Guinea Pig or hamster help needed

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countrymum
Posts: 686
Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2011 10:16 am

Re: Guinea Pig or hamster help needed

Post by countrymum »

pheasantchick wrote:We had a hamster, until fairly recently. She was cute and I was sad when she died. She was fairly easy to look after - we took her around to a neighbours's house when we went on holiday. We handled her alot as a baby so she didn't bite, unless you had just handled food and still had food smell on your hands,
Thinking of you Pheasant :cry:

I still get a little something in my eye when think of our little friend. Miss his little noises, and hammie cuddles.

Copella, good luck with your decision, although sad at his loss, have become a real hamster fan, and a great first pet for little ones. Not quite ready to get a new one yet though.
silverysea
Posts: 1105
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2011 3:32 pm

Re: Guinea Pig or hamster help needed

Post by silverysea »

We've got loads of gerbils :roll: believe it or not they actually have different personalities- I have favourite males and females and haven't really found the gender matched the personality traits good or bad.

Some like being handled, a few like being alone but usually happiest with a sibling.
copella
Posts: 1200
Joined: Thu Mar 04, 2010 3:51 pm

Re: Guinea Pig or hamster help needed

Post by copella »

Once again thank you for all of your help. You gave me lots to think about. I spoke to DS yesterday and he seemed happy with the idea of gerbils, but I think we will go to our local pet shop rather than Pets World to take a look as well before making a final decision.
silverysea
Posts: 1105
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2011 3:32 pm

Re: Guinea Pig or hamster help needed

Post by silverysea »

Try Preloved for small pets, too. Some people run rescues for them as well. We've had a couple of rescue gerbils and they were lovely.
Peridot
Posts: 2195
Joined: Thu May 16, 2013 5:02 pm

Re: Guinea Pig or hamster help needed

Post by Peridot »

Hello... Copella, if you haven't made your decision yet...we started with two female Chinese dwarf hamsters which were very cute and easy to handle and look after, didn't smell and only needed a small cage. I had gerbils as a teenager and mine bit me and also escaped when a neighbour was looking after them and chewed through half of my precious album covers and made a big hole in my rug. So not my favourite rodents.
After much persuasion by our DS we now have two female dumbo rats (yes, rats!) which are amazing - so tame, so intelligent and really part of the family. They have a huge cage and they do smell a bit but we are smitten. I'd definitely recommend the dwarf hamsters as a first pet though and see how you get on. But get the Chinese ones, not Russian or roborovski as they are supposed to be much harder to handle.
copella
Posts: 1200
Joined: Thu Mar 04, 2010 3:51 pm

Re: Guinea Pig or hamster help needed

Post by copella »

Ok i've made a list and we are going to the shops to have another look and the final one decision will be down to Ds.
bravado
Posts: 468
Joined: Thu Jun 07, 2012 11:28 am

Re: Guinea Pig or hamster help needed

Post by bravado »

Sorry to bring up an old thread...

We love hamsters and guinea pigs but don't do rodents with tails as they make us all feel nauseous for some reason :?

When we first had gp's - they were outside in summer and in our garage in the winter. However, we made the decision to bring them for a number of reasons...not least of which, was that we actually wanted a pet we could interact with. We purchased 3 indoor cages and have never looked back. They love being round us, are so much more vocal and far tamer than their outdoor counterparts. You really get to know your gp when they're indoors and you know they're safe from the elements and predators. Our current two live in the same cage and love each other very much - anyone thinking of gp's should have two as they're incredibly social animals - unlike Syrian hammies who will kill each other. We also love Syrians and dearly miss every one we've had :cry: :cry: :cry: I'll probably have another hammy but I find gp's easier to control, handle, look after etc and I adore how they talk to you :D We've rescued three gp's in the past and I highly recommend this to anyone :D
doodles
Posts: 8300
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2009 9:19 pm

Re: Guinea Pig or hamster help needed

Post by doodles »

Am looking after neighbours three guineas for three weeks this summer so I'll know where to come for advice!! Know nothing any them and don't really like anything smaller than a rabbit!! Hey ho.
copella
Posts: 1200
Joined: Thu Mar 04, 2010 3:51 pm

Re: Guinea Pig or hamster help needed

Post by copella »

Also just to update we decided on hamsters as gerbils looked too rodenty. Have the cage etc and will buy them when we get back from our hols. :D
dlb
Posts: 135
Joined: Tue Jan 10, 2012 11:49 pm

Re: Guinea Pig or hamster help needed

Post by dlb »

Hamsters are much easier to look after than guinea pigs! We have both! If you go away - give the hamster cage to someone - easy! Also guinea pigs live longer approx 5-6 years whereas hamsters up to 2 years! I do prefer guinea pigs though coz they squeak like mad when u cuddle them but more smelly and need hutch plus run and they poo for England!
Life begins at the end of your comfort zone!
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