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LauraH3

LauraH3

Junior Guinea Pig
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I work from home as an online auto auction scout attending physical auctions two times a week which only takes up half my day. I'm also an illustrator and comic artist so I spend heaps and heaps of time at my desk working. Because of the amount of time I spend alone I’ve been looking into animals that would enjoy cuddling/sitting with me while I work. Do guinea pigs genuinely enjoy sitting with their owner for hours at a time or is it rare behavior? If a guinea pig wouldn’t enjoy spending time just sitting with me then I'll know not to pursue them as a companion as I would never want to exacerbate an animal by trying to force it to enjoy something against it’s nature.
 
Hamsters ! As well ,they will be sleeping in the day next to you at your desk !
 
jayne said:
Hamsters ! As well ,they will be sleeping in the day next to you at your desk !
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The cage will be very close to my head at night so nocturnal animals are probably a no-go for me😅. Thank you for the suggestion though! I’ll keep it in mind!
 
I work from home and have only ever got my pigs out once for a cuddle lol... and that was only cos one was needing a break from the other's humping advances :whistle:

Maybe a cat or a dog would be more suited to you than guinea pigs as they like to spend time with other guinea pigs...
 
I would maybe suggest rats. Having had them, I would say they’re like little dogs. Clean, intelligent and they bond very closely to their owners. Boy rats especially are known for being snugglers, whereas girls are more active. So a rat would be very happy to sit in a hoodie, or on your shoulder and they need at least an hour of ‘out of cage time’ a day. Full disclosure, boys rats do scent mark (leave a drop or two of wee around) but it’s not as gross as it sounds and they also tend to house train themselves, so they’ll go back into their cage to poop. Wonderful pets.

They can make some noise in the night, but then so will any small animal. Also, they giggle when you tickle their tummies (seriously, it’s a scientific fact! ☺️)

My boy Thayer used to sleep on my lap when I did my homework, or he would sit on my shoulder and groom my hair 😂
 
artcasper said:
I work from home and have only ever got my pigs out once for a cuddle lol... and that was only cos one was needing a break from the other's humping advances :whistle:

Maybe a cat or a dog would be more suited to you than guinea pigs as they like to spend time with other guinea pigs...
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A dog would be my first choice but unfortunately dogs and cats aren’t an option for me😭. I guess I’ll just have to be lonely lol😂. I really don’t want to make something work that’s not natural for the animal.
 
Fantasimo said:
I would maybe suggest rats. Having had them, I would say they’re like little dogs. Clean, intelligent and they bond very closely to their owners. Boy rats especially are known for being snugglers, whereas girls are more active. So a rat would be very happy to sit in a hoodie, or on your shoulder and they need at least an hour of ‘out of cage time’ a day.

They can make some noise in the night, but then so will any small animal. Also, they giggle when you tickle their tummies (seriously, it’s a scientific fact! ☺️)
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That’s a adorable😱😆! I’ll look into them! I’m still living with my family though and my mom is pretty adverse to mice/rats so it would be a hard seller😂
 
I know, they do still give some people the creeps!

If it helps there are loads of videos of trained rats on Youtube you could show her. There’s even one that brings tissues when his owner sneezes ☺️

If you do go for rats, make sure they come from a breeder who has handled them from birth or a rescue that handles them a lot, rather than an untouched one from a pet shop, as that will make things much easier 👍🏻
 
Fantasimo said:
I know, they do still give some people the creeps!

If it helps there are loads of videos of trained rats on Youtube you could show her. There’s even one that brings tissues when his owner sneezes ☺️

If you do go for rats, make sure they come from a breeder who has handled them from birth or a rescue that handles them a lot, rather than an untouched one from a pet shop, as that will make things much easier 👍🏻
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Definitely! I feel so sorry for pet store animals but I’d much rather have a fully grown one that needs a new home😅.
 
My first two rats were from a rescue and even though I only had them a year, they were brilliant! So gentle and fun and they just loved people. They converted a lot of my friends and family members!
 
Well done for researching in advance.
Sadly it does sound like guinea pigs might not be ideal for your situation.
I have had various pigs who offer various levels of affection, but overall they usually prefer to be bumbling around in their cage with other guinea pigs, so aren't really cut out to be companion animals for humas.
 
Swissgreys said:
Well done for researching in advance.
Sadly it does sound like guinea pigs might not be ideal for your situation.
I have had various pigs who offer various levels of affection, but overall they usually prefer to be bumbling around in their cage with other guinea pigs, so aren't really cut out to be companion animals for humas.
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Yeah I’m a control freak so I do a lot more research than the average person😅😂. And I don’t want to create a two-way bad situation. They’re are tons of great pets but they don’t always fit an inviduals needs. Thanks for letting me know!
 
The good thing with rats is, they do not really need to dig as domesticated animals, they would rather a tall wide cage to climb and sit in hammocks. So shouldn't make too much noise, if you get males, they are pretty lazy, so even quieter. I've had quite. A few rats and have recently looked after my neighbours.

I was going to mention gerbils, but they are noisy because they dig and scratch at things into the night quite a bit
 
SkyPipDotBernie said:
The good thing with rats is, they do not really need to dig as domesticated animals, they would rather a tall wide cage to climb and sit in hammocks. So shouldn't make too much noise, if you get males, they are pretty lazy, so even quieter. I've had quite. A few rats and have recently looked after my neighbours.

I was going to mention gerbils, but they are noisy because they dig and scratch at things into the night quite a bit
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They definitely sound like they might fit well for me! Thank you for the info😄!
 
I love my piggies and would do just about anything for them so naturally, I don’t force them to do anything they don’t want to do. However, when I want them to be close to me, I use food and they do climb up my legs on their own. I can also make them to walk back to their cages and etc. using food.
I use pellets because it is less messy than fruits and veggies.
 
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