I was just wondering how they are in the areas of (a)stinkiness (b)potty training and © affection.
I had rabbits. I don’t know about potty training, since they lived and pooped in the same cage- they were in the garage, and the cage had an extended bottom on it that collected everything. I don’t remember the rabbits themselves stinking at all, they were relatively smell-free beyond the general “animal” odor. One thing I noticed is that they tended to go to the bathroom in the same corner of the cage, and the books said that houserabbits can be easy to toilet-train b/c all you have to do is ascertain which corner of the room they prefer and stick a box there… and then they’ll learn. But, speculation aside, I loved the rabbits… they were quiet, easy to care for, and very friendly. I’ve had about 8 and none of them ever bit, they were very keen to being petted, liked company and running around sniffing things. They’re certainly not as entertaining as a dog or cat, but once I’m on my own I’ve love to get one again 
oh- we used to feed ours a supplement called “doc’s rabbit enhancer” that’s supposed to cut down on the smell from the poop. 
They gobbled it up like candy…
It’s just that I had a rat and it was the most amazing pet but lived just over two years since the average lifespan for rats is 2-3. I’m looking for a pet that would last longer but be similar. My rat was potty trained, smelled like nothing even when wet, and was extremely intelligent and affectionate. He came when called, licked hands, drank tea with his paw, climbed legs like trees, etc. I have a parrot though so I’m also looking for a pet that won’t attack my bird. If given the chance a rat will attack a small bird in an instance. I kept mine apart but better safe than sorry and I’d like my bird to have flight of the whole house.
Cavies are very affectionate, and some can be “potty trained” but most can’t. They are lovely little creatures, but not very smart. They need companionship and attention, sleep very little, and if you keep them in a large enough habitat and keep it clean, they don’t smell much at all.
I had a little bunny for 3 years and I have a guinea pig now. I think the smell really depends on your bedding. I use carefresh, which is recycled paper stuff, and it works great. I change it about once a week and I never smell anything. My guinea pig tends to go to the bathroom only in one corner of the cage, so I can just scoop out the soiled stuff, too. I used the same bedding with my little bunny (she was a Netherland dwarf. Best pet I ever had, like a little dog!) and she didn’t smell either. I have heard that females of both species are less smelly. I had a male rabbit when I was really small and I don’t know if it was because I used a different bedding, but man, he reeked. He sprayed pee EVERYWHERE!!!
We have two rabbits. We found one abandoned and adopted her. Then we read that rabbits are very social, so we got her a companion.
a) stinkiness
Very little. The rabbits themselves don’t stink at all. But both of our rabbits are fixed. I think that intact males can sometimes get a musky smell, but it’s probably not too strong. Their feces doesn’t smell bad. The urine is kind of stinky, but litter can control the odor.
b) potty training
AvadaK is right - usually you figure out which corner they use for the bathroom and stick a litter box there. But our second rabbit is kind of dumb about this. We got him from the SPCA, where they fed him pellets and lined his cage with hay. We’re trying to feed him grass, but he thinks that grass is only good for pooping on.
c) affection
I think this varies a lot with each rabbit and probably has a lot to do with how they’re raised. One of ours is moderately affectionate, the other not so much.
BTW, rabbits can be destructive and like to chew. Some of them like to dig, also. Neutering them cuts down on destructiveness, but you still need to give them chew toys and “bunny-proof” your house. Watch out for table legs and couch cushions. Be especially careful with electrical cords.
The House Rabbit Society has a lot of great info about rabbits, including links to adoption sources and rescue groups.
I had both Rabbits and Guinea Pigs. I much prefer Rabbits, but to each their own.
My Guinea Pigs sort of smelled, and though they were cute they did not seem to care about interacting with me. They had each other, food and a place to hide in their cage if a shadow loomed…didn’t really need me. As they went to the bathroom all over their cage, it was rather tiring cleaning the big thing. (they were not litter trained) :eek:
I’ve had four rabbits total, each has been litter trained. The only problems I ran into with them regarding training was 1) Not fixing them in a timely manner 2) Aggression between rabbits (they may use urination as a way to mark territority.)
Out of the four rabbits, three have been lovable and friendly. My first two Holland Lops tended to sit on my books sniffing me and licking my face if I wasn’t giving them enough attention.
