Where People & Piggies Thrive

Newbie or Guinea Guru? Popcorn in!

Register for free to enjoy the full benefits.
Find out more about the NEW, drastically improved site and forum!

Register

Frustrated Need resources for my daughter

ZiggyPig

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 1, 2017
Posts
210
Joined
Aug 1, 2017
Messages
210
Hi,

I imagine someone will be able to help us out. My daughter is the one who wanted the pigs and, of course, we knew we would be taking responsibility for ensuring their care, but she's really not helping and she's only here approx 2.5-3 days a week.

We are trying to convince her to let us move the piggies from her room, where they are rather isolated, to the living room, where we spend most of our time.

Does anybody have resources that might help and be understandable to a smart, relatively advanced 8 yr old, who needs it coming seriously from someone other than us.

Thank you!
 

Mousewife

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 27, 2017
Posts
84
Joined
Aug 27, 2017
Messages
84
Ah, the joys of slightly stubbornish kids who know better than their parents.

Take my advice as you will, but know it's coming from a mother with a little one who is currently convinced the newest guinea pig hates her. (Insert eye roll here).

You could have her read through the main parts of this site and Guinealynx and make a list of everything a guinea pig needs then present it to you. My little is in grade one and making her make lists works great to make sure she has really read what I presented to her.

In the meantime, tell her that you are moving the cages to the living room. Full stop. You could present it as giving her more privacy. You don't want to have to go in her room to clean the cage when she isn't around. But tell her instead of asking her. After all, she is only 8 and you are doing the care for the guinea pigs.

Alternately, you could move them when she isn't around and explain why later. Best of luck.
 

Shieme

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Apr 27, 2017
Posts
300
Joined
Apr 27, 2017
Messages
300
Move them. She's 8 and you are the parent. Move them when she's not there and then she might go, oh that's cute. Another thing, buy a larger cage, they are pretty cheep and move them in the larger cage and tell her it would fit in her room.
 

bpatters

Moderator
Staff member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Posts
29,251
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
29,251
Convince her? You're the parent. It's better for the pigs, and they should be the main concern right now.
 

ZiggyPig

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 1, 2017
Posts
210
Joined
Aug 1, 2017
Messages
210
Another thing, buy a larger cage, they are pretty cheep and move them in the larger cage and tell her it would fit in her room.

We already have them in a 2x5 and are about to expand to a 2x6 - it takes up a lot of the space in her room but she loves hearing them talking to each other in the morning and at night. She used to have a dog sleep with her but now she has a loft bed and can't anymore.


Ok, I understand the point about being the parent and doing it no matter what, but there are several good personal family reasons why I won't do that to her right now. I guess I was hoping people might have links to videos that talk about how important it is for guinea pigs to be in the family space. [MENTION=40219]Mousewife[/MENTION] you are right on the reading, but we have had her do that. We will again, but I feel like hearing it from an "expert" and not us is going to be a big help. She loves to read but I think with information she doesn't want to hear, she learns better audibly/visually.
 

Mousewife

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 27, 2017
Posts
84
Joined
Aug 27, 2017
Messages
84
We already have them in a 2x5 and are about to expand to a 2x6 - it takes up a lot of the space in her room but she loves hearing them talking to each other in the morning and at night. She used to have a dog sleep with her but now she has a loft bed and can't anymore.


Ok, I understand the point about being the parent and doing it no matter what, but there are several good personal family reasons why I won't do that to her right now. I guess I was hoping people might have links to videos that talk about how important it is for guinea pigs to be in the family space. @Mousewife you are right on the reading, but we have had her do that. We will again, but I feel like hearing it from an "expert" and not us is going to be a big help. She loves to read but I think with information she doesn't want to hear, she learns better audibly/visually.

i can really empathize with where you are. It's easy to say "just do it", but if you haven't yet there are probably good reasons. Would she respond to "we want to protect the privacy of your room"?

Guinealynx has a book review section: https://www.guinealynx.info/reviews.html

I really enjoy Little Adventures channel on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDd21vf-O4Ay6A3X7WPPvEw

I haven't seen all of her videos, so can't vouch for the accuracy of everything but what I have seen seems really good. Maybe she has something in her videos?

Kids can be hard. Kudos to you for trying to respect her needs while you navigate this. Playing the heavy is the easy way out. You're taking the harder route. It will pay off! It always does.
 

