Guinea pig or rabbit??

[leothelioness]

We are thinking of getting a pet for my 2 dc's 3 and 5 which is a better opition a rabbit or a guinea pig. We ere in a flat so there is no option of them saying outdoor so they need to be in an indoor hutch plus I need something whihc is fairly happy to be handled and not a biting kind of animal.
I have had rabbits as a child but always outdoors so i am not sure how they react to being in a cage indoors.

One more thing is it better to get one or 2 and which sex can live harmoniously together?

Thanks

bump

pretty please!

Guinea pigs

Females can live very happily together.
Males can (if brought up together otherwise they generally fight)

Theres quite a few threads if you search (have only recently got our baby GP's .. was originally going for rabbits but changed mind due to MN)

ALWAYS get two (or more) they are very social animals.

ok thanks sag, will search but honestly I am already leaning towards guinea pigs too!
How old were the GP's you bought? I mean do they need to be fairly young to settle in a new environment.

Ours are 8 weeks old

(Irrc you don't want babies less than 6 weeks old)

I don't think it really makes much difference if they are older .. re homed rescued ones seem to settle in just as well.

We got 2 GP's when they were 8 weeks old. Two females and they are very happy together. They hate being caught but don't mind being handled and love sitting on laps and being stroked.

We have also recently got a beautiful Rex rabbit and although he is in a separate hutch, he plays happily with the GP's. I must say that the children love all of them but the rabbit is much easier to pick up and handle as the GP's are so fast.

We have two little boy GP's who live indoors. I don't have much experience of rabbits but can tell you about our piggies.

Mine are really tame by GP standards, they don't run away when you pick them up, and happily sit still to be stroked. They do tend to wriggle when you pick them up. My children and 11,9 and 7, and only the eldest is able to handle them on his own. They are small, delicate and wriggly, which is not ideal for smaller children. However once they are on their knees they sit calmly. They have never bitten, I think its very rare for piggies to bite.

Mine have an indoor rabbit cage and live in my bedroom (the only place we had the space for them). We do have a garden but I wanted them to be indoors. I clean them out weekly and they do not smell or make a mess. They do eat me out of house and home in fruit and veg - I wish the kids were as enthusiastic!!

GPs definitley need to be in pairs (single sex for obvious reasons). My boys are brothers and get along great. They are very social (they chat to each other all the time) and would be very lonely I feel on their own.

Guinea pigs less inclined to bite than rabbits. Make ideal first pets. 2 females together ideally

GPs. Love 'em. But more than one. I'd never have a rabbit unless I could house-train it and have it as a house rabbit.

what do you feed your guinepigs?

mine just love dandelion leaves but obviously wont be able to eat these forever. not so keen on carrot peeling

I have both a rabbit and 2 guinea pigs and I have to say I would opt for the guinea pigs. The rabbit lives outside and has free run of the garden but doesnt 'do' anything whereas the guinea pigs live indoors and are very entertaining often yelling at you if you come in with food and there is none for them

i have outdoor rabbits who also have free reign of the garden, but dont find them affectionate.
they are quite comical and funny to watch, they are very curious. but aside from that, and they dont squeak - which is another minus