WWYD - just about to adopt guinea pigs and just found out I’m pregnant after loss.

[ActonBell]

Sorry - this is a long one.

We’ve had a rough time ttc baby no 2. We were trying for over a year and had some tests but no specific problems were showing up. Then I fell pregnant and it turned out to be ectopic- it ruptured and my life was under threat. That was in January.

Coming out of that trauma we decided to focus on other things for a while. One thing we decided to do is listen to the pleas of our animal mad child no 1 (nearly 4) and get a pet. I did lots of research and decided guinea pigs would be best for us. We have all the equipment we need and a pair lined up to come to us from a rescue.

Then last week I got a bfp. We knew it was possible as we weren’t using protection but we hadn’t been paying attention to things in the way we were when we were ttc.

Looking up advice about guinea pigs in pregnancy, the advice is to have someone else look after them! I know many will have looked after guinea pigs whilst pregnant but there is a very small risk of them passing on lcmv which can cause miscarriage and serious birth defects. Lcmv is mostly carried by wild rodents and we do have an occasional rat problem. The rats never get into living areas but do get into the loft and under the floor boards. We’ve dealt with them through professional pest control in the past and we’re about to get them to come out again. The rats seem to be hard to get rid of completely.

Add to this that DH is not as onboard as I am about the whole guinea pig idea and I’m thinking this isn’t the right time to go ahead.

My rational brain is telling me that this is fine. We’ll store the cage and other bits away, make a donation to the rescue and come back to this idea some time in the future.

My hormonal brain is making me cry over (temporarily at least) depriving DS1 of a longed for pet. This really isn’t a flash in the pan thing for him - animals are his no. 1 interest and he talks about them all the time and longs for the day we can welcome a pet into our house.

I know that there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence we’d be fine with the piggies but I can’t get past my anxiety about something happening in this pregnancy, after what we went through in Jan.

What would you do? The only low/no risk animal I can think of is a fish. Should we look at this for now? Thank you!

Sorry, I have no idea about piggy care. Never had one.
Is it a similar thing to the risk of toxoplasmosis from cleaning cat litter trays?
If so, there are ways to minimise the risk.
Mask and gloves. And hand washing.
And get ds involved in piggy care as much as possible?
I would do some research, find out more about the risks and how to minimise them.
Will they live indoors or out?

They would live indoors. Unfortunately as DS is only 4, whilst I planned to get him really involved it definitely has to be us who take the lead and DH does not want to take on all the care himself.

Lcmv is airborne as well as through contact, so it’s a bit different to toxoplasmosis. So, it would be a case of masks as well as gloves, minimising time with them/shutting them away, not cuddling or holding them. And I think I’d still be anxious with all that. That’s not how I imagined this working out.

Congrats! You and DH both need to be FULLY on board before getting pets, because your child will be doing absolutely none of the maintenance and cleaning. TBH- a 3yr old will likely loose interest in a few days/weeks anyway and you will be stuck with them. (I assume you are getting at least 2)

You DH will need to clear them out if you have morning sickness or can't stand their smell- and they DO smell! Do you have a shed outside, or will they be somewhere in the house?

I'd suggest doing more research before taking this on right now. Would the rescue offer a trial week instead? Or just take DS to a petting zoo? Fish?

Sorry cross post about them living indoors. Friends had them, and despite clearing their cage sometimes several times a day, they stank! The smell was there when they'd open their front door! I personally couldnt have coped with the smell when pregnant, and couldnt go to their house for that reason. Might be different if you live there, because people generally can't smell such things themselves.

I’m not sure about the safety aspect but from the disappointed child point of view - often the pet will disappoint them as well at such a young age. When dd started réception I got her a hamster since she loved animals so much. She lost interest after about six days and I had a hamster for a shockingly long time as it simply refused to die. Kids often find small pets quite boring as they aren’t always playful and cuddly and you can’t leave young kids unsupervised with them because they’re so delicate.

Thanks. We have done lots and lots of research and I was fully prepared to take on 100% of the care if necessary as I would also love us to have a pet. I realise DS may lose interest but his love for animals has been so consistent since he could speak almost I think there’s a good chance he would retain an interest, even though he is very young.

