Is a guinea pig better for a10 year old girl or a hamster?

Answer 1

I have had both hamsters and gerbils, and I personally think hamsters make better pets if you want a pet that will interact with you. Although gerbils are awake during the day, and hamsters are not, I was an animal lover when I was younger and played with my hamsters during the day until they were used to it. Gerbils are very fast and hard to handle, where hamsters will cuddle and sometimes fall asleep in your hands. Gerbils tend to bite more, because they do not like to be held as much. When I was younger I would take my gerbils out and they would jump out of my hands and I would have to go and catch them. Also, my gerbils would bite and bite and bite and bite until I put them down. I have a hamster right now that likes to sleep in the pocket of my pajama shirt, and I had one that just died who was THE SWEETEST PET I ever had, she never bite ANYONE, not once! She was handled by small children who were not nice to her and dropped her and she still NEVER bit. Of course, it's best to only let a kid hold the hamster or gerbil if they know what they are doing because they can really get hurt if dropped. Gerbils jump really high and far, so they are DEFINITELY not good for young children to hold. I would say that hamsters are probably better pets if you want to handle them. If they are just to look at, gerbils are very fun to watch. But for a 10 year old, which I would assume wants to hold and interact with their pet, I think a hamster would be the way to go.

Answer 2

First, make sure the child is very responsible, and won't get bored of the pet after a year... If they won't get bored, you should think about -

The hampster is more likely to bite

You would need 2 or more gerbils for it to be happy

If you had 2 gerbils you would have to be very careful that they were both males or both females, as they would reproduce about every 24 days!

Being a heavy sleeper would help with gerbils as they might keep you awake for a while at night

~I would say a gerbil too.

Answer 3

Hm good question I would say gerbils! I do not have a gerbil but I'm getting one. I researched that gerbils are friendly and are awake at daytime and sleep at night time. Hamsters are solitary so they like to be alone. They are nocturnal so they are on that spinning wheel all night , that might keep you up. I think totally a Gerbil.

:I agree i have a gerbil and its called pip and pip is the best!

Answer 4

Hamsters are nocturnal which means they sleep at night and are awake during the day. Which can make them difficult pets for children. However, they are far easier to clean and feed and can be very loving. Ginnea pigs can also be very loving, but taking longer to clean and carefor as they need grooming and putting out for fresh grass daily. Overall,both have negative and positive points so it is your choice.Both are lovely animals.

Answer 5

i had (and still have) guini pigs. on the one hand, guini pigs need a bigger hutch, lots of fresh grass and take more cleaning out. my best friend has a hamster, his cage is smaller, he cost £5 less to buy and he takes less cleaning out.

HOWEVER;

the question you must ask is how much is your daughter going to want to pet her animal, and how energetic your daughter is.

BOTH thease animals must be treated with respect and given lots of love. also, their life-span must be take into account. i acquired two guini pigs for my 10th birthday. one died early this year aged 9. my other guini pig is currently 8yrs old. (but these are VERY old guini pigs) the average age a guini pig will live up to is 5. on the other hand, hamsters usually don't make it past two years of age.

Handleability:

Guini pigs, though flighty to begin with are a good size for holding on to, not too big, not too small, with lots of love they become attached, also, as the guini pig gets older and if your child was older, you could buy a harness and take the guini pig out to nice long grass (careful though: guini pigs are small and easily trodden on) also, guini pigs don't smell (especialy females)

Hamsters are NOCTERNAL many people forget this when buying them then very soon become bored with them because they never see them. also, hamsters (especialy male ones) are by fare more prone to being aggressive. (they also smell) in 9 years my guini pig never EVER bit me. my friends hamster has bitten on several occasions. it's realy up to you. however, i personaly would choose a guini pig every time. (guini pigs also like company, two females take up no bigger pen than one female and studies have shown with company they are likely to live longer)

get back to me at vix.d@hotmail.co.UK to tell me how you got on.

vikki.

Answer 6

*gerbils* they are more active and i think there cuter then hamsters but they act and look more like mice.

Answer 7

hamster