Guinea pigs for toddlers

[NoNoNoOohmaybe]

My 3 year olds would like a pet, and in particular some guinea pigs (or a dog but let's not go there).

There is a petting farm near us that has some very tame guinea pigs which it will sell. So I wondered about 2 of these in an indoor cage.

I am aware I'll be doing all the real "caring" but I think they'd really enjoy helping out.

Can anyone give me advice if this a reasonable idea, if there's anything I haven't thought of and what would be the best indoor cage. We do have a cat, so it would need to be very secure, though I do intend to keep them in different areas of the house unless we're about.

Thanks

When we first got guinea pigs my learning disabled did was 4. We set the ground rules. Never squeeze, never try to pick them up or open their hutch. Sit still and have them handed to her and above all else be gentle.

We’ve never had a problem with our own children but other people’s kids nightmare. I had to stop one girl from sending my lovely boar down the slide! And another girl took him on the trampoline, he leapt out her hands and landed unharmed in a bush. Another child ran into our garden and took my Guineas out the hutch without asking. And these were NT kids!

So just be aware of the danger from child guests

You need a huge ass cage, even just for one. Not anywhere near as small as pets at home say are guinea pig cages (that’s what hamsters should be in!)

Check out the guinea pig forums on the net. Another good recommendation is fleece blankets to line cages , avoids allergies

I have 2 guinea pigs, we've had them a year now and they are great fun. I do most of the caring, but DS1 (8) helps out with cleaning out and feeding them. They're lovely pets. Feel free to message me if you want to know any more. We have them indoors in a C&C cage set up like the one in the picture but with shavings not fleece.

A C&C cage won’t work for the OP as she has a cat as well.

OP nothing to stop you having an outdoors hutch inside. We had a five foot wooden hutch adorning the lounge for years. Our old lady pig has down sized to smaller accommodation now.

"A C&C cage won’t work for the OP as she has a cat as well"

It can do, you and add a lid and a hatch.

I can't see why not. My 3yo loves our 'Gingy Pigs'. He helps me feed them & do their water every morning (the older 3 dc take it in turns to do them in the evening). When they're out in their run he'll happily just sit & chat to them. He knows to be gentle when stroking them. The delight on his faces when they first took food from his hand was brilliant to see. I think they quite like him too as they'll start squeaking talking as soon as they hear his voice

I never thought about an outside cage indoors! That's a good idea then they could go out in the summer perhaps.

How big space do we need? I've seen some double decker cages? And is one an option or will they get lonely?

And yes will supervise all kids handling them very closely

They can't be kept alone so you will need at least 2. We got 2 little ones from the same litter (both girls) at about 10 weeks old. In terms of space, I'd say our cage is about 5 ft long, 3ft wide on the bottom and then has an upstairs of 3ft x 1ft. I also have a smaller outdoor run that I move around on the grass for them - they spend a couple of hours out there on a nice day. I've also found a pup up ball pit is great to put them in when the kids want to hold them. I don't let them loose in the house as I worry they'll go under a cupboard or something, but the ball pit keeps them contained and the kids can go in with them.