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ORIGINAL: kittinSol

Rabbits aren't rodents. They're lagomorphs. They have an extra pair of incisors, and other different skelettal features.

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ORIGINAL: christine1

he is adorable.

i have a question.  my Sir is allergic to cats and dogs...do guinea pigs fall into the same territory as far as allergies go?  i have no clue about this stuff, i just want to get a pet so much when im' with him.

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ORIGINAL: Emperor1956

Get a snake.  Or an arachnid.  Low on the cuddly, but high on the hypoallergenics.

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ORIGINAL: Darcyandthedark

He looks a good size for a 2-3 year old and he is a stunner!
I have had GPs for the passed 10 years (I had a gunea piggery at one point) or so - my current two are 6.
Just be careful introducing tomatos - some can suffer lip burn from the juice being too much for them.
And keep an eye on feed - stick to the same dried feed you can rely on and don't swap it constantly or they can get bad cystisis if it doesn't agree with them.
Just keep an eye on his claws as they can turn and deform if he isn't on a hard surface - and the pads underneath can over grow too.  But that is painless removal.
 
the.dark.

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ORIGINAL: Emperor1956

He's a cute cavy.  We've had them.  HOWEVER, re: allergies -- cavies (GPs) are about the MOST allergenic-generating domestic animal (rabbits are wayyy up there too).   In fact, your US Army used GPs to both research and test allergen based weapons because they are such prodigious producers of human allergens.  (Your tax dollars at work, bucko).  There are two major problems with the piggies, and then there is a third issue:

Airborne allergens from the GP are excreted in the urine and are part of the dust from the skin (issues one and two).   This means that this very strong allergen gets on both the bedding and the hair, and becomes airborne when little piggy runs around (NOTE that there is very little allergy issue with the hair itself, but with allergen coated hair).  So you are double-whammed, by Mr. Piggy's pee, and by his skin cells shedding.  Most reactions are wheezy, teary eyes, and eczema where the skin touches the allergen.  Serious problems include asthma and anaphalxis (shock).

THEN, if you aren't allergic to Mr. Piggy, you gotta be careful of his bedding.  The two most common beddings - hay and cedar shavings - introduce a ton of toxins into the home.  Hay is notorious, and the better the hay is for piggy (i.e. more absorbent, softer) the worse it is for you (hay dust).  There are, however, beddings that are less toxic (but much more expensive).  One nice solution is a product made out of sterilzied, recycled newspaper.  Another is cheap cotton towels.

But by and large, if there are allergies in the house, Mr. Piggy is a bad choice.  Get a snake.  Or an arachnid.  Low on the cuddly, but high on the hypoallergenics.

E.

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ORIGINAL: Emperor1956

Get a snake.  Or an arachnid.  Low on the cuddly, but high on the hypoallergenics.

kittinSol:  Holy mule, you're such a sadist  . Arachnid indeed... how about a pet crab, perched on the bathtub, whilst you're at it  ?

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ORIGINAL: christine1

aaaaccckkkk!  i'll just have to be petless if spiders are my only chance of non-allergicness.  fuck.  i like snakes but i hear they get stinky.  thanks for the input darcyandthedark, i'm going to check out what kind of allergies my Sir has and hopefully i can find a pet that will suit him...maybe a bird or a goldfish lol.  i don't care what it is, i just love having an animal to take care of.