Whats the difference between a guinea pig and hamster?

Question

is the guinea pig able to crawl on your arm? which one should i get. EXPLAINATIONS!

Answer 1

A guinea pig is bigger and they can be quite affectionate. I've never had a hamster so not sure how else to compare.

Answer 2

A lot. They are different animals and have different care needs.  

Answer 3

get the guinea pig. hamsters bite and are too small to love. :) the guinea pig loves you and you can feed it leftovers! lol  it will crawl up your arm. one of mine is very affectionate and falls asleep on my neck, while the other is energetic and never stops running around!

Answer 4

Guinea pigs are larger and hamsters much smaller, they are different species all together, different diets, housing, genetic traits, everyting. I have actually had better luck with hamsters, however i love my guinea's too! either animal held enough will form a strong bond with you. Guinea's can crawl up arms yes and so can hamsters, however neither animal tends to do this alot. Do some research on each one, thats the only way to determine what would suit you best, guineas take much more care then a hamster and tend to have a strogner odor, but hamsters will also smell if their cage isnt cleaned enough and their lifespan is shorter. Go talk to someone at a petstore (not like petco!) a small mom and pop shop if you can find one, and read up on the two. best of luck!

Answer 5

These are two completely different animals.  Please do some research before making a decision. There are many websites with information about these animals. Hamsters are escape artists, difficult to capture, they can and do bite, and are nocturnal (sleep all day, up all night).  Guinea pigs are my favorite.  They are much larger, but more personable.  They can't climb well like hamsters and rats, but also aren't as likely to escape. They don't bite and, believe it or not, they don't smell nearly as stinky as hamsters.On the downside, they are very vocal.  Their "wheeping" can drive you crazy, and they do get fleas if exposed to the outside or you have other pets. If you get a pig at a pet shop, make sure that they keep males and females separate.  Even then you may get a pregnant female if they've ever been kept with a male.  They can breed at a few weeks of age.  I once bought two females (didn't want babies) both of whom had babies a few weeks later.

Answer 6

Hamsters and guinea pigs are two completely different animals. The most obvious difference is that hamsters are very small, they can fit in the palm of your hand. Guinea pigs are much larger, they generally weigh around 3 pounds or so when fully grown.

They have different dietary and housing needs as well.

I doubt that guinea pigs climb up arms.

I like hamsters best out of the two.

I think that hedgehogs are better though.

Answer 7

The difference Everything.

I believe animals like that are pointless and have no personalities. No guinea pigs dont tend to climb on arms sorry. Maybe you should look into getting a smart rodent like a ferret, a mouse, or a rat. They are trainable and cute.

Good luck, hope I helped.