Want a Guinea Pig(s) How To Convince Parents to Let You Have a Guinea Pig(s)?

[MysticalMysty]

Hello everyone! My name is Mysty, and I really want a couple of guinea pigs. Unfortunately, my parents are very against the idea and I was wondering how to convince them. :sad:

So far, I have:

-Offered to pay for them in full
-Clean the house top to bottom
-Take care of them 100% along with my younger sister
-Done my research and found an estimated price for them
-Looked on local adoption sites to find a well-priced guinea pig or two

We already have a Russian dwarf hamster, Draco, that we've been taking care of consistently, as well as two dogs that we care for as well. I just don't know how to prove to them that my sister and I can successfully take care of some guinea pigs.

One of their concerns is that we will be camping a lot over the summer, and I asked them if we could get them after summer ends. They said "I don't think so." :/

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

(Edited by moderator: Please keep posts to left justified. Making it center justified makes it difficult to read. Thank you)

 

[ryliem]

I have learned from experience that just offering or promising these things is not going to work. You have to do it without being asked. Do extra things around the house you wouldn't normally do. Bring up your grades (if your still in school) all before even bringing up the idea of a new pet.

Having other pets in the house is a big obstacle too. Dogs WILL try to attack any small animals if they are not already used to them. I have had dwarf hamsters before too and they don't need as much floor time as guinea pigs. One wrong move, misunderstanding, or wrong timing and that dog could kill the GP's.

Guinea pigs can get very expensive. If you want to care for them as long as possible you need a good source of income to provide everything they need. Just saying you will pay for them or saying you will pay your parents back is a lot different than walking up to them with $400 in hand. Don't forget you have to buy food, hay, any thing in their cage that breaks, veggies, and vet bills.

If you are going to make an estimated price for them, only write down the more pricy items. What you find online might be different than what is in store. Bring more money as back up if you need it.

Lastly, if you will be away a lot during the summer it is a perfect time to show off how responsible you can be. Offer to do more chores around the house, packing up as much as yo can for your trips, having good behavior with your siblings, anything to show that you are not giving up and you are serious about getting a guinea pig.

If this seems like too much work, then owning a GP is going to be worse. You HAVE to interact with them and give them a good home. You need to be prepared to give up some of your time for them. If you show your parents that you can be responsible and handle multiple things at once, then you have a better chance at getting a guinea pig than making promises.

Hope this helps.

 

[MysticalMysty]

Hope this helps.

It did; thank you so much!

 

[CavyTV]

You need to get AT LEAST 2 guinea pigs. Guinea pigs are social animals and do best when they are kept in pairs or more. They feel safer, they are more active, they are more confidant around, and they are happier. There are some situations in which a guinea pig will not get along with others but you have to try him/her with several guinea pigs before coming to that conclusion.

Unless you have a job or some sort of income, paying for them entirely by yourself will be difficult. I do not have a job, but I do earn money for good grades. Every A earns me3I am a high honors student so the money I get for grades is enough to buy hay, bedding, and extras. The only thing I do not have to pay for (but I probably could) is veggies. My parents do not like the idea of saving up for vet trips or even considering taking the guinea pigs to the vet for any sort of situation, and when I first got my pigs several years ago, I did not know they were going to be like this which is a shame. Now, I am trying my best to save up money on my own so that if there is ever an emergency I can hopefully cover it myself or pitch in if my parents decide to help. I am lucky and grateful that my parents pay me for grades because if they didn't, not only would I not be able to buy the Ivermectin I need to get rid of the parasites on them that I noticed not too long ago, but I would have never been able to buy them their huge 2x6 cage with comfy fleece liners and cozies for them to sleep in and quality hay to eat. Sometimes I do struggle, I will admit, but I get by and I have been doing so for several years.

Guinea pigs are not easy animals like hamsters. They need so much more.

Here are the main things they need:

-A friend or more
-A GOOD sized cage, NO PET STORE CAGES. 2 boars should AT LEAST live in a 2x5 (28in.x70in.) and 2 females should AT LEAST live in a 2x4 (28in.x56in.). No wire-bottom cages.
-Bedding...either fleece with an absorbent layer underneath, paper bedding, or SAFE wood shavings. No pine.
-Veggies everyday. They need veggies rich in Vitamin C everyday as they cannot make it themselves. Giving each pig 1/8 of a bell pepper everyday will do the trick. They need variety in their diet; they should be getting at least 4-5 different veggies everyday in 2 or 3 separate feedings. Fruit should only be fed 1-2 times per week in small quantities. At least 1 cup of veg per pig per day or 10% of their body weight (ex. pig is 1000g give 100g of veg).
-A safe clean environment.
-A good, responsible owner.
-Money set aside for potential vet bills.

Guinea pigs are a lot of work. Make sure to do a ton of research before getting your guinea pigs. Make sure to look up what veggies/fruits they can and cannot eat, how to bond them successfully, how to detect if something is wrong in your guinea pig, etc. You need to know A LOT about guinea pigs in order to care for them correctly.

If you do all of this, I am sure you will be a great future guinea pig owner.

Good luck!

 

[onefutui2e]

In addition what others have said, you should make sure to fully do your research on how to care for them to accurately come up with costs. The first time I had pigs I went through a lot of unneeded expense that I could've avoided had I known what I know now. Things like cage size, bedding material, quality hay, pellets, etc. Luckily I'm an adult (in age, at least) and work a full-time job so these added expenses didn't exactly kill me. But for someone who might not have a regular source of income it could sting quite a bit.

The second time I got pigs (I gave away my first pair, then adopted another a few years later) my expenses were significantly lower because I had a much better idea of what did and didn't work the first time around. You'll run into stuff you didn't expect, but ideally you want to minimize the number of surprises.

This won't convince your parents per se (except to show that you did a lot of research), but if you can avoid unnecessary expenses, you lower your chances of your work blowing up in your face, running to them for help, and getting a stern "I told you so" from them.