Hamster or Guinea Pig

I work at petco and they are really two little for that just yet. try a fish and gravitate a little later. you will be the one doing all the work.

Hi D.-

I understand you wanting to start small, but having had fish, birds, rabbits and dogs through the years I've found that in a lot of ways small animals are actually much more work and the kids get bored with them since they don't do much. As the others have said, I would consider a cat or even a small to medium sized dog instead.

Good luck with whatever you decide,
K.

I have had both. Guinea pigs stink!!! Hamsters tend to bite and dont smell so great either!!! That question, to me, is a toss up. If I decided to get my daughter a small animal, I would get a guinea pig. They arent known biters, have better personalities and are easier to hold.
Thats my two cents for what its worth.

Margaret

P.S. What about a cat? They are pretty self sufficient and wont smell up your home. Also, cleaning those hamster cages, as you may know, can get REAL OLD after a while.

my oldest son received a hamster cage with all the bedding, food, etc.along with money to buy a hamster with when he was 9 or 10 years old for a Christmas gift. My youngest son was 4 maybe 5 and he thought he needed one also. Well I really didn't think that he was old enough for such a small pet but my mother talked me into letting him have one. So we got them both female mini hamsters that they picked out them selves. I was very impressed how gentle and loving he was towards this tiny animal. He had his Apple for 3 years when she died and it was hard to see my son crying when we buried her in our pet cemetary but it was also the best decision I could have made. I would suggest that you get a male because female hamsters can get very mean when they come in heat. My oldest sons hamster was a good example of how mean they can be. She bit my youngest sons finger when he went to pick her up and would not let go of it. I had a hard time getting her off. The hamster had nibbled a little on their fingers but never bit to that extreme until that day. Apple my youngest sons hamster was never that way so you just never know. Then when Jake was older he got a guinea pig but she was so loud at night and so much more messy then a hamster so we gave her away and went back to hamsters. The thing about hamsters is they only live up to 4 years old but usually only live about 1 to 3 years if your lucky, so if you want it for a longer period you should start off with a baby. I prefer hamsters over pigs because they take up less space and they are not vocal like the pigs can be at night. Their both from the rodent family and if not properly cleaned and taken care of can stink. Hamsters are known to be day sleepers but if woke up they will get up and play (walk around). The pig we had was more skidish then any of the many hamsters we have had. Anyway I would get on the net and learn what you can about each animal and make my decision that way. I'm sure you will make the right one. :)

I would go with guinea pigs since you know about their care. Plus they are bigger and less likely to get lost in the house when someone takes them out of the cage without permission. (wink wink.)
I grew up with hamsters.

we are actually partial to rats, lol. But hamsters are self entertaining, but surprisingly less messy than other rodents. I had a hamster only once and it was kind of boring, but they don't run around a lot so they don't get lost as easily. And they really like their cages. Just don't leave ANYTHING next to the cage or they'll drag it in with them. But you'll prob opt for a G. pig because they're bigger.

We did not do rodents in my house!! yuk!

I have 2 cats, 2 dogs, 3 cockatiels, fish aquarium. We have always had animals. If I had my choice of one I would go with the fish. My kids had fun setting up the tank. The initial set-up is a little costly but they last!!! you don't end up with alot of babies. My friends had those problems!!

My sister had hamsters and I had a guinea pig. I remember her hamsters sleeping all day and waking her up at night because that was when they wanted to run in their wheel. Even though her hamsters we pretty nice (she had teddy bear hamsters), they also startled easily and would jump out of her hands if she wasn't careful. Luckily she was old enough (11) that she knew to hold them close to the floor or over her bed in case they did take a flying leap. My guinea pig was much friendlier than her hamsters, too.

Hamsters are nocturnal. We had a hamster for while, and even keeping it in the living room, his nighttime exercising woke everyone up. Our bird is nice. It stays in the cage and doesn't rattle a wheel all night. I'm guessing you don't like cats. I find them to be very low maintenance and loving animals.

I agree with the cat or puppy idea. They're much more fun and interactive. I'm sure you've already thought about this, but you may want to see how your kiddos interact with various animals at a shelter, or pet store, before purchasing one.

No matter how much we tried to teach him, our son (when he was three) thought the cat's tail was a pull toy! (smile.)Thankfully, we had a patient cat. Let's just say, DOGS are his pet of choice. We've had just about every pet you can imagine(birds, fish, hampsters, dogs, cats and a rabbit!) Each of our children have their favorite that seems to fit with their personality.

Good luck!
Blessings,
M.

