To get guinea pigs as a Christmas gift

[SaveAHorseRideAHighlander]

Fully prepared to be flamed (even if just for mentioning the C word before August!) but bear with me! My DD is 9 and has been asking for a hamster for the past few years, we've fobbed her off by saying if she keeps her room tidy until Christmas she can and she's never kept it tidy until now. I don't really want a hamster due to a number of reasons. Our DD and DS (6) both love our friends guinea pigs, are very caring with our cat and spend a lot of toke outdoors/in the garden. I have had guinea pigs before as well. So have started thinking about getting them two guinea pigs for Christmas. I'm fully prepared and willing to look after them myself (in fact it's most like a gift for me which DH has clocked on too ). They would be in a loving, responsible forever home. I'm wondering if it would a good idea to buy a hutch and essential items (hutch is a big 6ft hutch with a run attached and thermal cover) and build it and wrap it for Christmas Day, with two vouchers inside for each child saying that they can choose a guinea pig each, then take them a few days after Christmas. This is so that 1) It is less stressful for the pigs admidst al the excitement of Christmas Day, and 2) I'm not sure if reputable places would let me buy them as actually Christmas gifts. Will I be able to buy them just after Christmas does anyone know? So, AIBU to consider doing this? Thanks

You won't be able to put piggies outside in winter if they have been kept outdoors. It will be to cold even with the thermal cover. Can you get an inside hutch for them instead. Love piggies, they talk to you.

If you're fully committed to caring for them long term, I don't see the problem in gifting pets for Christmas. Personally, I think every little girl deserves to get a pony for Christmas/her birthday at least once in her life. There's really nothing like it.

Where will you keep them when it’s cold and damp? Unless the hutch has a heater fitted it will be too cold during winter.

Guinea pigs are very cute though.

We got our 3 dc piggies for Christmas one year. We manage to keep them secret. They were lovely family pets for the 4/5 years we had them. Great surprise on Christmas morning and brought lots of joy!

Aside from them needing to live indoors I don’t see what’s wrong with it as you are already aware that they are really for you . Lovely as piggies are ( my dsis has a piggie room in her house) rats make better pets for children .

Thanks everyone - I don't really want to keep the piggies indoors as the only place they could realistically be in the size hutch I'm looking at would be the open plan living/dining room which is where the cat has full access through the day and night as the cat flap is installed there. Our last piggies were kept indoors and despite being at home full time and cleaning them out frequently with daily spot checks, they were a bit smelly and the hay inside the house aggregated DH's allergy. We have a large garage that is accessed through an internal door so usually in and out most of the day as washing machine is in there too (no cars have ever nor will ever been stored in the garage) that I would be happy to house the hutch in for winter, then move the hutch outside come spring - I would leave the hutch in the garage permanently but I just think life would be a bit dark and boring in there all the time .

@TerrifiedandWorried

We got our 3 dc piggies for Christmas one year. We manage to keep them secret. They were lovely family pets for the 4/5 years we had them. Great surprise on Christmas morning and brought lots of joy!

Ooh how lovely, were they indoor piggies? How did you keep it a surprise? My parents live in the village and could be persuaded to babysit them for a few days before Christmas, they usually come to ours for a tipple on Christmas Eve anyway. Our piggies from before used to chirp when whenever I opened the fridge door

@lukasiak

If you're fully committed to caring for them long term, I don't see the problem in gifting pets for Christmas. Personally, I think every little girl deserves to get a pony for Christmas/her birthday at least once in her life. There's really nothing like it.

Haha not sure the budget could stretch to a pony otherwise I think one would be on my Christmas list

You wouldn't be able to just stick them outside in winter if they were used to being indoors so you would have to keep them inside until the weather starts warming up.

Also they live a long time...that could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you want to look at it.

Would you consider some rescue guinea pigs? If you did the vouchers and then waited to January I bet you would be able to get a pair who were abandoned by someone who were bought as Christmas presents. Our local shelter sadly always has loads coming in and so you children would still be able to choose (up to a point) as well as teaching them about caring for unwanted animals and not lining the pockets of disreputable breeders or pet shops!

Our piggies used to live outside year round but it might be a bit of a shock if they've not been outside before. Garage is a good compromise their first winter.

To answer your actual question - I think it's fine, and like the voucher idea. Just don't do what mt parents did one year on mine and my brother's birthday (we have the same birthday) - he got a guinea pig and I got a cardigan... I cried and cried.

We picked them up from the breeder on Christmas eve and brought them in after the kids were in bed. I still miss their happy wheeking when we open the fridge!

Sorry, I think it is so wrong caging any animal.
We had many Guinea pigs when my boy was younger and they had free run of the ground floor of the house. They were part of the family, had a easily accessible basket with a cover over one end near the boiler so they could go there when ever they wished or weren't watching tv with us

Saying that your Dh has an allergy,that the GPs will create a little smell and mess, and that you also have a cat tells me that this is perhaps not for you.