My current rabbit is a bit different. Like all I’ve had, he’s litter trained and can roam freely in the house (with a human nearby, you never know what a bunny will decide to do!). He now doesn’t chew on ANYTHING except my socks (while they are on my feet only), he leaves cords, walls, floors and computer cables alone. The down side is that he also only likes to be touched when he wants to be touched…(he growls, which I don’t think rabbits are supposed to do…if you get out of line)
What are Cavies?
I have two bunnies. Both were box trained before being fixed. Neither smells. Actually they kind of smell good. It’s that warm, clean little animal smell. They spend about 20 hours a day cleaning themselves so it’s not surprising they don’t smell bad. I have a boy and a girl. The girl is a slob. They boy is not. I use a regular cat pan with Arm and Hammer liners because my girl bunny has stinky pee. It works really well. I use corn cob litter because it’s safe but it doesn’t do anything for the smell.
The girl bunny doesn’t like to run around the house. The boy loves it. He gets these little explosions while he’s running. He’ll leap straight into the air, land and zip off around the perimeter of the room. They’re really bad chewers though so they don’t usually get much run time.
My bunnies are VERY affectionate with each other. They cuddle up in a little cat house and in their litter box. They clean each other too. They don’t like us though. They hate to be held and petted.
My fiance’s cousin also has 2 bunnies and they LOVE to be held. They run like mad around the house, leap up onto the couch, purr (I didn’t even know they could do this), lick and are just generally cute. The cousin was able to hide all his wires so he hasn’t had a problem with chewing. He has 2 Lops and his first bunny was a Lop too. They are all affectionate. My bunnies are a Dwarf and a Dutch. One that died was also a Dwarf. She didn’t like people either. I don’t know if breed has anything to do with it though. It could just be our luck.
I had a male rabbit who lived to be nearly nine years old. If I’d known it at the time, I would have had him fixed so he wouldn’t have sprayed me every time I went to see him in the morning. It really reeked. I also didn’t know that rabbits could be litter box-trained. He lived outside, though. He never smelled awful, and the tiny poo-pebbles (an unbelievable number of them every day!) were easy to bury.
He was pretty docile and didn’t mind being picked up and handled, petted, etc. and wasn’t afraid of people. He’d sit for hours if someone kept stroking him from his ears down his back.
I should add that my bunny loved to roll around in dirt and then I’d wind up having to put medicine in his ears because he’d get little bugs down in there and dig at them.
It’s also no fun to trim a rabbit’s toenails unless you have exactly the right clippers and maybe someone to help hold the rabbit. They can really scrach the crap out of you if those nails are long.
I have no idea what a cavie is but personally, if something smells and can’t be potty trained then I’m hoping to hell it’s not very affectionate.
A cavy is another word for guinea pig
I’ve had a few of each. All were indoor caged pets. I’ve found that rabbits are much, much cleaner than guinea pigs. They groom themselves constantly and as long as you clean their cage every day, they usually do not stink. The only thing you have to watch out for with them is that they have a habit of kicking the bedding out of the cage, which you can take care of by putting something under and around the cage that they can not get to and chew. If yours is caged, let it out at least once a week in a safe place so it can get exercise. If it is a male rabbit, it may do what my male rabbit did and pee outside the cage when it “comes of age” to mark its territory.
I found that certain types of rabbits are more affectionate than others. My big male rabbit was very sweet, while my dwarf female rabbit was incredibly aggresive. She hissed, she growled, she scratched, sliced, bit, climbed. I swear she thought she was a cat!
Guinea pigs on the other hand, I found do not bathe nearly as often as rabbits and tend to stink more. The ones I had weren’t affectionate and if I took them out of the cage would just sit there cowering in fright. They are slightly entetaining though because they make an incredible variety of vocalizations ranging from squeaks to purrs.
On a side note, I had only intended to have ONE guinea pig. I had intentionally requested a male to ensure ONE guinea pig. The pet store said they never had any males. So I bought a female, and within a month or so had FIVE guinea pigs. I gave all the babies away when they were old enough except one, but later had to give that one away too because she was severely deformed and her mother kept attacking her.