A pet?

[WyrdSista]

We have a 10yo, a 5yo and DTs aged 4.

They are quite mature for their respective ages and love animals. DSD (10) regularly looks after her friend's chinchillas and she does their care completely- she checks them, plays with them, feeds, cleans out and so on. In the summer, this can be a four week stretch. We already have tropical fish. She and the DC are still in love with them despite having them for eight months, and they all remind each other to feed them and DSD can clean them out, with the younger DC helping a bit. The DTs made a sign for them which they turn over to show if the fish have been/haven't been fed, for example.

As it is, DSD is desperate for guinea pigs. We would probably have indoor guinea pigs if we got them. We have space, time and a garden for them to go outside in warmer times. If they became bored (and, as DSD becomes a teen/more like one, I know this could well happen) we would be able to support them, and the younger DC would hopefully still be interested.

A friend of mine is a breeder of guinea pigs. They have won prizes (was a bit hmm about guinea pig competition/prizes!) and are generally well respected. We could get the guinea pigs from her for a discount, and she has large cages which we could also get at half price.

Essentially, I think we'd have ended up getting them a pet ANYWAY, whether it was Christmas or not. If right now it was, for example, August, I'd probably be planning on getting them too. If we did it, the plan would be to get the cage and everything set up, and getting the guinea pigs from my friend on Boxing Day or a couple of days later (my friend suggested this) because it will probably mean a quieter and calmer day, which is obviously necessary for the guinea pigs.

Wwyd?

I bought DD guinea pigs for Christmas when she was about 4 - really they were for me, lol, she stroked them and helped feed them...but I looked after them really.

The issue with pets for presents is people getting them on a whim and then not being prepared to look after them - getting planned for family pets and disguising them as presents isn't the same thing at all.

Your breeder friend would be a good bet because then you'll know the guineas have had a good start and you can see the mum/dad.

Does she breed 'fancy' breeds? The more fancy a guinea-pig is, the more complicated its care.

We have a 3yo smooth boar (his brother pig died in July) and a piglet of 18 weeks who is now bigger and heavier than his older cagemate.
New pig is (I think) a Rex. Your friend might have these? (They are lovely)

It would be better if she can hang onto them until after the 25th.
They could Skype on Christmas Day

Come over to SuperFurryAnimals to chat Piggies.

And you won't need a "Fed/Not Fed" sign for them. They'll let you know

Just to say dont think of chinchillas unless you want them for 30 years (i didnt realise they live so long when I got one for my son aged 8.. ( he's 24 now - the Chin still alive and still very lively though he has now gone to a better home )

No way are we having chinchillas! Her friwnd's ones are cute but not for us. They're so fast though- when they're still, they look slow and fluffy. As soon as they're on the move, they're like lightning?

The guinea pigs would be Abyssinians. I will get myself over to Super Furries to plan. I'm quite excited

Wow how exciting :)
You sound like you have already done all the soul searching and practical planning you should do before getting a pet so.......
If I was you I would go for it. Set the cage up, bedding, food, water etc and pop a photo of the pigs inside with a little note saying they can't wait to meet her but "because they are not old enough yet they cannot come home until Boxing Day (or whenever)" the last thing you all need is new pets in the house on Christmas Day.
Wrap the cage up with a big bow and sit back and watch :)
I also love the idea of Skyping the guinea pigs :o

I would normally say pets for christmas is a bad idea, but your plans sound absolutely fine.

Remember your piggies will need quiet time to settle in on the first day without too much noise or handling.

We got our puppy at Christmas which is exactly what everyone says not to do, but it was perfect. We were spending time on our own as just our family, had two and a half weeks at home with no work or distractions. It was perfect (apart from the fact it was winter in Canada and bloody freezing doing puppy toilet trips into the garden at 5am in knee deep snow!).

I think the whole 'kitten in a box with a bow as a surprise' is a very bad idea, but your plan sounds great.

I think your plan sounds great. My only word of caution would be that, in my experience, guinea pig aren't the most sociable of pets. We had two indoor guinea pigs and they didn't like being handled really. Rabbits, however, are brilliant pets. They sit on you and snuggle up like a cat does. They are also very easy to litter train. Good luck which ever pet you get. Pets are brilliant for teaching children responsibility and i am sure your children will get so much out of them x