Does anybody else use Guinea Pigs in their act. I began incorporating my pet Guinea Pig when several "Rabbit" props I owned turned out to be too small to fit the Rabbits comfortably.

He has appeared in quite a few of my shows and generally gets just as big as a reaction as the Rabbits.

Just curious if anybody uses one.

Mike, I don't use any animals in my act because of the maintenance involved. But a guinea pig appeals to me. I have a wonderful dove to bunny box I purchased with the intent of using it for something that never developed. But a guinea pig seems easier for me to deal with. Any suggestions on owning a guinea pig? I had hamsters when I was a kid but they always got out and God knows where they ended up in our house....Do they make good pets as well?

Guinea Pigs are excellent pets - Most are gentle and love to be held - Many places recommend them as fine first pets for children

Mike

I had guinea pigs in my shows in the past.

Thanks Mike, I think I'm going to look into a guinea pig....are you aware of certain breeds that may work better in a magic production environment? Can they be trained to stay on a table, for instance? Or are they best used simply as a production effect? Thanks!

MacDonald Birch used to use and give away a guinea pig all the time. He used the rat bottle. Ken Griffin used to produce Rosco the guinea pig using something like my Supreme Master Production gimmick.

I would get one with one with long hair so he look larger.

Richard

Mine has never crawled off the table but I generally will not leave him on too long.

There are normally 3 ways I produce my GP

1. I have a Dazzling Magic Doves to Rabbit Cylinder - My rabbits are a little large to fit comfortably, but the GP is happy as a clam in there. I own a number of Dazzling Magic products and I have to say they generally make really fine items).
2. I have a Mini Blammo made by one of the members here on the Café. Here I always keep my eye out when I let it fall apart just to make sure he is not on an edge.
3. I have one other production box I use.

I always make sure I pick him up after production, hold him, let him move around a little. When I first started using him, I made a typical mistake. I produced him, showed him and put him away and after the show I heard some saying they weren't sure he was real or not. I realized I needed to slow down and let the GP be a GP and act cute and move so there was no mistaking he was real.

He is always a big hit.

I am now ready though to add the ducks I bought last year to a few special shows, particularly the Pekin Duck. I have two production devices that would work for him and several others that would work for the smaller Call Ducks. They are reserved though mainly for true stage shows such as my school shows and a few other functions.

Mike, thanks for the information on the Guinea Pigs. I think I'm going to look into getting one or two. Good Post and I'm anxious to see if others use the GP as well.

One reason the "old timers" used to give away their guinea pig every now and then is that the little rascals grow too big to fit in certain places relatively quickly...

Julie

The same was true of the Blackstone rabbits. Trust me, I had to find little buggers to fit in the jars.

Richard

We used to have a pet guinea pig. We couldn't trust her on a table or platform--I don't think she really understood that it could hurt her to fall off. I'm not sure that their depth perception is all that great.

As far as getting big goes, I know it was really hard not to let ours get fat, even with lots of daily exercise and a carefully planned diet.

Almost wish we could get another one, this thread makes me miss the squeaky little bugger. We have too many pets already, though.

That is true - GP's love to eat - if diet is not monitored they can get very fat which is no good for them.

Mine is not much into exercise so I try to maintain more thru diet. When I get him out, I think he protests the notion of exercise and just sits there looking at me like he is asking me, "where's the food?"

The rabbits however, love to get out and hop around. Sometimes he'll exercise a little if I have him out with one of the rabbits.

I'm sure your bunnies are fine, but be careful when the g. pig is around the rabbits. They have such powerful kicks, and even something in play can really hurt a guinea pig.

Generally speaking a G Pig and Rabbit will get along much better than Rabbits together. Generally they won't fight although of course there are always exceptions.

How bout sugar gliders????? they bond with a person and wont leave your side... they are small enough and once they are well bonded they stay on you! we have a pair and they are the most cutest little critters! but the only problem is they are illeagal to have in some states and california being one of them! they are nocturnal like a rabbit.

I realize I could google it, but what is a sugar glider?

Wouldn't they crawl around in the dark rather than going to sleep like a dove?

How tame do they get for you? The only ones I've ever known were semi-wild in a zoo environment.

I have a pair of gliders. they are social critters. they sleep in my shirt pocket all the time and they love to lick my fingers all the time! the more you work with any animal the tamer they become! I carry them around in a small bonding pouch every where I go! children ask me about the crabbing sound they make I pull one out who loves to stay on my hand and I give a brief explanation of what they are and they are oooooo and ahhhhhh'ing. they think its the most adorable critter they have seen! they bond to you and go by your scent! the more you put into them the tamer they become! I love my little guys! I let them roll around in the critter ball every day for exercise! they do best in pairs unless you plan to spend a lot of time of them!

@igr8mgkman

Cool, I had forgotten how much they love pouches--and how often we had to launder them lol. I just figured since they're nocturnal that it would make a problem.

I play with them when ever I feel like it! they are very clean critters! I hear them in their cage all night long playing etc! but I do play with them in daytime! they run in their critter balls etc! so it doesn't make a difference when you play with them!