Guinea pig / hamster , first time ?

Question

i'm an only child and i'm 14 . summer jus made me realize how lonely i was. i want to get a guinea pig or a hamster . i live in an apartment with my mom .

i know myself well to admit that i get bored of thing easy and people say that guinea pig can be boring . i want a hamster but they are nocturnal and they are known for biting more .

i want something i can hold a stroke the fur. they say pig are more friendly but hamster are also fun to watch

here are my question.

does it hurt when they bite ? poisonous ?

how often do you clean their cages ?

if there was an emergency trip and to be gone for a period of time ,what do you do ?day-care???

if it doesnt work out , can you take it back ?

this is crazy but, what do you do when they" passed away" bury? garbage ?

first time experience for sharing. tips . advice whether a pig or hamster would be better

Answer 1

dont get a hamster. i was going to get a hamster so i researched all about them. i tried to find a good breed and none seemed good. then, i came across something almost the same but way better. a gerbil. i was about to get a hamster but im glad i will soon be getting two gerbils instead. here is why:

1)gerbils arent nocturnal. they will be awake in the day and sleeping at night (sometimes they are still awake at night). this means better sleep for you and they are ready to play (nicely) when you are awake. hamsters, on the othr hand, are nocturnal and keep people awake at night. they also can only play in the late evening and thru the night. you can wake them up in the day of course but then they bite because they will be mad at you and grumpy! so this means gerbils are better.

2) gerbils bite far far less! they bite only when you first get them because they are scared. some dont even do that. once they learn your scent and are hand trained, they never bite unless you scare them so bad that they must. hamsters will bite constantly. sometimes u may get lucky with one that does not. they will bite a little less once you hand train them but they will still bite when they feel like it. hamsters bite when they are mad and scared of you and new people. gerbils bite only if they are mad. you wake a hamster up, they will bite. wake a gerbil up, they won't. hamsters instinct to fear is bite immeadiatly. gerbils will run. they will show you more when they are about to bite. they will nudge and push your hand away and if you dont they may bite. hamsters are scared creatures by nature while gerbils are instinctively fearless so they bite far far less. they dont bite nearly as hard either! so once again, gerbils are better.

3) gerbils are way easier to hand train. hamsters will run away and get scared and wont come near your hand for a long time. once hand trained, they may still bite a lot. they take a while to hand train well. gerbils, will come up to your hand and see what you are. they are more social and like to be curious so they will be more willing to meet you. they hand train much much faster and once hand trained properly. they will not bite at all (unless u provoke them). ohh yes, gerbils are better here too.

4) also, hamsters don't like pairs and can't live together. EVER! they will fight to death. gerbils can live together and snuggle and cuddle and groom eachother. they like to play together. gerbils live longer and are happier nicer gerbils when in pairs or groups.

5) hamsters sleep when you are awake and arent too active. they arent as active even when they are up either! gerbils always are running around when you are awake and they like to dig, run, crawl around, burrow, and play with other gerbils. (must be their cagemate. not your frends gerbil.) they are much funner to play with and watch.

6) they are cleaner animals. you can clean the cage every two weeks instead of every week like you must with hamsters.they pee less because of their desert origin. and alltogether, are more organized and cleaner.

overall, gerbils are much better. just dont pull their tail because it will fall off. in the wild their tail is used for survival and they can get away from predators. be sure to not imitate this! their tail will not grow back but it will quickly heal and they just wont have a tail. be sure to research how to hand trai them. ecspecially if you are getting a hamster because they arent easy to hand train. have fun with whichever one you choose but as i've stated before- gerbils are the better choice! if you want a better pet, then go with a pair of 2 gerbils of the same s*x or they will have babies. good luck!

also, no bites are posinnous.  if you still want a hamster then get a chinese dwarf. those are sweeter.  hamsters need cleaned cages once a week and so do guinea pig. gerbils need every two weeks.  guinea pigs need way bigger cages tho!  so they are hardest to clean.  they should be fine for about 2 to 3 days if you give them lots of food and water. after that maybe a neighbor should come over and feed them.  u really cant take it back but you cud give it away. they arent long commitment because they dont live that long. like 2 to 3 years for hamster. 2-5 years gerbil and 3-6 years guinea pig.  most bury because they become attached.  i think hamster (dwarf) would be second to best choice because your apartment is small and guinea pig cages are big and harder to clean.  your mom wouldnt like guinea pigs as much because they r way more work.  also, i recommend gerbils instead. those are your best absolute choice. good luck!

Answer 2

i dont know a lot about guinie pigs or chinchillas, but i love hamsters!

Q1. No it doesnot hurt if they bite (most of the time its just a playful nip) if you get them REALLY mad they may draw blood, but thats never happened in the 5 years i have hamsters.

Q2. No they are not poisenes

Q3. You should clean there cages out once a week, if its starts to smell i would clean out sooner.

Q4.It really depends on how long you are going to be gone. If its less then three days then you can just fill the water bottle up and put 3 X the amount of a normal days food in the cage. If it is over three days i would just get your neighbor or a friend to check in every other day to give him/her fresh water and food.

