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Chat so my kid wants a guinea pig...

daydreamer89

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(couldnt think of anywhere else to put this sorry if its in the wrong place)
Thought I'd share this, after seeing a post on how to convince a parent to let you get guinea pigs.
How about one for parents! did you get guinea pigs for your kid/s? what did they have to do to get them? and why?

Im fairly proud of what we did for our daughter (who turns 7 this week) so I thought I would share in case it would help any parents are looking for ways to let the kids show they are responsible enough for a guinea pig. (obviously we all know at the end of the day the responsibility is on us to care for the guinea pigs)
after my husband and I talked about it we decided the best way she could show us that she is responsible and will not get bored of the guinea pigs was to have her earn the money she needs to buy everything the guinea pigs would need all by herself. (knowing that this would take her months to do) if she could do hard chores (not just cleaning her room) and make that money, put it in a jar, and not use it for impulse buys that would show us that this is something she really wants and it will no longer be a "oh my god soo cute i want one" (which is how a lot of people end up with small pets)


what we did was start off with a amazon list of what we needed I involved savanna with this process (so it might be a bit more expensive because she went for cute things), we realized the total cost for us would be about $200.00 USD. we then found this awesome forum (which made me fall in love with guinea pigs in a huge way) so things were taken out of our list and things were added. we are now at $135.00 with the rest of the money to be spent on a awesome C&C cage.

my husband and I went over how much she should make per 'job' around the house (she has now fallen in love with scrubbing the fridge out so thats a bonus lol!) we have made it so that she can earn up to $52.00 a month. which will get her the guinea pigs in 4 months. this doesn't include money from birthdays or christmas, it also does not include the items from her list we have decided might end up under the christmas tree or as a present for her birthday. so it might only be 2 or 3 months before she gets them.

as of next week she will have 2 toys for the guinea pigs and a radish food dish from her list (about $10.00 of items) we did this to show that we support her and want her to succeed.
at the end of the month we will be going to home depot to buy the stuff for a c&c cage and build it. (keep in mind this is for a 7 year old so we are helping keep her on track with a older kid a lot of the things we have done to help her out wont be needed) she is also aware that once she does get the guinea pigs she will still need to do extra "hard" jobs around the house to earn money to at least pay 1/2 of the food/hay/toys/etc. that will be needed monthly and will also have to put 5 dollars a week away to save for any vet bills.

some of this might sound extreme for a 7 year old but at the end of the day if I am able to use things that happen in our home as a teaching tool for responsibility or money management I will.

Here are her lists and helping aids that are on our hallway. (excuse the dirty wall we had a older chore chart there and I stupidly thought oh what a great idea to hand a black crayon/pen here.. to mark the chart) and her guinea pig fund jar.

I'll keep this updated as we go into the next few months. and when we build the c&c cage etc.

WIN_20150922_113550.jpgWIN_20150922_113556.jpgWIN_20150922_113602.jpgWIN_20150927_141526.jpgWIN_20150927_141522.jpg



What do you guys think? did you do anything similar? anything different?
 

miniver

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That's amazing. Go Savanna! I'm rooting for you.
 

jaycriae

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Looks great! We adopted our first guinea pigs (a pair of brothers) when I was seven, so I know as long as you're responsible Savanna can do great with them :) I wish you the best!
 

daydreamer89

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I just realized how messy my kitchen looks i'm sorry! when these pictures were taken we were in the bad part of a drought here (2 1/2 days without water-1/2 a day with water... we just started getting water every second day this week) those tiles are driving me insane :\

Thanks for the support guys :) she will be happy to hear theres people here rooting for her. shes on here for a bit every day with me checking out pictures and learning new things!
 

CavyChrissy

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Awesome idea! She is certainly old enough and this will be an amazing experience for her!
 

