Irritation - Guinea pigs are NOT starter pets!

Status
Not open for further replies.
AbiS

AbiS

Adult Guinea Pig
Joined
Jul 20, 2013
Messages
3,706
Reaction score
3,967
Points
1,225
Location
Chester le Street, Durham
I was at work over the weekend. We talk about my piggies a lot - well I talk about them a lot and make everyone listen!

Anyway - I was talking to a new colleague who had 2 piggies until one died last week. I have been encouraging him to give a forever home to another piggy so his remaining one isn't lonely. I had to bite my tongue so hard when he said that really he thinks that guinea pigs are a child's pet and are just a starter pet that he and his wife got to prepare them for getting a dog!

I just couldn't believe it and did go on a (very polite) rant about how guinea pigs are such complex little creatures that they are not considered a suitable animal for children (unless well supervised by an adult) and that people who think they are an easy starter pet clearly aren't looking after them properly.

Anyway - he is now talking about rehoming his remaining piggy (she is 2.5 years old). I have pointed him in the direction of NEGPR and he said that if he does rehome he will go through them to ensure she goes to a good home. Otherwise he is under strict instructions to rehome a friend for his piggy (again from NEGPR).

I just needed to offload because I was really irritated by it!
 
That's disappointing :(

Piggies do have a wrong undeserved reputation about being a starter pet and a pet for children, it isn't until people have them that realise they are quite complex in care requirements, diet, health etc....
It is really dis-heartening when people who have kept piggies still have this opinion after having them :( You have tried your best by educating them, thats all you can do
 
sport_billy said:
That's disappointing :(

Piggies do have a wrong undeserved reputation about being a starter pet and a pet for children, it isn't until people have them that realise they are quite complex in care requirements, diet, health etc....
It is really dis-heartening when people who have kept piggies still have this opinion after having them :( You have tried your best by educating them, thats all you can do
Click to expand...

They were probably relegated to the bottom of the garden so they never found out how amazing they are :(

It is sad and infuriating, completely understand you Abi. I really have to bite my tongue at work sometimes when animal welfare issues are discussed! Saying that my manager got 2 guinea pigs (for the kids) earlier this year and he's really keen to learn more about them so asks me a lot of questions,which is great!
 
that's the thing exactly - if that is the attitude of someone who had never had GPs I could understand it but the fact that he had GPs and still didn't understand how wonderful they are but that they do require a lot of time and thought, well, I just don't get it.

I got my 2 to help me when I was going through a really dark time earlier this year, I didn't discuss getting them with Mr S as I knew what he would say. When he first saw them he thought they were absolutely horrible and wasn't going to have anything to do with them. With in a few days he was interested and now, well, he is totally besotted. He was so proud of Toby last night when they were having cuddles and Toby communicated that he needed a wee so Mr S had time to put him on a towel where he immediately wee'd.

So yes - what are these people doing who have GPs (or any other pets) and yet still cant see them for the amazing little critters they are?
 
That is very disheartening and I am sorry for the piggie. I think that people who dont realise how complex and interesting they are really cant possibly be spending much time with them. But yes, if they were in a hutch in the garden and just fed/watered then they would not have been able to express their wonderful personalities nor their interesting natural behaviours and would probably seem quite boring :(
 
AbiS said:
Toby communicated that he needed a wee so Mr S had time to put him on a towel where he immediately wee'd.

So yes - what are these people doing who have GPs (or any other pets) and yet still cant see them for the amazing little critters they are?
Click to expand...

That is sooo cute! :)
 
This kind of attitude is all too common, at least yout collegue has taken on board your advice regarding rehoming through a rescue.
As to getting pigs to prepare them for getting a dog ....! Well, they are completely different animals with completely different needs. The only way having piggies first could have helped 'prepare' them is by helping them realise how much comitment pet ownership requires, getting rid of their remaining pig to replace her with a dog is not a sign of comitment.
 
my piggies are harder work than my dogs and more demanding. I suffer from depression and mood swings (am medicated) and when i start stressing out an hour with the piggies destresses me. My hubby wasn't happy when i got them but now finds them amusing when they are shouting on me for veggies and climbing on tunnels to see me. The hamsters have decided to start nibbling my daughter so she is nervous about handling them and they seem to know but the guineas just love her. Best pets ever
 
It is totally wrong that they are saying that they were a starter pet to prepare them for getting a dog. I hope they don't get a dog with an attitude like that. However, I disagree with you about them NOT being good children's pets. I was a child when I first got piggies, as were and are still, my younger brothers. They are brilliant pets for children. You do need a parent to ultimately take charge and make sure they are getting properly cared for but they are amazing pets for children and have taught us about responsibility, how to care for and handle animals and above all, given us all a life long love of these amazing creatures.