Q5. Sometimes you can take hamsters. A local petshop will usually give you 15-30 day warrentty so if you can't take care of him or by some stroke of unluck it dies you can bring it back for a refund or another hamster. Petsmart and Petco normally have a 15 day peroid after you brought it to bring it back for any reason for a refund or new hamster. After the 15 days you can bring the hamster back if you can't take care of it, but no refund.

Q6. When my hamsters past away we did give them a burial in our backyard. It really depends on how close you were to your hamster. If you feel that you would feel guilty throwing out your hamster you can also bury it. Otherwise it is up to you.

I wish you good luck. Here is a great site on hamster it will tell you everything you need to know about hamsters!

EDIT: If you want to be able to stroke your hamster then i would get a teddy bear. They also tend to not bite and are really friendly to people

Answer 3

omg ive had like tons of hamster ever since i was like 7. im 14 too and i live in a apartment with my mom ha i know what u mean but yeah hamsters are great pets.

they are nocturnal so if u put a wheel in there cage that will keep you up all night though.

there really soft and if you want one that doesnt bite when u go to the pet store tell the person who works there that u want a hamster but u want them to see if it bites first. and when u find one that doesnt bite you should get it

and they live for about 4 years and you can leave them at home all day long as you fill their food bowl with hamster food. and they like those salt wheels to ha (yeah i know alott about hamsters) and when they die just dump it into a plastic bag and throw it away outside.

P.S. - buy a cage that they cant get out of! because i had a few hamsters that crawled out of the cage somehow and i found them like under my bed. yeah so thats about it.

I HOPE I HELPED! (:

-peace-

Answer 4

Since you're 14, you'll need to consider how long the pet will live - if you move out or go away to school in a few years, are you POSITIVE that you can take the pet with you? If not, don't get an animal that will live more than a few years. Guinea pigs can live 5-7 years, and chinchillas can live 18+. Are you at a point in your life where you can guarantee the animal a home for its whole life, or is there a chance you'd have to give it up or leave it behind?

If lifespan does factor in, consider a hamster or adopting older guinea pigs. Hamsters only live about 1.5-3 years, and if you get adult guinea pigs, they can live out the rest of their lives with you - and you'll be doing them a favor by adopting.

Guinea pigs definitely aren't boring! Sometimes, though, if they aren't taken care of properly, they'll get depressed and bored themselves, and they won't want to play. Most people who complain about "boring" guinea pigs either only have one guinea pig, don't spend enough time with them, or have a cage that is too small and no toys.

Guinea pigs need to be kept in pairs or groups. They're very social by nature and will be much happier. They'll be a lot of fun to watch, since they'll be more active, friendlier, and you'll get to watch them interact with each other.

Guinea pigs also need lots of space. My guinea pig cage is over 15 square feet, for three pigs. They also need lots of exercise, so you'll need to guinea pig proof an area for "floor time" to let them run around. They're also pretty expensive to feed, since their diet consists primarily of fresh vegetables. Since they eat so much, they produce a lot of waste - a lot more than hamsters. I clean my guinea pigs' cage every day or two because I have to.

Hamsters, on the other hand, don't eat as much, don't take up as much space, and don't need as much out-of-cage exercise. They aren't quite as interactive due to their size and temperament, but they're still fun and friendly pets.

Before you make your decision, definitely do lots of research.    Here are some good sites about hamsters and guinea pigs:

Hamsters -

http://www.hamsterific.com/

http://www.petwebsite.com/hamsters.asp

Guinea Pigs -

http://www.cavyspirit.com/

http://www.guineapigcages.com/

http://www.guinealynx.com/

In summary, here are a few things to consider:

1. Space - guinea pigs take up a lot, hamsters take up less.

2. What your landlord says - if you live in an apartment, some landlords will allow hamsters but not larger animals like guinea pigs, since they can smell worse or be more destructive.

3. How much time you have - guinea pigs require hours more attention than hamsters do. A guinea pig cage will need to be cleaned more frequently, but a hamster only needs a cage cleaned every week or so.

4. How long you can care for the animal - whether you'll be moving in the near future or going off to school.

5. Whether you can get two or just one - guinea pigs need to be kept in groups, Syrian hamsters do best alone.

6. Cost - neither is cheap, but guinea pigs will cost you more in the long run, since they go through more food, bedding, and need a bigger cage.

Whichever you choose, try to adopt and save a life rather than buy. If you are in the US, try http://www.petfinder.com/ to search shelters in your area for adoptable small animals.

Answer 5

ok I dont know much about hamsters, because we cant get them in New Zealand, but still I would suggest getting one.

I own 6 guinea pigs and they all live outside-I moved them inside about a week ago and they hated it (I had to move them back out again).

In my opinion, guinea pigs should live outside or atleast be regularly taken outside. Because you live in an apartment, a guinea pig might not be the best option for you.

Hamsters seem to be a more indoor pet so they would probably be a good choice. Plus, hamsters are a quarter of the size of guinea pigs so take up less room.

When I brought my guinea pigs inside they stunk! I swept them out atleast 5 times a day (not exaggerating!) and they still smelt.

I dont really know if hamsters smell but they surely couldnt have been as bad as my guinea pigs.

Also, just because hamsters are nocturnal, doesnt mean you cant get them out in the day, and even at night they should be active after 7pm.

So I suggest getting a hamster, even though I have little experience with them and I own 6 guinea pigs-lol