper everyday for Vit C.
She does shed, but we have never had a problem with smell unless her cage needs cleaning. She is very content in her cage, but will come stick her nose out for a quick scratch when you walk by and she does like to be played with too.

I would highly recommend one for your son as they are great kids pets.

If you are willing to put in the time and effort to help care for the Guinea Pig that is the perfect small animal pet for your son's age. I researched it at one time and called the Humane Society because my sons wanted a rabbit. Rabbits are only recommended for kids over age 10. Hamsters, gerbils, etc. are more fragile because of their small size. The Humane Society can give you the information you are looking for about Guinea Pigs. When I was looking into rabbits they emailed me a lot of information about their care and what I would need to do and have to be considered an appropriate candidate for a rabbit.

Oh god - guinea pigs. I used to have 17. Yes, 17 at one time.

They are not the best animals for children. As prey animals, they are naturally timid. They aren't particularly cuddly. They can - and do - develop all kinds of health problems from mites, to teeth problems, to heart problems, to ovarian cysts, bladder sludge, foot issues, etc etc.

They have to eat a very carefully balanced diet so that the calcium to phosphorus ratio of their food is balanced, so they don't develop bladder stones. They have to have special pellets, or they might choke.

<shudder>

My days with guinea pigs were dark indeed.

If you check out cavycages.com or guinealynx.com - beware of their forums. They are hung ho, die hard people there and will brow-beat you to death if you don't house & feed your pig the way they do. I know this because I used to be one of them.

Good luck in choosing a pet for your kiddo.

My daughter had one that she trained to walk on a rabbit leash.

Having an animal in a cage is just sad.
We had mice, a few lizards, a tarantula, a couple of snakes, and some parakeets.
Even my kids knew it was sad to have them in cages.... so half the time I was having to search for a boa or be shocked that a lizard was in the dishwasher.
I know we all have that urge to get caged animals while our kids are little but my DIL has cured me of that. My little granddaughter would cry if she had to keep an animal in a cage, they even go so far as to picket the circus (DIL is pretty hardcore on saving animals).
Anyway, I read your post and then just felt sorry for whatever animal is going to have to live out its years confined and had to throw in my 2 cents.
I'd stick to cats, dogs or an iguana.