Are Hamsters or Guinea Pigs easy to take care of?

Question

I want to get a Hamster or a Guinea Pig because i have always like animals.

i want to know if they are hard to take care of.

Also i have a labrador retreiver, he is very friendly to other animals. Do you think he will be fine?

Answer 1

I would recommend  a female fancy rat. But hamsters are pretty easy to take care of. I don't know about guinea pigs. I imagine they would be kinda hard to take care of. Do what you want to do Yahoo answers os just trying to help and recommend stuff. And you lab would try to hurt it maybe. Most dogs hate small animals. I hope I helped.

Answer 2

I do not know anything about hamsters but Guinea Pigs cages need cleaning alot, my daughter has had 2 through the years and they smelled really bad if you dont keep the cage clean, the last one smelled so bad she cleaned the cage daily, I would recommend you start out with the hamster they are smaller, probably easier to care for.

Answer 3

Yes hamsters & guinea pigs are fairly easy to look after,as long as you provide everything they need(e.g,good quality feed,fresh water,large caging...)  they stay healthy. Out of either of the two i would say,guinea pigs,but then again hamsters can bond well...

Guinea pigs can be kept outside were hamsters CAN'T as they are desert animals,(though guinea pigs are/can be in the wild) So research into them and maybe ask more question on here for advise & you can choose between them. I would of thought your dog would get on with Either of the pets you choose our dogs get on with the rabbits/rodents we have. Plus Retrievers are know for getting on with other pets.By the way hamsters live for about 2-3 years were guinea pigs normally live for about 5-7 years occassionaly

10 years but NOT 20 years as someone said!

Hope this helps & the best of luck with your new pet! x*x

Answer 4

I wouldn't trust the lab around a guinea or a hamster for the first little while. You'd have to introduce them slowly. and guinea pigs are better then hamsters. They're more fun to watch run around and play.. because every hamster i've ever known has just slept a lot.

www.guineapigcages.com <-- and you get to build awsome cages like those for guinea pigs, because they shouldn't be kept in a tiny pet store cage. it's just cruel.

Answer 5

THEY WILL BE FINE BUT START OUT WITH A HAMSTER!!!

other wise you'll have a guinea pig that lives like 20 years

  and if you listen you'll do fine

      (P.S.) hamsters can be up to seven inches long

                 so its the same difference as a guinea pig

                   exept for life spans

Answer 6

I don't have much experience with hamsters, but with guinea pigs you need to pay special attention to diet, you need a large cage that is cleaned thoroughly at least every week, and you will need to let them run around the house for at least two hours every day.

Of course, if you just take average care of your pig, it's not so much work, but pigs taken "average" care of live about four years, when they should be living nearly twice that as pets.

I had pigs and a lab at the same time, and my dog love the piggies. It all depends on the dog and the pigs, though. If you were to get guinea pigs, you'd need a sturdy cage with a good top on it, and I'd recommend putting the cage in a room that the dog only has access to when you can watch them.

There are some very good websites out there about guinea pig care. http://www.guineapigcages.com/cubes.htm is a great site. I love the cages, they're better and cheaper than commercially-available ones.

So, do some searches, read up on pigs, and see if they're the right pets for you.