Katie Vetter

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What an awesome idea! I started off with one pig at 14 years of age. He was a $5 rescue from Craigslist, an impulse buy because he was in desperate need and the people were getting rid of him to buy a dog! From then on, it was my parent's fault! They fell in love with him, and we rescued two more. By then, we knew our stuff and bought the first one a buddy. The first one passed away from medical issues, and we adopted another buddy. Then, my mom decided that she wanted the girls! So, we rescued them as well :) However, I am the sole caregiver of these piggies. I pay for all of the food and fleece, along with toys and all of the vet care. My mom gives them floor time and my dad helped build the cages (which they payed for), but other than that, it's just 16 year-old me! Guinea pigs are a great way to build responsibility, and I %100 agree with your set-up. :D
 

LifeAsItMayBe

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That's pretty cool. I think maybe I could have been a responsible pet owner at 7 if my parents had let me, but for whatever reason my parents never made me do chores. When I was in college I asked my mom to show me how to run the washing machine and she just took my laundry and did it herself :rolleyes: (I do wash my guinea pigs' fleece now, though!).
 

luna17

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Great method! I got piggies for Christmas when I was younger as a shared present for my brother and I. I'd been working all year to get my own pet, like your daughter, and my brother did not. I wish my parents had applied your method! I ended up taking over full care over both piggies a few days after Christmas and now pay for everything. It's a wonderful learning experience and I love mine to death. It prepared me for larger responsibilities too (twin mini goldendoodle puppies that we got two days before Christmas last year and horses).
 

daydreamer89

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update: Savanna will be ordering everything she needs in the coming weeks! thanks to a AMAZING report card. her birthday and money sent from her great grandparents (birthday/christmas) 2 visits from the tooth fairy and all her chores, she is only 30 dollars away from her goal!!

we have found a few people who had surprise babies (stupid pet stores) and her father and I have decided we are willing to drive up to a hour and a half (most people are willing to meet 1/2 way so that gives us the whole island) we are now just waiting on the last of the chores to start ordering everything! I have decided we will update this as things move along from setting the c&c cage up to decorating it, to welcoming our new family members. however we have decided if we have to do a long drive and are only able to go on the persons say-so on the sex of the guinea pigs we will only get one and wait for the 2nd one closer to us to make 100% sure we get another of the same sex.
 

Heather Acosta

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I absolutely love that idea. I might follow your lead with my girls next time they ask for a pet. Currently all of the animals we have are mine and my husbands, but we tell our girls that they can help care for the animals. They actually help clean our mouse cage.
 

CavyChrissy

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Go Savanna! Good for her saving up and working towards her goal! Can't wait to hear how things go.

For getting two pigs, you could check out the pictures on Guinealynx. They have a LOT of CLOSE UP pictures of pig private parts. Then when you are there you can check the gender yourself and see if you feel comfortable taking two. And honestly if you wait for one that is close, you are still taking that person's word. And if they are wrong, you still end up with a pregnant pig. So no matter what, I think you need to do your best to confirm the gender yourself.

Also ask the person WHEN they separated the babies, boys from girls. If they aren't sure or it was later than 3 weeks of age, their female babies may already be pregnant. Might be safer to get boys in that case.

I suggest trying to get two at once because if you can get two pigs that are siblings or already living together, they already know each other and are less likely to fight. If you get one now and one later, then you have to do introductions which can be hard (and aren't guaranteed to work - I know, my neutered boy can't live with my two females because one of them is just too dominant and keeps biting him and drawing blood).

Oh, and Savana can ask for guinea pig accessories for Christmas if she wants! I might and I'm grown adult.... Ha!
 

daydreamer89

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well if we end up having to go far for the 1st one we wont be going to the persons home to pick it up it will be a 1/2 way meeting place, so i wont be able to check myself (savanna is picky and the 1st one will be hers) if we wait to find a second one closer i will be able to go to the home to check myself and make sure its the same sex as the 1st one. its more that she is very picky (personality lol) she recently saw one of this facebook page that was cream and what looked like a light grey and with the amount of work she has done im willing to go through the introduction process if i need to and even bring the 1st for a meeting. however if i find someone who really knows their stuff and is willing to take a ton of pictures showing me that they are infact the same sex ill be okay with it.
the issue here is that there is a huge language barrier i only speak a little spanish and have to rely on my husband (who is very very busy with work) so things can be mistaken very easy with something as simple as a conversation.

