Please advise on which small pet to get

[Stickingrighthere]

DD is very keen to get a small pet. She is six, so I know that in actual fact it will be me getting a small pet and doing the majority of the care. We have a dog but I think she craves something that will be seen as more hers and whatever pet we get, she will help me and enjoy- but will be my main responsibility.

I have been reading the threads on here to gain more insight into which pet might be best. I've noticed that overwhelmingly, most people say guinea pigs tend to make the better small furry pet, with rats also being a close contender. Hamsters and rabbits appear to be less successful for many.

While I would tend to agree with this in some ways, I am not sure it applies to our own situation and wondered if you could advise. We are deciding between guinea pigs or a hamster as DH really not keen on rats and need to respect that too.

*Space- a lot of people seem to bring guinea pigs inside- either all the time or at least when it's cold. We have a small house- no utility room or anything like that and our outbuilding is not suitable (no windows). Guinea pigs would definitely be in a hutch most of the year (apart from cuddles) but when brought in, I wouldn't be happy with a cage in the lounge (tiny) so any indoor cage would be in DD's bedroom most of the time but obviously coming out for cuddles. I am thinking this is may not be sociable enough for guinea pigs? We would get a nice big cage for whichever pet we got, but obviously a guinea pig setup would take up more room I would think. A hamster cage would be moved downstairs overnight due to the noise. Also from a smell point of view- I would be keeping any pet clean, but indoors- surely there would be more 'whiff' from two guinea pigs than one hamster?

*Cost -we can manage the cost of a small pet, but money is still something we have to think about. I can imagine the ongoing costs could be quite different? Guineas seem to go through hay, food and bedding at a rate of knots. The initial setup cost is also very different as for GPs, I would be looking at a decent large hutch, large run and an inside cage too.

*Interaction - I can see that guinea pigs are much more likely to sit on a lap for a cuddle and not bite as much. Hamsters possibly more bitey (I have read some good stuff about taming them though). DD however loves the idea of a hamster crawling on her and watching it in it's cage. I've read that while hamsters are nocturnal, a lot seem to wake up for after school/ tea time and onwards which seems ok to me. With GPs, hutch would be outside a lot of the time and while we do go outside a lot, it's not the same as being in the house. Plus added worry of foxes.

*Care- this is where I can see there may also be a big difference. Not just the daily routine (which seems quite extensive according to posts on here), but if we went away- e.g, a hamster probably ok for a night or two if someone popped in (dog goes to boarding). Guinea pigs not the case- would need daily attention and have read all sorts of scary things about if they run out of food/ gut stopping working etc.

Sorry for the essay, but want to get this right. I would be grateful if people could give me their experiences and say from our setup, which pet would be more suitable?

From your post a hamster, although DSD had two Russian dwarf hamsters that lives together and they fought and had to be separated. Would reccomend a Syrian, they have to live by themselves but they're larger and more friendly.

Thanks JadeJ123, I had been thinking Syrian if we went down hamster route- they have to be kept alone too I think?

You sound like candidates for a hamster

I think that is what i am erring towards. I need lots of reassuring stories of hamsters that are not too bitey... I think there is always the risk, but I do wonder how often bites occur because the proper period of leaving the hamster alone hasn't happened, or because of excited, small and grabby hands. On the other side of the coin I'm sure some hamsters are plain grumpy

I've read of people taking time to properly tame the hamster and then using a tube for handling- allowing the hamster to come out in it's own time etc.

Decisions, decisions...

Chinchillas.

Don't smell. They're crepuscular rather than nocturnal. Dd has hers in her room and they don't keep her awake. They're now very tame and have out of cage time every night and race round the place but come back to her.

They do need a large cage but its more of a vertical cage so don't take up as much space as guinea pigs.

Downside is they can live for 20years.

I'd say a hamster from your post. Shame about your DH though, has he met a fancy rat? What is it that puts him off? A pair/trio of rats are brilliant pets for a child. But they can get expensive and aren't a pet you can leave in the cage all day, you need to spend a lot of time with them. Our five get a minimum of 3x20 minute bursts out a day.

I can't really reassure you on the bitey hamster front, mine from childhood were bitey little feckers, my Mum ended up having to handle them mostly!
However, I know that actual hamster breeders exist so get your hamsters from one of those rather than a pet shop, more likely to have been handled from a young age and therefore friendlier. However, we learnt to respect the hamsters at a young age in my household. Mum told us not to poke our fingers in the bars, we did, we got a nice nip and learnt our lesson!

