(no subject)

[xtremeroswellia]

New piggie. She's been here almost two weeks. Her name is Isabel.

And, the hamster (Cookie) I'm fostering for a client:

Comments

[candylandgal.livejournal.com]

Awww, precious little ones! *in love* Both are beautiful! I have never seen such a pretty hamster before, with all of those different colors!

I hope that Isabel helps to heal your heart a little and make you smile again. I bet she has already snuggled her way into your innermost world! :) Congratulations on this new baby arrival!

I actually wanted to ask your opinion about something guinea pig related, but I didn't want to ask at the wrong time. We need to get a class pet to comply with the 'take care of a living thing' aspect of our new program at the preschool, and while most people are just going to get a goldfish or something....I can't help it. I want furry and snuggly and soft. ;) I suggested a guinea pig and my director didn't turn me down like I thought she would. Yay!

But...do you think that a guinea pig would do okay in a class of two year olds? Would the environment be too chaotic, the kids too...much? And do you think the guinea pig would be good with two year olds? I was thinking that they are less prone to bite than a hamster, and more drawn to snuggling. Of course I would always be monitoring the kids and their direct influence on little piggie, but....what do you think? (I am thinking that I would take him/her home on the weekends, too, or maybe alternate with the more responsible kids and their families...yay!)

[xtremeroswellia.livejournal.com]

Hmm...as much as I'd like to say yes...I'm not sure a guinea pig would do well with two year olds. Mainly because guinea pigs really need to be in quiet, non-chaotic environments. Loud noises can actually cause them to drop dead from fright. :S If the kids were older it'd be a different situation. Hmm...and hamsters...depending on the one you get can be really friendly or can bite all the time. The one I have is very friendly, but the drawback there--hamsters are nocturnal. Cookie doesn't even come out of his house til after 10 most nights. I don't know much about bunnies or chinchillas, but you might consider looking into that--or possibly a turtle. I know turtles aren't cuddly but they don't frighten as easily as guinea pigs do.

:/ If you have anymore thoughts, or want to discuss this more, feel free to drop me an email, Deb! adwilliams03@gmail.com

[candylandgal.livejournal.com]

Awww, okay, I was kind of worried about that. I didn't know too much about their nature, but I know that the chaos can get to me sometimes, and I wouldn't put a guinea pig's life in danger just to have one. Hmmmm. The hamster information is much appreciated, too. It sounds like that wouldn't be the best pet for the after school class, which was what they had chosen.

I'm not sure what to consider, now. I love your idea of a turtle, but they can transmit salmonella to young children, so they would be against the health code. A big lizard? But I don't want to have to feed anything nasty to our pet, either. ;) A mouse or a rat might fall into the same category as the guinea pig. I might be on my way to a 'fighting fish' after all.

Thank you so much for your advice and information. As much as I want the guinea pig, I won't put him/her through the stressful environment. I'm so glad that I talked to you about it, first! :)