Mousewife

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 27, 2017
Posts
84
Joined
Aug 27, 2017
Messages
84
Ok, I've tried to do a bit of research specifically on the social needs of guinea pigs. Hopefully these help hit the required points.
(broken link removed)
Talks about guinea pigs needing daily care and ultimate responsibility lying with the parents, even if the pet belongs to the child.


https://www.guineapigcages.com/location.htm
From this website. You've probably already seen this.


https://www.guineapigcorner.com/indoor-cages
Discusses location. "Guinea pigs are very sociable animals, and love to have lots of human contact, so it's much better if you can put their cage in or near a busy family area. This way, they can experience the hustle and bustle of family life, and really feel welcomed."


(broken link removed)
Again with the notes on guinea pigs needing to be with activity.


I have tried searching YouTube and come up empty. I will keep looking for you.
 

Shieme

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Apr 27, 2017
Posts
300
Joined
Apr 27, 2017
Messages
300
We already have them in a 2x5 and are about to expand to a 2x6 - it takes up a lot of the space in her room but she loves hearing them talking to each other in the morning and at night. She used to have a dog sleep with her but now she has a loft bed and can't anymore.


Ok, I understand the point about being the parent and doing it no matter what, but there are several good personal family reasons why I won't do that to her right now. I guess I was hoping people might have links to videos that talk about how important it is for guinea pigs to be in the family space. @Mousewife you are right on the reading, but we have had her do that. We will again, but I feel like hearing it from an "expert" and not us is going to be a big help. She loves to read but I think with information she doesn't want to hear, she learns better audibly/visually.

I understand that since I lost my dog and bought Shiemi to replace her. I have to have something to take care of. I had Shiemi in my room till I got a larger cage. Here's my question: does she have a pet in her other room, when she's away from you? If not, then do the right thing for the piggies. Two, get her a sleeping bag for the room change and tell her she can sleep next to them if she likes. I bet she will go to her room after a couple of days. I know it's hard to say no when you don't see her a lot. 3 to 4 days is great but you are the parent. Move the cage when expanding and say no, I'm sorry. It's moved due to space and I have to clean it when you are not around. But if you like, you can sleep next to the cage if you feel lonely at night. If she's light enough, you can move her to the bed and she will wake up confused, yes but well rested. I use to have a clean at I slept with at night but he would get up when I fell asleep. I didn't miss him when I woke up. He was use to me taking him to bed too.

I hope this helps. Good luck!
 

ZiggyPig

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 1, 2017
Posts
210
Joined
Aug 1, 2017
Messages
210
Ok, I've tried to do a bit of research specifically on the social needs of guinea pigs. Hopefully these help hit the required points.
(broken link removed)
Talks about guinea pigs needing daily care and ultimate responsibility lying with the parents, even if the pet belongs to the child.


https://www.guineapigcages.com/location.htm
From this website. You've probably already seen this.


https://www.guineapigcorner.com/indoor-cages
Discusses location. "Guinea pigs are very sociable animals, and love to have lots of human contact, so it's much better if you can put their cage in or near a busy family area. This way, they can experience the hustle and bustle of family life, and really feel welcomed."


(broken link removed)
Again with the notes on guinea pigs needing to be with activity.


I have tried searching YouTube and come up empty. I will keep looking for you.

This is awesome, Thank you!
 

ZiggyPig

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 1, 2017
Posts
210
Joined
Aug 1, 2017
Messages
210
UPDATE!

Talked to my daughter enough to explain that not only do the piggies want to be around the family but also that when she isn't here, they don't get a lot of attention and it's harder for me to take care of them. I have fibromyalgia and some days climbing up and down the stairs bothers me, so it's hard to keep going up there, so they are very isolated. I think the second point really hit home as she often worries about my fibro (not that I want her to) but she does like to make things easier on me. She also recognized that I was doing most of the work and she was missing out on time with the friends that live in this neighborhood, and she only gets to see when she is here.

So, as I suspected from the beginning, I now am the official guinea pig person with a helper, and the piggies will move downstairs to the living room. Good thing they're so darn cute and Ziggy gives me kisses!
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.

Similar threads

helpmeporfavor
Replies
2
Views
336
helpmeporfavor
helpmeporfavor
P
Replies
0
Views
273
Pinkdonna1
P
Squiggles
Replies
5
Views
629
Guinea Pig Papa
Guinea Pig Papa
C
How Many? My guinea pig
Replies
1
Views
289
bpatters
bpatters
jcp
Replies
3
Views
487
Guinea Pig Papa
Guinea Pig Papa
Top