Yes, they are sweet little creatures, but they are living breathing creatures too, and deserve more than being stuffed in a 'far too small' box, and shoved into the garage in winter.

Maybe try it on your cat for the winter and see how it likes it!

Personally, I think every little girl deserves to get a pony for Christmas/her birthday at least once in her life.

We have 2 guinea pigs and have had them for about 5 years. They live in their outside hutch all year round and still go in their run in the garden in the winter!! It's rubbish to say they need to come inside. The hutch has a thermal cover and I also add 2 horse rugs and lots of extra bedding when it's really cold. They stay warm, happy and healthy. They don't go out in the run when it's really wet or very cold but they go out the majority of the time during the day. A friend of mine has guinea pigs too and hers live practically free range in her garden all year round with a hutch they go in when they want and are fine.
That said, mine are acclimatised to it and if you get them at Christmas and they've been living inside you will need to keep them in until it warms up in the spring.

we did that for DDs 9th birthday - hutch in a big box as the gift on the day, and then we went to the shop to get the guinea pigs a few weeks later once the hutch was built. Ours live outside & are fine, but it would be a shock for an indoor guinea pig to suddenly move outside in the winter. garage + heat lamp is probably fine.

@ConcentricCircles, you gave your Guinea pigs free run of your house? Do you live in a midden?

I'm not houseproud in any way, shape or form but given Guinea pigs can't be toilet trained I can only imagine the smell. 😳

We also have outdoor guinea pigs - they've been happily outdoors all year round for 3 years now, no health issues. Big hutch, lots of hay and extra blankets in the winter, access to run with lots of space/free range in the garden when its dry. Guinea pigs are ace!

@lukasiak

If you're fully committed to caring for them long term, I don't see the problem in gifting pets for Christmas. Personally, I think every little girl deserves to get a pony for Christmas/her birthday at least once in her life. There's really nothing like it.

I vividly remember walking my dogs very early one Christmas morning and seeing a man leading a small pony along with ribbons attached to its leather bits

I was a little teary at the time, but later saw a small girl beaming with joy being led on the pony. It actually made my Christmas, so goodness knows what it did to her

@ConcentricCircles

Sorry, I think it is so wrong caging any animal. We had many Guinea pigs when my boy was younger and they had free run of the ground floor of the house. They were part of the family, had a easily accessible basket with a cover over one end near the boiler so they could go there when ever they wished or weren't watching tv with us Saying that your Dh has an allergy,that the GPs will create a little smell and mess, and that you also have a cat tells me that this is perhaps not for you.

Yes, they are sweet little creatures, but they are living breathing creatures too, and deserve more than being stuffed in a 'far too small' box, and shoved into the garage in winter.

Maybe try it on your cat for the winter and see how it likes it!

Thanks for your post. While we didn't have a cat when we first had piggies, I have just spend a few days researching having a cat and piggies and can't see how it is a big no-no with all relevant precautions. Having said that, it would for obvious reasons not be practical to have the piggies running free range in the house. While my DH does have allergies to hay, he would not be the main caregiver and wouldn't be cleaning them out on a regular basis - I would. I don't take the treatment of any animal lightly. They would become members of the family, like all pets I have owned have.

@Jellycatismyspiritanimal

Would you consider some rescue guinea pigs? If you did the vouchers and then waited to January I bet you would be able to get a pair who were abandoned by someone who were bought as Christmas presents. Our local shelter sadly always has loads coming in and so you children would still be able to choose (up to a point) as well as teaching them about caring for unwanted animals and not lining the pockets of disreputable breeders or pet shops!

Yes definitely would, I have already looked at the website of a rescue in the next village but it says they will not Rehome to people with pets, or to anyone with a double storey hutch, instead they link to their preferred hutch option which is a 4ft single storey and looks tiny to me, especially when I have been looking at double the size. Waiting for a few weeks after Christmas to actually choose/find piggies wouldn't be a problem

@Poppyismyfavourite

Our piggies used to live outside year round but it might be a bit of a shock if they've not been outside before. Garage is a good compromise their first winter.

To answer your actual question - I think it's fine, and like the voucher idea. Just don't do what mt parents did one year on mine and my brother's birthday (we have the same birthday) - he got a guinea pig and I got a cardigan... I cried and cried.

Haha no it would be a joint gift so we should be safe My parents had piggies when we were younger and they always loved outside, but appreciate if they are not used to it it may be a shock in December xo. The garage is well insulated so seems like it would definitely be the best option for us at first xo

@TerrifiedandWorried

We picked them up from the breeder on Christmas eve and brought them in after the kids were in bed. I still miss their happy wheeking when we open the fridge!

Aww that's lovely, might still have to look at this option nearer the time

[quote WhatWouldYouDoWhatWouldJesusDo]@ConcentricCircles, you gave your Guinea pigs free run of your house? Do you live in a midden?

I'm not houseproud in any way, shape or form but given Guinea pigs can't be toilet trained I can only imagine the smell. 😳[/quote]
Guinea-Pig poop in between your toes