h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Update - Keeping Guinea Pigs as Pets - A2765478
Author: Llama Sabachthani - U650964

This is an update of A401842 Keeping Guinea Pigs as Pets. It has a lot of extra information about what size hutches should be, as well as how many guinea pigs you should keep.

A few things (most of which were present in the original, but might as well correct them now):

OK should really be 'okay'

I would add something to that beginning about what is the main difference between guinea pigs and hamsters (size? temperament?)

Isn't it possible to have guinea pigs "fixed" at the vet, just like dogs and cats? It seems like I know someone who has done this -- seems like a lot of money for a rodent, but there you go.

What's the life expectancy on a guinea pig?

Also, the way it's organized seems a bit odd to me.

I think I would start out with a bit more expanded introduction on what guinea pigs are, where they come from, and why they make good pets.

Then under a major heading of something like "Living Conditions for Guinea Pigs", I'd have your current sections of day, night, and space as subheaders.

Then food, then handling. Or something like that.

Does that make sense?

I don't see how guiena pigs can be mistaken for hamsters, apart from both being rodents?

I don't know if it's so much as mistaken as the fact that many people seem to think that they're both the same thing, just different sizes. Well, maybe that is mistaken, but in a different way. It's not like people are *knowing* what hamsters and guinea pigs are and then looking at one and not knowing which it is. It's more that people don't *know* which species is which. If that makes sense. I think I'm babbling.

I supposed I can't remember a time when I didn't know the difference.

I've had both as a pet, (and will be getting both again when I have a more understanding landlord) This one doesn't allow pets, but does do repairs as a hobby, which makes up for it, not very well, but he seems to enjoy them.

Hi Mikey, thank you for commenting on my article. You are right about the organization being a bit strange. I just used the shape of the original entry and added my new sections to it. I will change it around as you have suggested.

I do not agree about 'OK'. I have sometimes seen it written down as 'okay' by Americans, but it is usually spelled 'OK'.

How to tell a guinea pig from a hamster? A hamster looks like a mouse with his tail chopped off, leaving a stump. A guinea pig looks like a furry bread roll with eyes. If I start putting details on hamsters into the article, will I have to but gerbils and chinchillas in too?

I've changed things around, but I don't want to include too much background information on Guinea Pigs as there is already an article on them in the guide.

This might seem picky, but as there's still a fair bit of the original in this, there's no need for it to go through Peer Review. If you can remove it and resubmit it to the UpdateForum it'll be easier for us to keep a track of it and it'll get into the Edited Guide quicker by replacing the original.

Cheers,

Jimster

On the ball as always, Jimster!










It is in the Update Forum.

How the... what the...

How come I'm...

Oh what the hell - well done

In other words, I seem to have got my subscriptions muddled as I don't remember subscribing to this page... must have happened retroactively with that recent upgrade...

I used to work for a cavvy breeder. They are so docile that anyone who got bitten really really deserved it. The emphasis on getting bitten seems to be part of the original, but I don't much understand it.

I've been bitten twice by a guinea pig, so they certainly can bite! Once as a child I stuck my finger into a cage full of guinea pigs at the zoo and one mistook it for food. Another time I was carrying a guinea pig from one cage to another and held it too tightly. I'm sure that one was my fault. There's no harm in having a warning that guinea pigs can bite, but I don't think it is really appropriate to say that "some are more vicious than others".

Hello everybody. We seem to all agree that g.p.'s are not vicious, I have changed the last paragraph around so that it says this. I left in that they may bite.

This seems good to go to me -- what do other people think?

That confident silence tells me that this is ready to roll. So... check the Front Page, right-hand margin.

Woo hoo, congrats!

Thank you Jimster and Mikey for your help.

Congratulations!

I suppose I had better remove this from the Update Forum now, since the Edited Entry has been updated. I thought it would happen automatically.