Hamsters are much easier to look after than other rodents too, smaller and less smelly. You'll have the introductions no matter what species you end up going for unfortunately, it's not often you can get a rodent who will just let you play with them straight off of the bat. My two baby rats did, but they came from a very family orientated breeder and they were held constantly when they were young.

Yeah Syrians have to be kept alone as they fight to death if kept with another hamster in the same cage

Guinea pigs need a large cage and will be too noisy at night to have in bedroom.

I would get a Syrian hamster in that case. Or a pair of Gerbils. Or what about a reptile such as a bearded dragon or Uromastyx if you want a vegan reptile.

I personally think hamsters are too bitey and would def choose a rat over a hamster. Not inclined to bite and much more intelligent. I'm not an expert though, have never owned one but when we were looking for a furry pet (got a rabbit) we had several pet shop assistants telling up about them.

RE what merle said, rats really are less inclined to bite. Especially if you get them from a breeder. Though even most pet shop rats are fine bitey-ness wise. They will all nip your fingers if they smell interesting but only in a "is this food" kind of way. Only one of mine has nipped in a defensive way or drawn blood and she's a rescue who we got in March and we believe that she knew her sister was ill and was defending her, as this behaviour has, apart from when she's nesting, almost completely stopped since her sister died.

But you do need to give them a lot of time and if you can't commit it's not fair to get them. And I would never recommend getting them from a pet shop, a proper, NFRS breeder all the way.

We got a baby hamster today from a breeder rather then a pet shop and it's very friendly and well handled.

Guinea pigs sit still on a child's lap which is great. But, they need a lot of care and attention. We kept ours inside in the winter and if you don't clean them out every day they really smell - and all that bedding gets expensive! They eat hay as well as nuggets which also gets expensive and they go through a lot so you need a rather large area for their cage and bale of hay / bedding etc. I found them more work than a dog. But they are lovely pets.
Hamsters don't sit still but they are great fun running around a child's lap and the sofa and really run to watch run about in their ball around the house! They don't smell and if you have a big enough cage only need cleaning out once a week and that only takes me half an hour. They are very sweet pets and I have never had one that bites and I've had about 7 over the years - all from pet shops!

GPs - on fleece bedding: Once off outlay for 2 sets which you then use and wash.
Much less mess for indoor piggies as well.

I considered a hamster for my boys but was worried about it being small enough to disappear under the floorboards and also wanted something a little more long-lived .

Also, are hamsters not nocturnal i.e. quite 'boring' during the day and noisy at night?

Thanks- I had heard about fleece, but wondered how practical it was with the hay clinging to it/washing it. What sort of fleece do you use? Any fleece blanket? what do you put underneath?

Stick I use fleece when my pigs are indoors.
This year (they're not inside yet) DH has made I have made a pen from those C&C type panels. I'll put hay or hay cookies in one part (smaller bit that I sectioned off) , food on the ,iddle area then fleece in the main part.

I use puppy pads underneath (but make sure they can't chew at them) then newspaper and the fleeces.
Hopefully, they'll pee/pooh in the hay (so that gets wrapped up and thrown out) or the fleece (shake off their dry droppings) and it wicks the pee through to the paper.

Lakeland Limited do a Buddy Brush that has rubber bristles, brilliant to brush off hay and hair.
I put The fleeces in a cheapie pillowcase , tie with string, wash and hang out. They dry quickly. But you do need to wash with as bland a detergent as possible. (Those washball things are good if you can find a bargain one)

Primark has some nice sized fleeces. Try to get ones that don't have the edging stitches - you can be sure they'll unravell the stritching and either eat it or get caught in it

Sticking, I have my boars in a 2x6 C+C cage and use a combination of Primark baby fleece blankets and some rather nice custom made cage liners with liquid retaining inners (think dispensable nappies ) that are washable.
I keep hay in about 1/13 of the cage and move their sleep houses around every day so they pee on a new bit - the are rather impressive weeing and pooping machines. I spot-clean the cage every day with a pan and brush and wash the fleeces every 3-4 days. I have 2 sets that I alternate. The used hay and their poop pellets go in our compost bin in the garden - I'll let you know what the resulting compost is like next year .

I brush the fleeces outside and then just stick them in the washing machine without a pillow case. I suspect the time will come when I might regret that...

I find their wee smells after a few days, the poo is really inoffensive (well, the pellets I see are - apparently they also produce soft, green stools which they then eat again: mingers! ).

And listen to everything 70 says; she's the GP Queen

See if you can get a show strain Syrian hamster as they are slightly larger and are bred to be docile ( If they bite the judge , they get disqualified!)
We are onto our third hamster and have a show strain one this time and he is a lovely, cuddly handful.