I would never have expected him to take on cleaning but I think he could help prepare their food and water.

The issue really I guess is that DH was very happy with the plan as long as I was taking the lead but he doesn’t want to be the person doing the care ALL the time. I think that’s fair enough but not a viable option for us right now because of the risks and things like morning sickness as you mention.

Thanks @Kanaloa - this is part of the reason we’d gone for guinea pigs and worked with the rescue to find a calm pair who were happy to be handled. Yes, he’d never be with them unsupervised but we felt like guinea pigs were a good option against hamsters for the reasons you mention. GPs are not nocturnal as hamsters are.

I don't know about the risks but GPs are really low maintenance pets. So while I wouldn't recommend getting a puppy when dc2 is tiny I think it would be fine to get GP. I'm trying to say ds might not have to wait too long until you can get some

Thank you @trilbydoll

I've volunteered as a guinea pig rescue fosterer for over 10 years now and have 7 of my own that all live indoors. They are amazing little creatures and I absolutely love them but like any pet they do need time and attention every day. I don't find that ours smell but we spot clean their cages twice a day and do a full clean out once a week. Ours are bedded on incontinence sheets and fleece so urine smells are minimal. They do eat a huge amount of hay so our house generally has a trail of hay running through it.
They are very kind animals and rarely bite or scratch but they are delicate too (big bodies / tiny legs) so your son would need constant supervision whilst handling them. As if dropped or hugged too tightly then they can easily be injured, they are also prone to numerous illnesses and need careful observation because as a prey species they can hide illness until it's too late.
You're doing an amazing thing by adopting from a rescue but if you feel it's not for you because of the change in circumstances then any reputable rescue will completely understand. A lot of the rescues I help with have long term residents that due to age or health are not able to be re-homed so we run a sponsorship scheme...our of Covid restrictions then people were able to visit 'their' pigs and so maybe it might be worthwhile asking if your rescue may offer something like that. As Covid restrictions lift as well then rescues might allow you to go and help groom or interact with the guinea pigs so your son has the interaction but you don't have the full time commitment just yet.
Regarding the airborne disease then in 20 years of having guinea pigs then it's not something I've ever come across or had a vet concerned about so I'd like to hope that any risk of contracting that would be absolutely minimal.

I would wait if I were you, you'll have enough on your plate without trying to clean up after pets or supervise cuddles with a newborn on your hands. The piggies won't get as much interaction/enrichment which isn't really fair on them.

Also, we had to rehome our cat as DS1 turned out to be very allergic. This is always a risk with furry pets.

DS2 (also animal mad) begged and begged for a pet, in the end we got a leopard gecko - predictably enough a year later he isn't really bothered with it although I do make him help with the feeding and cleaning!

Thank you so much @ticktock19 - that’s really helpful. I hadn’t thought about sponsoring or possibly being able to visit them at some point. We’ll ask the rescue about that. What an amazing role you have as a fosterer!

I think a cat is the lowest maintenance pet of you get one in future. Especially if you don’t get a kitten.
No cages to clean, happy to let themselves in and out cat flap if your out, easy for someone else to care for if your away, and pretty good with children. No need to walk.

We have a 1 year old child, and 3 year old cats. One cat just ignores baby, other loves him and happy to stroked and lays around whilst he plays.

Thank you @MegBusset - yes, I worry that they wouldn’t get the interaction they need.

@Caspianberg - we would love a cat. I had them growing up. Unfortunately DH is allergic. We know he isn’t allergic to small furries like hamsters and Guinea pigs because he had those growing up.
Sometimes I wistfully google ‘non-allergenic cats’. Cats were a big part of my life as a child and a teenager and it’s so sad we can’t get one.

@ActonBell no problems, rescues (out of Covid) are always grateful for support so I'd hope that if possible your local one would be supportive of that and it also gives you chance to see how enthusiastic your son remains about them. I don't know why they've found a place in my heart but I love them. When you have them indoors then they get so much more comfortable with you too so you get to see their characters. Wishing you all the very best in finding a pet that fits in with you all and brings you much joy and happiness