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Original poster

Would you or wouldn't you.....

31 replies

chatee · 08/07/2006 20:32

I have a 5 year old dd(soon to be 6)who would really love a pet-"a proper pet Mam something we can cuddle and love and hold not like the fish.."-
it can not be a cat(dh seriously allergic), nor a dog as we don't have the space indoors or the time for long walks
dh and i had a rabbit but had to leave it with our last neighbours as we moved to a new property with no fences...
so the option is a (well two)guinea pigs(as we also have a ds aged 2)which could have a run attatched to the hutch so they would have free roam outdoors whenever they wanted and also be safe(as there are numerous cats around here)

so what do you all think?? am i mad or have i given in to the whine of dd"but mam i am the only one in my class without a pet"(hence why we bought the fish last year)
it doesn't help that most of her class live on farms
advice please before tomorrow if possible(as i will need to work on dh when he gets in)as the local pet shop has some females going on display tomorrow...
Thanks

OP posts:
lewsmummy · 08/07/2006 20:42

What about a house rabbit. Apparantly u can train them to 'go' in cat litter and they don't need walks. Or is that still a space issue?

Original poster
chatee · 08/07/2006 20:42

I have a 5 year old dd(soon to be 6)who would really love a pet-"a proper pet Mam something we can cuddle and love and hold not like the fish.."-
it can not be a cat(dh seriously allergic), nor a dog as we don't have the space indoors or the time for long walks
dh and i had a rabbit but had to leave it with our last neighbours as we moved to a new property with no fences...
so the option is a (well two)guinea pigs(as we also have a ds aged 2)which could have a run attatched to the hutch so they would have free roam outdoors whenever they wanted and also be safe(as there are numerous cats around here)

so what do you all think?? am i mad or have i given in to the whine of dd"but mam i am the only one in my class without a pet"(hence why we bought the fish last year)
it doesn't help that most of her class live on farms
advice please before tomorrow if possible(as i will need to work on dh when he gets in)as the local pet shop has some females going on display tomorrow...
Thanks
have posted this in other subjects by mistake as well

OP posts:
Original poster
chatee · 08/07/2006 20:42

oops...

OP posts:
southeastastra · 08/07/2006 20:43

rabbits are great, but i'm biased because i love them so much, how about a hamster?

Twiglett · 08/07/2006 20:48

house rabbit = a rabbit you let roam around the house that makes the place smell and chews wires

Original poster
chatee · 08/07/2006 20:50

no don't really want another pet in the house but we have quite a large back garden that i think would be ideal for the size of guinea pigs in a run

OP posts:
lewsmummy · 08/07/2006 20:51

That sounds like dogs too twiglett, mine anyway.

southeastastra · 08/07/2006 20:52

there was a guinea pig expert around here the other night, gemtubs

lewsmummy · 08/07/2006 20:52

I've heard rats are good pets. I used to have a cute little white mouse

Toothache · 08/07/2006 20:52

Twiglett - My house rabbit still had a hutch! But it was a plastic indoor hutch that was very easy to clean. He was allowed out for an hour in the morning then out for most of the evening.... but always supervised!

...besides, his chewing medium of choice wasn't wires... it was walls!

Twiglett · 08/07/2006 20:54

guinea pigs runs need to be moved around the garden

but I think guinea pigs are a good bet

I say this as someone who doesn't have any pets at all .. apart from DH and kids of course

expatinscotland · 08/07/2006 20:57

guinea pigs are sooo cute. they make that adorable squeak.

southeastastra · 08/07/2006 20:58

rabbits are better!

Twiglett · 08/07/2006 21:02

and of course, if you get fed up of it stinking and chewing your wires, they make a nicer stew

southeastastra · 08/07/2006 21:04

there you go!

Original poster
chatee · 08/07/2006 21:05

i was thinking of getting a hutch with run underneath as a basic home for them and allowing them to have free roam of the garden when i can watch them...what do you think??

thanks for the replies so far....

OP posts:
Twiglett · 08/07/2006 21:11

had a guinea pig when I was a child, crow picked it out of the garden and dropped it in next door's garden .. broke its neck

you can't give guinea pigs free rein .. won't work

southeastastra · 08/07/2006 21:13

if you have a hutch with a run as well that will be ok, they are quite expensive but really great.

twiglet poor guinea pig, ours got eaten, along with the rabbit by a fox when i was little. we kept it in a big pen without a roof.

Original poster
chatee · 08/07/2006 21:18

aaghh twiglett that's awful but thanks for the warning, have just found a link from the pets section on mn and i'm busy reading....
they look so cute...

OP posts:
divamummy · 08/07/2006 21:45

horse?

Squarer · 08/07/2006 22:34

You might find this a useful site.
You can be allergic to them though. Perhaps have DH tested first if his allergy to cats is serious???
DPs used to have free rein over the garden, on a permanent basis. They used to have a big hutch with central heating for winter (a 40 watt lightbulb in a cocoa tin!)

brimfull · 08/07/2006 22:39

i love guinea pigs

at a crow picking one up,what a sight that would have been.

god i can't help laughing about it now

Original poster
chatee · 08/07/2006 22:44

thanks for the link squarer, i was just off to bed but will have to look now
dh not to keen atm but dd has even said if she can have a pet she doesn't want a party!!!!

OP posts:
notagrannyyet · 08/07/2006 22:57

Rabbits are great for kids.We've had several and I've been told they make good house pets,but ours have always lived outside.
Guinea pigs are OK but they 'squeak' a lot.
At the moment we've got...
Mice- Very friendly but smelly no matter how often you clean them out!
Hamster-Has eaten curtains, makes lot of noise at night, and ours bites.
Gerbil-OK nice little pet, easy to handle. The only problem is it eats through everything.We keep ours in the old fish tank.

LadyTophamHatt · 09/07/2006 08:51

We have 2 guinea pigs and the kids LOVE them.

The only thing I would say is that the only probelm with a hutch and run combined is that you'll never get to pick them up. They'll get really skitty and nervous withot ALOT of handling.
Also they'll eat the grass down to the mud so you'll need something that can be moved around.

My SIL's friend had a guinea pig hutch like this and they could never catch them. A fox got them in the end because they couldn't catch them to get them in at night.

Twig, I'm shocked at your crow story. We've got an enclosed run for ours but also a larger one without a "lid". I don't think we'll use it again as the seagulls here are bloody monsterous and could easily take one.