New Friend In The Family

[Lucky]

Hey guys,

I have a daughter that is turning 9 next month and she wants her first pet, a Guinea pig. Now please forgive me because i know nothing i have never had a Guinea pig as a pet before so you might guess whats coming next. I would like some information on Is it safe for my daughter to handle a Guinea pig at 9? where is best to keep the guinea pig (indoors or outdoors)? Would it be better for me to get 2 so they have a companion? If so male and male, male and female, or female and female? Also what size cage should i be looking for? i have seen plenty of Guinea pig cages online for sale but what is a good space for them to have? I want the Guinea pig to have the best life it possibly can.

Looking forward to your reply's and i am open to any advice or information you can share with me!

Thanks guys,

 

[Swissgreys]

Firstly Welcome to the Forum.
We are a friendly bunch and you will get lots of great advice here.

And secondly, well done for researching this in advance.
It is so refreshing to see someone who is carefully thinking this through before buying guinea pigs on a whim!

I have to say that I do think guinea pigs are wonderful pets for children, as long as there is a responsible adult involved, who realises that caring for any pet needs to be overseen fully by them.
I have 2 girls - 9 and 11 - and we got our guinea pigs back in March.
The girls love them dearly and do take responsibility for a large amount of the day to day care and cleaning, BUT there are days when they forget and are just too busy, so I do need to step in. I think it is always safe to assume that getting a pet will involve additional work for you.
Bu the girls adore their piggies and get a huge amount of joy from having them as pets, and I have grown rather fond of them myself (the guinea pigs that is -I already liked the kids!).

You will receive lots of different opinions on where they should live.
Personally I think indoors in a C&C cage is a great option. This allows the kids to interact easily and regularly with them. My girls will often have a guinea pig on their lap while they read, and if the pigs were outside I know this just would not be possible, as due to the huge temperature differences we couldn't bring them inside for a cuddle during Winter.

It is important to know that guinea pigs are often shy and nervous to start with. Please don't assume that within days they will be cuddling happily on your lap.
However with time and patience it certainly is possible for many guinea pigs to learn to love lap time (not all of them do though).



A good place to start is with this thread;

" Starter Kit" Of Information Threads For New Owners

As for sourcing guinea pigs the absolute best option is to adopt a pair from a rescue.
This guarantees you will receive a pair of healthy, correctly sexed, non-pregnant guinea pigs, who are already well bonded.
If you update your profile to show where you are located you will get suggestions as to where your nearest rescue is.

Good luck - guinea pigs make wonderful pets.

 

[Lucky]

Thanks you for the reply Swissgreys!

This is a great start, all the perfect answers! To be honest i am looking forward to getting stuck in with my daughter and helping her out but it is also going to be a job for my daughter to carry out. I think indoors is a great idea both for my daughter and the guinea pigs, i will check out some C&C cages soon. And thank you for the link to the starter kit " Starter Kit" Of Information Threads For New Owners some real good information on there!

After some more research i will get back to you! Thanks again

 

[Flutterby]

Hello and welcome to the forum and the wonderful world of piggies!

 

[sport_billy]

Hello, cant add to the great links above, have a read, if you have any questions please just ask

 

[Chewie&nibbles]

Hello, I have had our two male piggies for 3 months now and they are such amazing pets. They were for my son who is 8 and they are so friendly he adores them and looks after them. I have completely fallen in love with our two they are so full of life and personality. I would highly recommend guinea pigs as pets, but like most pets the more time and love you give them the more you give back

 

[Lucky]

Hey guys,

I have a daughter that is turning 9 next month and she wants her first pet, a Guinea pig. Now please forgive me because i know nothing i have never had a Guinea pig as a pet before so you might guess whats coming next. I would like some information on Is it safe for my daughter to handle a Guinea pig at 9? where is best to keep the guinea pig (indoors or outdoors)? Would it be better for me to get 2 so they have a companion? If so male and male, male and female, or female and female? Also what size cage should i be looking for? i have seen plenty of Guinea pig cages online for sale but what is a good space for them to have? I want the Guinea pig to have the best life it possibly can.

Looking forward to your reply's and i am open to any advice or information you can share with me!

Thanks guys,

Firstly Welcome to the Forum.
We are a friendly bunch and you will get lots of great advice here.

And secondly, well done for researching this in advance.
It is so refreshing to see someone who is carefully thinking this through before buying guinea pigs on a whim!

I have to say that I do think guinea pigs are wonderful pets for children, as long as there is a responsible adult involved, who realises that caring for any pet needs to be overseen fully by them.
I have 2 girls - 9 and 11 - and we got our guinea pigs back in March.
The girls love them dearly and do take responsibility for a large amount of the day to day care and cleaning, BUT there are days when they forget and are just too busy, so I do need to step in. I think it is always safe to assume that getting a pet will involve additional work for you.
Bu the girls adore their piggies and get a huge amount of joy from having them as pets, and I have grown rather fond of them myself (the guinea pigs that is -I already liked the kids!).

You will receive lots of different opinions on where they should live.
Personally I think indoors in a C&C cage is a great option. This allows the kids to interact easily and regularly with them. My girls will often have a guinea pig on their lap while they read, and if the pigs were outside I know this just would not be possible, as due to the huge temperature differences we couldn't bring them inside for a cuddle during Winter.

It is important to know that guinea pigs are often shy and nervous to start with. Please don't assume that within days they will be cuddling happily on your lap.
However with time and patience it certainly is possible for many guinea pigs to learn to love lap time (not all of them do though).

View attachment 55758

A good place to start is with this thread;

" Starter Kit" Of Information Threads For New Owners

As for sourcing guinea pigs the absolute best option is to adopt a pair from a rescue.
This guarantees you will receive a pair of healthy, correctly sexed, non-pregnant guinea pigs, who are already well bonded.
If you update your profile to show where you are located you will get suggestions as to where your nearest rescue is.

Good luck - guinea pigs make wonderful pets.

I found all the information that i need from the link you shared! I just want to say a quick thank you to everyone on here for helping me out!
great forum great people!

 

[Swissgreys]

I found all the information that i need from the link you shared! I just want to say a quick thank you to everyone on here for helping me out!
great forum great people!

I am glad it was helpful - the forum really is a fantastic resource.
Although I have owned guinea pigs before, so much has changed and I really learnt a lot on here.
Can't wait to hear what happens with your guinea pigs. Don't forget to let us know.