Pet rat or guinea pigs?

[MsMiaWallace]

Which do you feel would make a better pet with children?

Depends how much effort you want to put in. Rats get bored easily because they are very bright, therefore are a lot of work, but very rewarding. Also you need at least two, three ideally. Incredibly cruel to keep them on their own.. mind you that’s also true of gps.

Guinea pigs can live in a more open cage/pen set up and so it's easier to interact with them throughout the day.
Plus they make lovely noises and are very rewarding.
If you are so inclined you can cuddle them on your lap while you chill on the sofa of an evening. I don't know if you can do that with rats.
We had a rat once and it was very stinky. GPs also smell a little when they are due a clean out, but it's nothing compared to the rat.
I vote guinea pig.

As pp said, either way you need a pair (or more) and you need to consider gender. Lots of advice on google about that. I ended up with 2 male GPs because they were rescued and that's just the gender they were. They bonded well and they are ace so don't be put off by some negative press out there. But most people prefer girls. They have a slightly more gentle temperament and are often more tame.

I don't know much about piggies but I know rats well and highly recommend them as pets for children they're pretty bomb proof and when coming from a good breeder are confident lovely creatures. Boys will happily sit and cuddle you for hours where as girls are more hyper and prone to being absolute lunatics. You can train them to do tricks as they're highly intelligent. I have 8 currently in my bedroom and they do not smell. They'll get a bit smelly when due a clean out but that's true of any pet.

They do have a short life span though only living for 2-3 years but they're full of love. I often think of them as small dogs without the responsibility of dogs. They're just as loving and intelligent but they're also happy with just an hour or two of free roaming each day.

You'll need to get a decent food either a ready made mix from ratrations or you can make your own mix from pretty easily available ingredients as no commercial rat food is actually that good for them.

You really can't just buy them from a pet shop though much like dogs you can get amazing breeders who work really hard to improve the health of their rats and will take the rats back if you ever need them. The rat community is amazing and incredibly supportive if you're interested you should absolutely join us in Rat Lovers UK and other owners will be happy to discuss the upsides and downsides as well as helping you locate a good breeder in your area.

I had guinea-pigs because I liked my rodenty ones on ground level , non tailey , very bribeable , chatty (noisy ) , greedy and not-too-bright !

Guinea-pigs are lovely and boars are amazing . They do need a lot of space -more than you'd think.
They are intidy by nature ,
They spread their hay far and wide
They are quite vunerable little mammals and need protected from cold, heat, damp, draughts. Their housing needs to be secure especially outside

Guinea pigs have very little in the way of defence. They don't ** kick, jump, lash out and rarely bite .
** one of our boars could jump out of a knee height travel box
I've had a guinea pig that could run up stairs

But they are rodents and they do have sharp teeth . They can bite if they're scared . Or if your hands smell of food . But it's rare
Your DC will need to learn to lift and hold them so they feel secure .

And they love routine ( usually the routine of food)

We've had both over the years and I vote rats.
We currently have two boys and they are proper little personalities, clean and easy to look after. They do need some time out of the cage each day, so there is a bit of time commitment, but our boys come out in the evening and watch tv with us.

A few years ago we had three girl GPs. Also cute but on balance I prefer the rats.

GPs live longer in general though (4-5 years as opposed to 2-3 years for rats)

We have rats, you do need to get more than one though, three is ideal. They use a toilet and are pretty clean, also very tame and will come when you call their name etc. They do need a certain amount of stimulation, you can buy little intelligence toys and hide cheese in them. Just a whole boiled egg is a lot of entertainment as well, and they need to be let out for a bit every day to have a sniff. I put a ladder out so they can get back in, and they go back in on their own mostly. Rats are fab, much better than their image!