Well personally after working in a pet store for over 6 years. I would go with a rat. :-) Yes I know... blah blah blah, I have heard it all. But in over 6 years I've been bit by over 50 hamsters, 50 gerbils, and mice galore. Now as for Guinea pigs, I've been bitten only by 2, but I just never cared for them. I've been bitten by ONE rat. Yes, only one and it was because she had babies I didn't know about. Rats are extremely smart and you can train them to go potty only in one spot. A WHOLE lot easier to clean the cage that way. They are also very loving. You can even ask the pet store to tie off the tail as soon as it is born and then you can get a rat without a tail if you would rather that. Again this is all just my opinion but I would go for a rat any day over a hamster they are to small and skittish and bite extremely hard. Good luck with whatever you decide!

Hamster's sleep in the day time. That should made up your mind right there. However neither one can give a kiss or want to play.

I would say a fish they don't need attention they are not like a hamster, guinea pig, cat or dog they all need attention. So if you work full time those animals won't get the attention that they need. So I would stick with a fish. My son is 8 and he wanted a hamster so we convinced him that a fish would be better so he went to petco and picked out a fish, bowl, and things to put in the bowl and also named it he is very happy with it.

i'm agreing with those who say FISH! Small pets need a lot of cage cleaning or else they stink very quickly. Your kids are too young to be able to do it properly, so the task will fall to you. After a couple of months of this hasssle, you will want to get rid of the pet. This will cause trauma to the kids and represent a major pain for you - WHAT do you do with a hampster/guinea pig, etc when you don't want it anymore? Although you still have to change the fish water, it's not near the hassle and the kids can help.

I think hamsters are great. We always had them when we were little. They can be very tame if handled a lot but they can bite (just like guinea pigs) if scared or mistreated. It is so fun to have transparent habitrail tubes to watch them run around in their houses - and a free-rolling ball for them to run around the house. However, they don't usually live longer than a year so you have to be prepared for that. It helped me not be be devastated later in life when larger pets died. My mom always made sure they had a proper burial in a shoe box. They are also escape artists and can often figure out how to open all kinds of cage doors. With a regular cage we always had to tied it closed with a bread wrapper. I even had one hamster who learned how to open the Habittrail tube closure which works kind of like a prescription bottle lid - he had to pull inward on it with his teeth while pushing around in a circle, but he opened it!

They are good for teaching responsibility, feeding, watering, cleaning the cage - but like guinea pigs their cage will smell if not changed often.

Hope this helps!

K..

Adopt a kitten from the pound. So many need good homes, and they come fixed and vaccinated. We have three cats and my parents have a cat and my 17 month old has already learned to pet it gently and he likes to put food in their bowls. They are easy to care for too. Rodents can bite or get lost, dropped, squished, I have had both and rabbits.

They both can bite and draw blood! I have seen them both do it! Why not a cat or dog?

My brother had hamsters when I was 4-6... I recall getting bitten quite a lot... There was one that I took out of its cage one day when I was home sick and it died (I think I was either too rough with it or it was too freaked out and got a heart attack). Honestly, I would not recommend either for a child under 9 or 10. Get something bigger and smarter (so it can bond and build trust with the children; less likely to bite).

Also, they are nocturnal. They will be awake all night and sleep during the day. So... If you plan for the cage to be in one of the children's bedroom, that child will need to be a sound sleeper in order to sleep through the chewing, next building, running the wheel, etc. sounds.

I recall hearing that certain viruses can be carried by hamsters (not sure about guinea pigs), so if you do get one, make sure its been inoculated.

My last 2 cents... Its is really hard for a small child to understand the death of a pet. You might want to consider getting a pet that has a longer life expectancy, not one so fragile or which could have a shorter life expectancy of 2-3 years... birds, fish, rodents... They can be a bit tricky to keep a live, especially during cold winter nights.

I have never had hamsters, but I have had several guinea pigs. Loved them! They all had different personalities. The bad thing about guines pigs is that they have a pretty short lifespan-only 2-3 years. Guinea pigs are harder to find in pet stores, but you only need a cage, water bottle, cedar or pine chips for the cage bottom. We also gave ours an empty soda carton so he could chew (helps with keeping teeth shorter)or a section of PVC pipe for him to play/hide inside. I did have a pair and boy do they ever reproduce-so limit it to one at a time. There are several great books available to provide information also. Good luck!

I agree, I would rescue a kitten. If you have a good place in a utility room or something for the litter box, then cats are way more interactive and rewarding than rodents. They basically take care of themselves. Guinea pigs are boring (we had two) and I think your kids would learn more from feeding and getting along with a more sentient animal. We have a cat, had her declawed, and she's a great pet for the kids.