As always there are going to be horrible people who get it wrong, but that happens with any animal. The majority of people do look after there piggies well. I wonder how old each of you were when you had your first pet/piggy?

~Amy

ps. Not a rant at anyone, I just get irritated by the repeated assumption that children can't look after a pet
 
*Nibbles&Nugget* said:
As always there are going to be horrible people who get it wrong, but that happens with any animal. The majority of people do look after there piggies well. I wonder how old each of you were when you had your first pet/piggy?

~Amy

ps. Not a rant at anyone, I just get irritated by the repeated assumption that children can't look after a pet
Click to expand...

I was around 8 when I got my dwarf hamsters Tommy and Sally (they were both male lol), around 9 when I got Helga the syrian and 10 when I got Russell the rabbit. They have helped me know what responsibility and commitment are. But some kids really shouldn't have pets...
 
Hi Amy - I don't think that anyone is making the assumption that a child cant look after a pet but I do think that piggies (or any other animal) are not suitable for children if they have sole responsibility for them. There must be adult supervision to ensure they are being fed correctly, being handled appropriately and cleaned out properly. Yes, I would agree that pets teach children responsibility but it doesn't always work out like that. For example if the child gets bored of the guinea pig then if an adult was not prepared to take responsibility then that piggy could end up living in an unclean hutch, without fresh food or water or love.

This is not just me preaching, sadly, I speak from experience. I got my first guinea pig when I was 5 and had piggies until I was 18. I am very ashamed of the care I gave my piggies back then. I was responsible for the care right from the beginning. I have very responsible, caring parents but they would believe the things I said. When they asked if Fluffy had been cleaned out I would say yes - but I was a child and it was cold outside in the winter and fibs would be told....

I am now 36 and Toby and Barney are my babies, I absolutely adore them. If I had a child I would want them involved but if I asked them to change the water in the bottles I would always check it had been done and not just assume.

Hope that makes things clearer, also hope it doesn't make it worse!
 
I have to say I don't think children should have sole responsibility for any pet. Perceived responsibility yes, but always supervised, checked by adults (if that makes sense)!
 
I know exactly what you mean. I didn't have sole responsibility thankfully.
 
My Mum was very hands off. She wrote a list of the jobs that would need doing every week at the start and I ticked them off as I did them. My brothers had a sticker chart and got a sticker every time they did a chore, including feeding the piggies with me and changing their water and giving them evening hay. Now aged 11, 12 and 16 they don't have the charts and never need reminding.

If anyone forgot to do something then there was no tv or 'screen time' because Mum put it like this, if you are going to deprive the piggies of something, you in turn should be deprived of something. We hardly ever forgot! In fact there was only a few weeks I did not care for them and that was when I broke my arm. My brothers were amazing and took over my duties too. I don't think we are that unusual though. Three families I know also care for their piggies like this. With the parents not doing anything and it being the children's duty. If a child has been brought up properly (ie. to do as they are expected), I don't see any reason why they should not experience the responsibility and joy of owning a pet.

I understand where you are coming from but it does frustrate me

~ Amy
 
Absolutely Amy :) What I meant by supervision was just that: that parents check that things have been done. Like in your case. (Sorry, I think supervision was a wrong choice of word.)

When I was a teen I had full responsibility for my tortoise but my mum would check everyday to see if I had cleaned, fed, etc (and tell me off if I hadn't)

I have heard of a few cases (not a lot, thankfully) where parents say a pet is the childs responsibility and they won't step in if there's an issue. This, I think, is wrong.
 
this all seems to be turning into a heated debate. I'm not entirely sure why as we are all saying the same thing :{
 
My main thought is what is a 'starter pet'? It doesn't make any sense to get a pet to get used to the idea of having a pet in order to 'upgrade' to a completely unrelated pet.

Some species have more complex needs and some require more time and attention than others but all species deserve the same amount of research and dedication to providing appropriate care, keeping one species doesn't necessarily prepare you for another.

The only instances I can think of where the term 'starter pet' perhaps makes sense is within a species or certain type/s of animal where the person is looking to ultimately expand on what they already have - so someone may have a small tropical aquarium and learn how to manage that before moving to a full marine set-up.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top