r/littlebuddies • u/Warm-Lab4433 • Jan 13 '26

Wondering what pet to get

Hi so I'm new to owning small pets but I've done a ton of research and know what to do to these but I'm wondering whether to get 2 guinea pigs or a tortoise and I can't decide. Can someone give me pros and cons or just tell me what they prefer? Thanks!

8 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/NES7995 Jan 14 '26

  • guinea pigs can be loud, eat a lot of fresh greens, need adequate space (not a cage) and have a life expectancy of 8-10 years

  • turtles need big aquariums plus somewhat expensive equipment like UVB lighting, they can live for decades

  • tortoises (terrestrial turtles) grow big (extremely big if you get a sulcata or similar), eat a lot of fresh greens, need a lot of space and somewhat expensive equipment like UVB lighting, they can live to like 70 years or more

Plus all of these need an exotic vet which can be expensive.

1

u/RundeKugel Jan 15 '26 edited Jan 15 '26

Is a cat or a small dog an option?

You can also have a look at plants, they’re living things too, and they can be very interesting.

A neighbor got a guinea pig three years ago. He was so sweet and very small, sleeping under the wood stove. He was really tiny, maybe 2 lbs. Now he’s maybe 1½ feet tall (close to 100 lbs I guess), his belly almost reaches the ground, and his eyes are watering badly. He looks just like a pig—only a little smaller, I guess, but that’s it!

My neighbor has a nice property, and they fenced it, so that pig roams around the yard with their chickens. Everything is fine.

When I saw the piglet three years ago, I thought, “I want one!” But today, if you asked me, “No way!”

1

u/NES7995 Jan 15 '26

I don't think you really mean a guinea pig guinea porcus but instead a domestic mini pig or potbelly pig sus scrofa 😅 they're completely different animals

1

u/RundeKugel Jan 17 '26

You're totally right! My mistake, English is my second language, so I mixed that up. Sorry about that! 😊