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| A chinchilla ornament from cafepress.com |
Last time, we were discussing why a chinchilla. As I was exploring my options for a new pet, I decided another hamster wasn't the way to go. Now, let's look at rabbits and guinea pigs.
Rabbits:
I always felt I had a special connection with rabbits. As a very young child, I loved to read. Even as a toddler, I sat and looked at books. One of those little books had large pictures of different rabbit breeds. I forced my mom through whines and mumbles in my inability to form words yet to read and reread the bunny book. And one day, I looked at a page, pointed my chubby finger at a rabbit and loudly said, "DUTCH!" And sure enough, I was pointing to the black and white Dutch rabbit.
Pros -
Rabbits come in all shapes, sizes, colors and temperaments. You can adopt a breed, color or size that fits your lifestyle and your personality. According to rabbitbreeds.org, "the most low maintenance rabbit breeds which weighing no more than 6 1/2 pounds fully grown, are: Mini Rex, Holland Lop, Dutch, Dwarf Hotot, Mini Lop, Mini Satin, Netherlands Dwarf, and Polish." When I was young, my mother kept bunnies. She loved their soft ears and fluffy tails. And, she's right. Bunnies are extremely adorable! I enjoy their hefty size, as I prefer larger animals. At the end of the day, a hamster is too easily squish-able.
Rabbits can also be very entertaining. There are a variety of toys available for them that they can toss, nibble and burrow in for their enjoyment. They can become quite bored in their cages so it's important to stimulate them with activity, like with hamsters, and make sure they have plenty of time out of the cage. To some, this may be a con. If you're someone with little time on your hands due to a hectic schedule, a rabbit isn't for you. Because small mammals live in cages, people with little time, particularly in the evenings, shouldn't own these animals. Cats and dogs need time with their masters, of course, but cats can easily fend for themselves and dogs can be let out to play if there's a fenced backyard on extremely busy days. Rabbits, chinchillas, hamsters and so forth must wait and watch in their cages where they've been boxed in all day to see if their owner will have time for them or not. I make sure to have the time. If I walk in the door after 9:30 p.m. after my long day of college classes, you can bet I'm going to stay up for an hour or even two to make sure Nimbus gets attention and play time and let Sparta know he's loved.
According to exoticpets.about, rabbits can live for over five years. This is definitely a plus for me since I wanted a small pet with a longer life expectancy. If I had adopted a rabbit, Mr. Bunny and I would have had several years of happiness together.
Rabbits, like hamsters, can also be clicker trained. This is important for mental stimulation and for the owner's enjoyment with their pet. It creates a bond, in a way.
Cons -
Rabbits are messy. Now, let me set the record straight... chinchillas are messy!!! If I'm not vigilant, my house can become an utter wreck due to Nimbus's droppings, hay and toys. However, there is one amazing aspect of why a chinchilla trumps a rabbit: no smell. The smell of rabbit urine is an overpowering aroma of stench! As explained by critters360, it's also difficult to clean. While your bunny can be trained to use a litter box, those measures only go so far. My cat Sparta uses his litter box diligently, but that doesn't mean that if I don't clean it on a regular basis that it won't stink up the whole house. And, if Sparta's having a stomach problem, as soon as he walks out of the box, you'd think the lions from the zoo just waltzed out of there. Plus, rabbits will chew, tear up carpet and could potentially do some significant damage to your home. That's a huge factor if you're home is a rental...!
There are some diseases that rabbits can transfer to other pets, and my number 1 thought process always rests on the safety of my other pets. At the time, it was Binx and Sparta. Now, it's just Sparta, so I always think of what is best for him. Currently, a little female stray cat is staying in my home during the cold nights and intermittently throughout the day. However, she wasn't allowed near Sparta or to drink/eat before or after him until she was tested for feline leukemia and given a rabies vaccination. If you go in blindsided when picking out a new pet, the pets you already own may experience just as much pain as you do when adjusting to your new playmate. You have to look at all three sides of the issue. How will I adjust to my new pet? How will my current pets react to a new animal in the house? How will the new pet reaction to me and my pets? If one of those questions raises a red flag during your research, you need to reconsider how important it is for a new pet... or look at other options to keep everybody separated and happy. In addition, when looking at rabbits, you may have to adopt two because they love company and can become very lonely without a partner in crime.
My biggest problem with rabbits - and this is going to seem silly - is that they never recognize their owner as their owner. They don't learn their name. They think that any human being is just a human being. Now, looking through the first page of a Google search, there seems to be a discussion of whether or not that's true. For me, I didn't want to take the chance, and with all the other factors, a rabbit and I just aren't cut out for each other - at least, not in this time of my life.
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| A Black Dutch From dutch-rabbit.co.uk |
Guinea pigs:
I owned a guinea pig when I was young. His name was Nibbles, and he had soft shades of brown fur and an adorable squeak. However, it was a tragic experience when 8 days after bringing him home, he died in my arms for some unexplainable reason. I was devastated.
At the time of picking out the new addition to the family, my former boyfriend's opinion was still at play. We had bought Nutmeg together, and we would buy this new pet together. So, when he said he didn't want a guinea pig, I went along with it. While these adorable critters are fun to watch, they're also extremely skittish. They can be quite noisy, and it's important to own more than one because they, too, get lonely. One new pet was all we could handle at the time.
The two videos below show two different opinions on guinea pig care along with their pros and cons. The second video sounds like a teenage girl is narrating, however, she sounds like she's more informed about guinea pig care. The first video shows a woman handling a guinea pig on her lap, which is a rarity. She clearly has the time in order to work with her animals as her occupation is interacting with the animals on her farm. She gives a more fantastical reality of guinea pig ownership.
A different view about guinea pigs and how they interact with their people from the younger girl. She specifically points out their dietary and habitat needs. The video also shows a more fitting home for the little pets instead of the startled herd careening around a very sparse cage in the first flick.
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