Guinea Pig vs. Ferret

catsareniice1

Has anyone here owned both. I would love the pros and cons....

Who is more work? toileting, feeding....etc...

If left out of their cages are they hard to watch for safety?  

Expenses?

erollis

I have not owned a Guinea Pig. My best friend growing up owned a few. They were awesome pets. They let them out is the yard to run and eat grass. Then bring them back inside to play with. They stayed a good amount of the time in a large cage in the laundry room. They have up keep for bedding like a hamster. Smell is limited to their dirty bedding.

I have not owned a ferret but my H did for years while we dated. They had their very own tiled room with a window. It had a floor to ceiling cage in it and litter pans, water/ feeding area and toys both inside and outside. They are so much fun to play with when awake and asleep. They are tough little critters that bounce back easily. Have enough of them and they can kill a pet lizard (happened to H by accident when he was little). They love to make nests. Socks will go missing and you will find a nest in small, dark spaces. They also are notorious for pooping when they want. They prefer to poop in corners and its messy. They also have a natural odor and their poo smells. That room that he had smelled bad. If cleaned daily it didn't smell nearly as much but left for a few days and watch out, pew! You do get used to the smell after a while. Plus they are so cute! 

As for cost the ferret is more expensive. I would equate the ferret to owning a cat or dog. They require a lot of attention, care and money. 

jjbmstinco

I haven't owned a ferret, but I do have 3 GPs.  I find them to be fairly easy to take care of.  We made their cage, since the ones they sell in the store tend to be too small.  We just got a piece of laminate? that you put on the shower walls when remodeling.  Then we got those wire shelving and built a cage.  We use pine shavings.  We don't cover the whole bottom of the cage, just some areas like under their pigloo and we have a potty pan for them.  Generally they use the bathroom in their potty pan and pigloo.  I have a bowl of dry food that they get once a day in the AM. They get veggies in the AM and PM (around dinner time).  They also need hay everyday.  Generally, when they are out, you refill their dish.  GPs shouldn't live alone, so if you get one, its better the their health and sanity to get 2. We spend about $5.00 every week on fresh veggies for them.  Food is about once a month and that is about $11.00. Hay and Bedding is about $13.00 once or every other month.  We take them out of their cage at least once a day to pay on the floor with us.  Bath time is about 5 mins per GP and is generally pretty easy.  Our boys get them once a month but people online said every six months is ok.  You do have to trim their nails once a month, and check from impactions once a month.

Sorry that got long, but in my opinion, GPs are super easy and make a great pet.  Check at humane shelters first, if you do decide to buy them.  Generally the ones at the store come with a lot of diseases and abnormalities because they aren't cared for properly.  If you have any more questions, please feel free to PM me.

Koani

I can't comment on guinea pigs, but I have 3 ferrets. They are great fun but they do take more maintenance. I don't even really notice how much because I love them so much, but now that I'm typing it, it's a little long...sorry!

Their diet and their cage contribute alot to the smell that everyone complains about. Cheap food will make both their poop smell bad and their coats greasier/smellier. Some foods have fish in it which also makes them smell more. I spend about 30 a month online for two different types that I mix and there's a huge difference in their odor and fur. Food is a little more  expensive for me because I can't just buy off of the shelf. I've found that alot of foods/treats specifically for ferrets aren't good for them. Too much sugar can cause them to develop insulinoma, and certain foods don't have enough protein or have things in it like fruit that are bad for them.

The right litter will help as well. You can use what you like, but kitty litter is generally a bad idea because of the extra dust. Special litters will be a little more pricey and some aren't very good at odor control. I use a pine pellet from my tractor supply called Cozy n Fresh with the oils removed so it's safe for my fuzzies. A 20lb bag is 6 dollars and lasts me a little less than a month with constant scooping. Ferrets have short digestive tracts so they do poop alot. They poop about 10 minutes after waking up, and we get around 30 minutes of playtime before they have to go so we have a litterbox in the room they play in also. They do go in corners, but if you can get them trained to the litter box it's really no sweat. My dogs are a bigger hassle as far as potty training than they are.

Also, you cannot bathe the ferrets themselves often. I like to stretch it to once every other month unless they get into something as washing strips their oils and makes them produce more (and makes them smellier. Again.) I have two sets of bedding so that I can constantly switch them out and wash them. I always get comments on the lack of smell when I take them to the vet so I must be doing something right. :P

It's a good idea to ferret proof where ever they will be playing as they can be like little kids. Ideally, they need at LEAST 2 hours a day out of the cage for playtime. If they can fit their heads in it, they can squish their bodies through. Some people make play areas that extend around the cage with a pen and leave a ramp coming out of the cage, but otherwise you cannot leave them completely unsupervised. Ours play in the living room with a dryer hose(?) some balls, and a digging bucket or bowl of water to snorkel in. I would've thought this would be enough between the three of them. They still crawl up on the table, pull themselves along the underside of the couch, try to climb and fly from everything they get on and that's because our living room is mostly empty. We watch them and once, I still thought one was lost. I found him 2 hours later curled up in a shirt in the corner behind the couch. They don't steal much, but I don't give them treats in there because they like to take it and run with it to hide it. I've heard some ferrets like chewing cables also.

 The biggie to me is the vet. You may be lucky and have a vet that will deal with them like any other pet. My area, ferrets are considered an exotic and only one will deal with them. He charges 40 for just an examination. My oldest has a lump that looks like it might be a tumor. Depending on results and how I want to treat it, I could easily end up paying a few thousand dollars. They are prone to disease/cancer they older they get, and from what I understand it also has to do with how they breed ferrets for sale in the US.

I adore mine so it's no chore for me. I apologize for the long post but I hope it helps some! If you want more information, forum.ferret.com has helped me out like crazy.  Good luck with whatever you decide!