I will def. do my best to get two siblings but if i cant we will have to do it the other way. and of course make sure they were separated from any males at 3 weeks :)

we took the fleece off the list until a later date just to save some money (santa might bring those hehe) our pets always get spoiled at christmas I think our cat got a bunch of toys, treats, and canned food (which she doesnt get often) and our tortoise got a bunch of edible plants that santa planted for him :) so im sure the piggies will be just as spoiled.

here is what we added to her birthday presents from her list

WIN_20151001_135901.jpgWIN_20151001_135915.jpg
 

TurdineBaby

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What lucky future piggies you'll have! I think you're doing a great thing letting her prove her responsibility and work for her pet. I did the same when I was younger and it makes you respect and love the animal so much more :)
 

CavyChrissy

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Sounds like you have a good plan! Best of luck!

I got my piggies that willow ball and they LOVED it!
 

daydreamer89

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guinea pig.jpg looks like we will be picking this cutie pie up on the 7th or 8th just waiting on the hubby to give the guy a call and confirm that she was separated from the boys by 3 weeks old. im not 100% sure if we will be taking her sister as well as I have yet to see the conditions this guy keeps them in and I know some people here keep them outdoors (regardless of how many people point out that its not good) but Savanna fell in love with her as soon as she saw the picture, so this will be her baby!
 

piggy_mom

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Wow, you and your husband are amazing parents! It was a great idea to have your daughter "work" for her guinea pigs, it's a great way to teach her responsibility, I wish her luck, hopefully she will be getting her piggies soon!
 

daydreamer89

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aww thanks :) we do our best. hubby isnt much of a pet person but savanna and i are slowly changing his mind about them (he should have known what he was getting into haha)

called the guy a few hours ago and we will be driving down there to pick her up next weekend! Kiddo thinks her name is going to be Lela.

however its a long drive to pick her up as this guy cant meet us 1/2 way. we are going to need to stop and grab something to eat on our way back and will need to figure out some sort of makeshift cage to bring her home in that i can take into a restaurant when we stop
 

daydreamer89

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got back from shopping earlier today :)
went to pick up the babies food bedding and hay.
found out the sign store just up my street is willing to sell me a 8x4 coroplast for only 15 dollars!!! wooohoo! ill be picking that up on monday its only a couple blocks away so i can walk it home.
saved us a good 20 dollars to buy the baby a cuddle cup bed (made for ferrets) and a little hanging bird mirror with a bell on it.
we are super excited now for next weekend just waiting on the amazon orders to come in!
 

Sunrise

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daydreamer, nice willow ball. Usually guinea pigs really like these or straw balls.

I'm not sure about your veggie cup for kibble. It looks easy to tip. Kaytee is reknowned for making pretty bowls that are not practical. I'd recommend a mini baking dish (the kind they serve shepherd's pie in at restaurants) for kibble food. A dish with a greater surface area on the floor is more stable. If you have more than 1 pig which most should have (at least 2 or more), more than just 1 guinea pig can feed at a time. This lessens squabbles about who gets to eat first. Everyone has enough space to stick their nose in the food. Avoid small narrow cups with a small base surface area.
 

daydreamer89

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I figure the dish is going to be a pain in my butt but my daughter loves it so even if we end up just using it as a bowl to serve veggies in that will be fine, I kinda knew when we got it that it would be tipped easy :) going to be buying a new ceramic heavy dish fairly soon and will buy another dish and another water bottle once we get this guinea pigs friend (she will be getting her buddy after new years, we have one lined up)
 
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