Which small pet is more suitable?

[HastaLaVistaBebe]

My daughter (nearly 10) would love rabbits. I had them myself growing up and have read up a lot on looking after them, we have the space and would invest in a good and safe run for them.

Our only hesitation is that she is picturing herself having the occasional cuddle with them, and my husband, who grew up having Guinea pigs, says they would therefore be more suitable.

I know he is right, although my own rabbits never minded sitting on my lap for a bit.

Are there any other considerations we should bear in mind?

Personally I would say guinea pigs every time but that's just me. I find them more placid and friendly than rabbits but a well socialised rabbit that's been used to handling will usually accept cuddles too. I just think guinea pigs are easier overall, less space requirements (although they do still need a substantial hutch and run), easier for a child to handle, rarely aggressive towards one another, and even more rarely towards people, aren't escape artists in any way and generally are very sweet and squeaky! But if your DD has her heart set on rabbits and you have the space then probably I'd let her have them, it's hard enough to keep kids that age interested and motivated to look after their pets without it not being the actual animal she asked for in the first place!

Same as above. GP's are easier all round than rabbits I think.
Have a look at rehoming an adult - if they've been handled they're much tamer and less skittish than babies.

Guinea pigs.
less stroppy then bunnies.

Get rats instead. They love cuddles, they will curl up on your shoulder and nestle in your hair. You can teach them to do tricks. Way better pets.

Rabbit as think they live longer

Rabbits were a disaster for us (and them). They never got used to being handled despite constant ‘socialisation’ from young. So kicked scratched and bit when we did pick them up.

Expensive to keep: 2 jabs each every year.

Long lived.

I would get Guinea pigs.

Guinea pigs

Rabbits are are the most mistreated species, they need a shed and outdoor run not a hutch (hutch were only designed to house meat rabbits in the war)

They also need to live in pairs and have yearly vaccinations of Myxi, RHD 1&2, if they stop eating for a short while they need the vets. They as a rule hate being picked up are not lap animals.

They are by far more expensive than my dog or cat and imo wonderful pets but not suitable for children .

Piggies are much better imo and they wheek

We have 2 rabbits.
1 is the friendliest animal, she licks, sits on your lap, hops over for cuddles and is completely placid.
The other bites (hard) and is completely antisocial.
They are however both toilet trained and my kids love them. Once we got used to them they are pretty low Maintenance.

Guinea pigs, 100%. I’ve kept both rabbits and Guinea pigs in the past and rabbits were a chore with little reward but guineas are lovely wee beasties.

Would she consider a rat? I've not kept them myself but they are supposed to make great pets. Very smart.

Guinea pigs

Definitely guinea pigs. No better pet if you want to sit and cuddle them. They are funny to watch with their excited 'popcorning' too. Get them from young and socialise well so they aren't too shy.

All of the above re rabbits. They are hard work and expensive to keep if it’s done properly. I loved my rabbits but would think twice about getting anymore.

Guinea pigs are much hardier and easier to handle.

Was thinking this. Can't go wrong with either guinea pigs or rats. Guinea pigs are better to sit and cuddle with but rats can be more fun to watch I suppose.

Rabbits are not great children's pets and I am someone that has both! They are expensive. One rabbit (of two) was ill at Easter and racked up a £1.7K bill as they got stasis. Thankfully we had insurance and it was decent. They don't like being handled and live in a converted shed with run. They are not cuddly although we love them to bits. Rabbits are pretty complex and need vaccinating for myxi and VHD as well as rearguarding in this weather.

get the one that you want/ will be happy clearing out daily, I say with the bitter voice of experience

Adding my voice to the rabbits are hard work, they need a large space to be able to jump and run. Even my most affectionate rabbit wasn’t really cuddly and would only tolerate a snuggle for a while before jumping off and running around.
Agreed out of all the ‘caged’ pets I have had rats where the cuddliest but it’s the cage cleaning and smell which made me vow not to have a cage pet ever again. We now have cats which by far have been the easiest pet I have owned. One snuggly one and the other aloof.

I say rats or GPs. Rabbits should be classed as an exotic pet

Thank you very much.

I will gently steer her in the direction of Guinea pigs. I think she’s completely idealized what having rabbits is like. I do remember the challenges of having mine, they were cuddly sometimes but certainly needed a lot of space for a lot of wild jumping.

I am totally on board with me doing quite a bit of the work (although won’t say this to my daughter!) as I’m quite looking forward to it all. I have seen you can “adopt”/rehome GPs via the RSPCA.

GPs are quiet placid little souls who actually seem to like interaction with gentle humans, I have found rabbits to be quite difficult to engage with, and agressive with people and each other.

We had Guinea pigs and they are lovely but boy do they poo. 🤣

Yes do rehome GPs if you can. Ours were babies from a massive local rescue operation (100s of GPs found in a barn nearby I think 😳)

There’s loads of guinea pig rescues, they WILL make it hard work to get one. But they are doing it for good reason, loads are taken on without knowing what they are getting in to.
most I’ve come across really know what they are talking about and will find a best fit for your family.
have a Google of c and c cages. There’s some adorable set ups.

My favourite bit of the guinea pig magazine is all the poos on the pages