Guinea pigs and toddlers

Elitah

Elitah

Junior Guinea Pig
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We have had guinea pigs for over 10 years now, but sadly, the first generation has passed away, the last of them, Cotton, in spring 2018. In January 2018, we got three younger guinea pigs from an animal shelter: Oreo, Ginger and a beautiful male, Flash (though Flash must be around 5 years old by now, they couldn't tell us his exact bith date, just that it was 2015).
We also have a toddler, our son was born in August 2018. His play area is in front of the guinea pig cage in the sitting room and he loves them so much that a while ago, when I took them to the vet to have their claws trimmed, he cried when my husband put them in the transport box, probably thinking they would be taken away for good. My husband made the cage secure, so our little guy can't just reach in and take them out (I doubt he would be fast enough) or chase them around, but he likes to hold his hand in to let them sniff it and to stroke them when they are on our laps and we do teach him to be gentle. (And he has learned to say "fat bum" because my husband told him guinea pigs have little fat bums :lol: I'm really hoping that expression won't ever slip out in the wrong context! :eek: )

Does anyone else have experience with guinea pigs and small children? We never let the guinea pigs and him walk around unsupervised since he is clumsy and still falls over quite a bit and we don't want any accidents, but they seem to be less shy with him than with us and even when he was a baby and screamed, they didn't seem to mind.
 
I would say just keep doing what you’re doing. Keeping an eye on him and not letting him get them out or hold them or walk around when they’re out. It sounds like a fab relationship he has with them though.

As for fat bum 🤷🏾‍♀️ Out of the mouth of babes 🤣🤣 we’d love to see photos of your piggies. You’re welcome to start a thread for them.
 
Sounds lovely :)

When we first got our two our youngest was 4 one of the first things we let her do was poke their veggies through the cage bars to them. Obviously they soon started coming to take them from her hands which was a good way for her to get some direct GP interaction without any picking up or grabbing risk. Works particularly well with long things like sprigs of mint, chicory leaves or even long grass.
 
Sounds a great way to teach children responsible pet care when they don’t realise they’re learning.
Love the expression “fat bum” it’s so true.
Looking forward to pictures
 
Siikibam said:
I would say just keep doing what you’re doing. Keeping an eye on him and not letting him get them out or hold them or walk around when they’re out. It sounds like a fab relationship he has with them though.

As for fat bum 🤷🏾‍♀️ Out of the mouth of babes 🤣🤣 we’d love to see photos of your piggies. You’re welcome to start a thread for them.
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:agr:
Perhaps when your toddler is older, if you have space you could put a barrier with a gate across the part of the room where your pigs live, so that he can use the rest of the room and watch the piggies safely. Something like one of these
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We had one of them that we bought as a playpen, but mostly used it as a barrier across the inglenook fireplace.
 
We have 2 piggies and my youngest has just turned 2. The piggies have trained my daughter well so every time she’s given a bit of veg she shares a little with them 😂 They love her and come running over as soon as she chats to them, she can pat them through the bars and is allowed to pay them properly when an adult is there too. She’s still learning and occasionally pats their bottoms as she likes to see them run away but she’s generally very good at only stroking cheeks gently which the boys love. She has had them on her lap a couple of times recently but is never allowed to walk around their run or the kitchen during floor time with them.
It’s definitely good for them to learn about caring for pets and they can start to play a bigger role as they get older. My eldest is 7 and she is responsible for feeding pellets and veg in the morning and evening (with us checking it’s done), filling water bottles and helping when cage needs cleaned.
 
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