Anyone own a Guinea pig?

[BeerAdvocate]

I know weird question, but my 6yr old son really wants one.
I have been doing tons of research on them and they do sound like great pets if you have the room and time for them.
Just looking for any advice. Thanks

[dwoodward]

They are fine, but their cages get pretty smelly even with regular cleaning. But to be honest, its a pig, what can you expect?

I don't own one, but growing up had friends with them.

[Don Fernando]

I don't own one, but had one as a child and my sister had a few over the years. They are easy pets, but you have to clean the cage often otherwise it will smell.

They are quite tasty too with some peanut sauce

[hotreds]

1 guinea pig, de-haired, gutted, and cleaned
1/2 c. flour
1/4 - 1/2 t. ground cumin
salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 c. oil
Cooking Instructions

Pat dry the skin of the guinea pig and rub in the cumin, salt, and pepper. Preheat oil. Dust the carcass with the flour and place it on its back in the oil, turning to cook both sides. Alternately, the guinea pig can be cut and fried in quarters.

Serve with boiled potato or boiled manioc root, and a salad of cut tomatoes and slivered onions bathed in lime juice and a bit of salt. Have cold beer on hand.

[htown]

Yummmmmm!

Originally Posted by hotreds

1 guinea pig, de-haired, gutted, and cleaned
1/2 c. flour
1/4 - 1/2 t. ground cumin
salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 c. oil
Cooking Instructions

Pat dry the skin of the guinea pig and rub in the cumin, salt, and pepper. Preheat oil. Dust the carcass with the flour and place it on its back in the oil, turning to cook both sides. Alternately, the guinea pig can be cut and fried in quarters.

Serve with boiled potato or boiled manioc root, and a salad of cut tomatoes and slivered onions bathed in lime juice and a bit of salt. Have cold beer on hand.

[captain53]

My son had one that lived for about 10 years which is most unusual. She (Name was Miss Piggy) was a good little quiet low maintenance pet but like others have mentioned no matter how well you maintain the cages they still emit odor but if you do keep them very clean it is not too bad. You can safely leave them with food and water unattended for a weekend trip which is nice, can't do that with dogs and cats.

Biggest negative is the kids go on to the next thrill after a while and Mom and Dad are now doing the pig maintenance duties.

[chachee52]

Originally Posted by bigliver

...beyond that, if you own a Bassett Hound, he will kill and eat at least one of the pair. It's pretty devastating to a 4 year old girl.

Gee, My basset hound is afraid of mine. I'm on my second one and Every time I pick up the piggy and show it to the dog, the dog runs away!!!

Originally Posted by captain53

You can safely leave them with food and water unattended for a weekend trip which is nice, can't do that with dogs and cats.

I will say that this did not work with my first pig. But then again he was HUGE!!! The pig would eat everything in sight right away. It was not a grazer like they are supposed to be. We just got a new younger one and he is more of a grazer.

Both of mine liked to get up on my shoulder when I was sitting and watch TV with me. Just make sure you don't have long hair because they think that it's hay and will bite your ear.

Other than that, they are great. clean the cage once a week, let him run around (keep the cords out of reach) and watch them run and jump. Can't get either one of mine use the guinea pig ball though so I recomend that you don't get one of those.

[floydpink]

My 5 year old daughter really wanted one so I took her to Petsmart.

The very helpful girl told me they are fine, but need a larger cage and do best with a mate.

She also said normally after a month the child gets bored with it and it becomes the parent's responsibilty.

I left with a Beta fish who has since taken the eternal toilet bowl nap.

[DMK]

Originally Posted by hotreds

1 guinea pig, de-haired, gutted, and cleaned
1/2 c. flour
1/4 - 1/2 t. ground cumin
salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 c. oil
Cooking Instructions

Pat dry the skin of the guinea pig and rub in the cumin, salt, and pepper. Preheat oil. Dust the carcass with the flour and place it on its back in the oil, turning to cook both sides. Alternately, the guinea pig can be cut and fried in quarters.

Serve with boiled potato or boiled manioc root, and a salad of cut tomatoes and slivered onions bathed in lime juice and a bit of salt. Have cold beer on hand.

You Sir are an EVIL, Evil man....

[Blindjimme]

There ya go!

[BeerAdvocate]

Thanks for the recipe. I will be sure and threaten my son with it, if we happen to get a Guinea pig and he doesnt take care of it!

[hotreds]

Daddy, I don't want to eat Lilly!!

[BeerAdvocate]

Originally Posted by hotreds

Daddy, I don't want to eat Lilly!!

Too late, that wasnt chicken we had for dinner!

[RGD.]

Well with two girls I have had more than my fair share of Guinea pigs.

First tip: buy the largest, deepest cage that you can find. This allows you to put more bedding down. They like to nest, will do their business on one end mostly and so the extra bedding helps to keep the smell down. And regular cleaning will keep it down. It's not the Guinea Pig itself that smells - it's the urine. So more bedding - less smell.

They are really easy to care for outside of that. Very rarely if ever will bite.

And as a parent - when selecting a Guinea Pig, especially if the children are very young - don't buy one with strange or unusual markings. These things don' live forever so at some point the ole switcheroo may be required.

Also - at some time you may be tempted to take the thing to the vet. Keep in mind the vet will present you with a $200 to $300 bill for that $5 rodent - - at which point you should remember the above training of getting one in standard colors, easy to find.

Other than that - good pets for little kids.


Ron

[tsolomon]

Originally Posted by RGD.

Well with two girls I have had more than my fair share of Guinea pigs.

First tip: buy the largest, deepest cage that you can find. This allows you to put more bedding down. They like to nest, will do their business on one end mostly and so the extra bedding helps to keep the smell down. And regular cleaning will keep it down. It's not the Guinea Pig itself that smells - it's the urine. So more bedding - less smell.

They are really easy to care for outside of that. Very rarely if ever will bite.

And as a parent - when selecting a Guinea Pig, especially if the children are very young - don't buy one with strange or unusual markings. These things don' live forever so at some point the ole switcheroo may be required.

Also - at some time you may be tempted to take the thing to the vet. Keep in mind the vet will present you with a $200 to $300 bill for that $5 rodent - - at which point you should remember the above training of getting one in standard colors, easy to find.

Other than that - good pets for little kids.


Ron

The only thing I can add is if you buy more than one, make sure you don't have a male and female. That is unless you want to use the recipe that was posted.

[bigliver]

...beyond that, if you own a Bassett Hound, he will kill and eat at least one of the pair. It's pretty devastating to a 4 year old girl.