Rabbits and gineau pigs, advice and experiences please!

[minxofmancunia]

Really want to get some pets for me and the dcs, dog is out, we're out too much would be unfair.

Cats are a possibility but ds is 5 monthsold and I'm paranoid about toxoplasmosis and hate the idea of cat hair all over the house.

Love rabbits and tthink gineau (sp?) pigs are cute, do they make good pets? Do they require a lot of looking after? Can you have them roaming free in the house? Will they use some sort of litter tray?

Just need some general info, any good /bad experiences of them

Hiya,
I've had both rabbits and guinea pigs, so I hope I can help. Guinea pigs, ime, will need to live in a hutch, and can't roam free in the house. They're pretty easy to look after - just need a daily clean out, food, water, petting and grooming (although on that last note, their nails can be awkward to clip) but I don't think they can be litter trained. Rabbits, on the other hand, can be trained to use a litter tray, and can roam free (google 'house rabbits'). I never personally had a house rabbit (mine lived in a hutch in the garden) but I think you put them into a cage when you go out, to avoid the destruction of your furniture, cabling etc. Again, they're pretty easy to take care of (much the same as gpigs, only with less cleaning out if they're litter trained). Lifespan wise, the average gpig will live for around 3-5 years, and rabbits can go on for 10 or more. Vets bills can be catastrophically high for rabbits as they get old and infirm (my rabbit's last illness cost us over £600) so insurance is a v good plan.
Another extra expense is vaccinations. I'm pretty sure there aren't any for gpigs, but Rabbits should to be vaccinated against myxo and hvd, and wormed against e cuniculi. It's wise to get these done even if your pet is an indoor bun, as they can come into contact with viruses and parasites on their food, or in kennels if you ever have to go away and leave them.
They both make lovely rewarding pets, especially if you put in the time when they're little to handle them and get them used to being around people. Although that last is the reason why I haven't got another rabbit since my lovely old girl died last year. I simply haven't the time, with 2 children under 5, to devote hours to handling a baby rabbit.

I have 2 rabbits, a guinea pig (had 2 up until last year), 2 dogs and 2 cats. I'm feeling lazy tonight, so I'll just copy something I posted on another topic a couple of days ago, when we were discussing this very thing!

"As much as I love them, I wouldn't have caged animals again. I used to have a horse and I would almost put them on par with that commitment wise - cleaning out daily, fresh greens every morning, fresh hay and water twice a day, checking them morning and night, cold proofing the hutch in winter, heat proofing it in summer, exercising, nail trimming, grooming etc etc - and it's impossible to get someone to look after them when you go away. Actually, scratch that, I could always get someone on the yard to look after the horse - rabbits are harder! And, as lovely as they are, you just don't get much back from them like you do with dogs or horses. I think a lot of people underestimate the amount of space and care rabbits need, and think they're the ideal pets. When someone asks me for an easy pet, I say get a cat - or a goldfish!"

I definitely think people don't realise the work involved with rabbits and how much space you need. I think people expect them to be easy because they live in a cage, but the opposite is true. All a cat needs is food, water and a litter tray (or a cat flap), other than that they're pretty self sufficient and much easier to look after IMO. Spaying, vaccinations, wormers etc are the same price for rabbits and cats, so cost-wise there wouldn't be much difference. Actually between food, greens, hay, grass, sawdust and willow toys, I probably spend more on the rabbits than on the cats!

I love guinea pigs but just to make you aware, they shed hair just as bad as cats do, and they can't be litter trained (one positive about a rabbit - they can). They'd need to be contained in a large enclosure or cage during the day for their own safety, but you can certainly let them out supervised when you're home.

We have 2 rabbits. They live in a small shed in the garden that has a 'rabbit flap' cut in the side, which lets them out to a fenced off run.
They have the run of the shed and have been trained to use litter trays, which makes cleaning them out easier.

When we are around, they are allowed free run of our well fenced garden and one of them often comes into the house, he's never made a mess anywhere and likes to take himself off upstairs to sit under dd's bed!

I know this sounds elaborate to some people, but rabbits shouldn't be kept in hutches at the bottom of the garden. When given freedom and an interesting life their characters come out.

If all this sounds a bit much, how about a hamster??

MeMudMagnet, I'm so happy I'm not the only one with a rabbit mansion, was starting to think I was the only person who's rabbits had a cat flap!

We have a housebunny who is litter-trained and does not chew anything other than her toys. When she was young she was quite chewy, but we trained her not to chew furniture. She has the run of the downstairs and will go upstairs if people leave doors open. She quite often comes upstairs to 'put the kids to bed' and stays tucked up with them for stories.

We do shut her in her cage at night but she's left out during the day even if we are out. She's great with the kids (they were 5 when we got her), although she is not keen on strangers and will attack if they approach her.

She's not particularly expensive to run and easily entertained - a football or balloon will keep her occupied for ages (funny to watch as well). I think keeping her inside has really brought out her personality. Kids now want guinea pigs as well, but we've no room to have those inside so they will be outside pets.

You are advised to buy these things in pairs but I do wonder if the fact that they have company can lead to them being a little neglected.

I wonder if it is better to have one & devote a lot of time to it?

I think they probably are better in pairs for company. Ours is an only bunny as there were 3 in the litter and the other 2 were spoken for. We do give her a lot of attention though and the one time she did meet another rabbit, she was not impressed.