Should I try again

[Laurafran]

Hello group,

After thinking it over we decided to adopt guinea pigs. I know they stress easily so we were very careful but one of the piggies 2as bleeding when we got home and died after 24 hours. Afraid the same would happen to the other one, who didn't look so great and wasn't eating, we have her back.

The store owner gave me an iou for two piggies and told me to think about it. So we're thinking, and doing more research. We have two boys ages 4 and 6. They have a lot of energy but they know to respect animals and plants. In the time we had the piggies they didn't have any interactions. They will be respectful and careful with the piggies, but they'll also be playing around the house and I don't want them to get scared.

We don't have grass at home yet but we're moving to a bigger house at the end of the year. We were thinking about getting bunnies once we have the big yard.

Should we try again? Maybe an older Piggy? Or we should wait a few years until we have a quieter house?

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry for the loss of your piggy. It sounds as if she was already poorly when you got her home.

The choice needs of getting more needs to be yours, but its great you’re going to give it some more thought and research.
There’s nothing wrong with having piggies while you have young children but you need to get piggies for yourself because you want them, not for your children, and that you are prepared for the commitment and work involved. Piggies aren’t suitable pets solely for children (neither are rabbits) as mostly they don’t like being handled, and children tend to lose interest.

Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides
Are Guinea Pigs For Me? - Wannabe Owners' Helpful Information

Do note though that rabbits are, in some respects, harder work than guinea pigs for a variety of reasons but notably because they require considerably more space than guinea pigs do (rabbits requiring an enclosure measuring a minimum of 60 square feet).

 

[RuggedCross]

I, personally, have never had a problem with transporting my little guys. You may have gotten unhealthy ones that medically couldn't handle the stress or, that may have been new arrivals and still stressed when you got them.
I don't usually buy from a store but, on the rare occasion that I do, I look for animals that appear comfortable and healthy. This helps to ensure that they have not been recently stressed. It also gives you a chance to observe how they get along with others and/or humans.

With that said...
Considering your recent experience, I would wait until you are settled in after the move. This will reduce stress on you and your new pets.
I assume that you're planning to return to the same store.

I wouldn't stress too much about the activity level in your home. I have 5 very active children. The main concern is to teach EVERYONE to give the piggies their space. It can be tricky to socialize Guinea Pigs in an active environment but it can be done. You just need to do your socializing when the environment is as calm as possible. Gradually combine socialization with activity levels. Fear is the worst enemy of socializing rodents. If they have fear or sense fear in the human handling them, they will react accordingly.

Provide your piggies with a shelter (or house) within the enclosure. This helps reduce fear response from human activity because it gives them a place to feel hidden and protected.
My piggies do just fine with my three year old with adult supervision.

 

[Laurafran]

I’m sorry for the loss of your piggy. It sounds as if she was already poorly when you got her home.

The choice needs of getting more needs to be yours, but its great you’re going to give it some more thought and research.
There’s nothing wrong with having piggies while you have young children but you need to get piggies for yourself because you want them, not for your children, and that you are prepared for the commitment and work involved. Piggies aren’t suitable pets solely for children (neither are rabbits) as mostly they don’t like being handled, and children tend to lose interest.

Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides
Are Guinea Pigs For Me? - Wannabe Owners' Helpful Information

Do note though that rabbits are, in some respects, harder work than guinea pigs for a variety of reasons but notably because they require considerably more space than guinea pigs do (rabbits requiring an enclosure measuring a minimum of 60 square feet).

Yes! I definitely take on the entire responsibility of caring for the pigs. I can use the experience to teach my kids to care for a pet, but I don't count on them actually helping.

The idea of having rabits is reserved for when we move and have a big yard for them to move around. I wouldn't get them right now because we can accommodate them the way we should.

 

[Freela]

Not sure where your piggies came from, but that's not at all typical... I suspect there were some serious underlying issues. I'm sorry your early experience was so negative. As to whether to get more pigs, I think that depends. I'm also a parent (although my kids are young adults and teens now), but we started keeping guinea pigs when the kids were 6, 4, and 2. Guinea pigs can co-exist with small children, they will adjust to the noise and activity and as long as they are properly supervised, kids can be taught to interact safely with guinea pigs. That said, my advice both as a parent and as a pet-owner, is that you shouldn't get a pet for your kid that you wouldn't also want if you didn't have kids. You will end up doing most of the pet maintenance work yourself, but it's more than that... pets need people who are committed to their wellbeing and happiness and so on. They have to be family pets that you also care about. I would also make sure, since you mention potentially having rabbits in the future, that you don't REALLY want rabbits instead. If what you really want is rabbits and the guinea pigs are kind of to tide you over until that is possible, I would hold off and get the rabbits that you really want in the future instead. You could have these guinea pigs for 5 to 7 years, so make sure they are actually the pet that you want before you jump in! Hope this helps a bit, and good luck with whatever pet you choose in the future!