Guinea Pig; The Champion Recycler is an Ideal Pet for Children

When I was a kid, lots of us had hamsters or gerbils as pets. My own children have had their share of furry rodent-type pets. After a secession of problems with the smaller rodents, we tried a guinea pig. And we found that this little animal makes a wonderful pet for many reasons.

First the guinea pig is quite a hardy animal. He can live quite comfortably with simple, basic care. His health isn't particularly delicate like some of the smaller rodents, lizards and birds. They make good apartment pets.

Housing for a guinea pig is very simple and convenient. They are pretty lazy so they don't need much space to run. They get a silly streak occasionally and dash about the cage, but those are pretty short-lived and far between. Guinea pigs also don't make much of an effort to escape and couldn't anyway, being rather portly in stature.

Your guinea pig will be perfectly content in a 10 gallon aquarium. Pick up a screen lid for it if you have cats or dogs. Guinea pigs get along petty well with most pets, but some cats find them fascinating and will get in with the guinea pig. The guinea pig won't care to share his home and will tell everyone so loudly. It you put the screen lid on and weigh it or clamp it down (cats are very good at removing unlatched lids), the guinea pig can have his privacy.

We call guinea pigs excellent recyclers and they are, in several ways. She will love you forever if you give your guinea pig a tissue box or any other cardboard box or tube, with any plastic removed. She will chew on it and remodel it, bring bedding in and make a little 'fort' for herself as our boys called it. Guinea pigs like small cozy places and hidey-holes. When it gets to yucky, just pitch it out.

Guinea pigs will make good use of your recycling bin's paper products. You can spend the money on wood shavings if you want, but they are messy and expensive. We used several layers of newspaper to line the cage, folded so that there was a two inch edge that went up the side of the cage. We added several pieces of paper from our recycling bin for our guinea pig to shred into a nest.

To change it, all you have to do is fold in the sides with the mess inside and lift it out. Have a plastic grocery bag ready to throw it into. We changed ours every other day or so (well our boys let theirs go longer, being boys and not averse to a little mess. The pig was a male also and he loved his less than spotless home.) Just make sure they can stay warm; they don't care to be chilly.

With the mice and hamsters we always had to have those noisy, annoying wheels which the rodent decides to use at around 2am in the morning. I've had to put the hamsters in another room at night because they kept the kids awake. Guinea pigs not only do not need an exercise wheel, they wouldn't bother to use it. Guinea pigs consider a walk to the food dish and back to be plenty of exercise.

The guinea pig recycles waste fruit and vegetable scraps very well also. She loves the outer lettuce leaves you throw out because they are brownish. She'll eat your celery leaves, carrot tops, and she loves the green huskings from sweet corn. Apples cores are a favorite treat too.

Guinea pigs do not bite like hamsters sometimes do. Sometimes he will give you a teasing little nibble when he gets to know you and is feeling frisky, but he'll kiss you and lick your hand,too. Guinea pigs will scramble frantically when you try to hold them, but it's more of a game after they've gotten used to you. Once you pick them up, they will cuddle with you.

They have a sweet little rumble purr that they do when they are content. They often demand noisily to be noticed and greeted when you enter the room they are in. Our oldest daughter rescued a male guinea pig who had been mistreated. He was always timid, but when she went in her room, she had to say 'hi' and pet him or he'd let out a shriek.

Guinea pigs will let you know when they need something. They squeak and make an awful racket. They will bang their water bottle on the cage if it is empty, too. They are calm and peaceful when they have what they need. Guinea pigs are sociable, loving, low-maintenance little friends.