When viewing hamsters and guinea pigs from the eyes of a novice, one might be led to believe the two were the same animal or, at the very least, different species. Fortunately, they are two entirely different creatures, with their own unique traits, mannerisms, behavioral tendencies, and dietary needs.
Assuming you do not know which of these delightful creatures you would like to have to join your home, or if you want to understand the pet, you already have better. In that case, you do not need to look any further than this guide, as you’ll walk away with an entirely new worldview regarding these cute little creatures! However, some of this information may be a bit hard to digest, especially the portions regarding lifespans and potential health-related issues.
As a bit of a brief overhead, one of the most significant discernable differences at a glance would be that hamsters are smaller than guinea pigs. This can be great if you are trying to recycle an old cage, but the emotional differences between these two animals might surprise you.
Down below, you will find many different topics covered about each animal. These subjects include health concerns, housing needs, diet, size, lifespan, social behaviors, grooming, and activity levels. For those needing to know the difference between the two animals, we encourage you to continue reading.
What Is the Difference Between a Hamster and a Guinea Pig?
Aside from the note above about the size difference between the two, their eating habits and life spans vary quite dramatically, with an even wider birth between the two arising when you consider the vast amounts of species you could own.
1. Lifespan
The first thing we will discuss is lifespan. Knowing how long your little furry friend will stay with you is essential. Also, if you are a first-time animal owner, asking yourself how long you wish to keep your animal would be wise.
Hamster
Speaking from a broad overhead, most hamsters have an average lifespan of roughly two to three years. While you might think that is a relatively short amount of time, even that figure is considered elderly for a hamster because some may only live for as long as a year and a half without considering any potential illnesses or health complications.
Thankfully, however, you can do everything in your power to extend your time with these furry fellows by regularly interacting with them, ensuring you keep their diet full of fresh greens, stay well within their nutritional needs, and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Supplement all of this with regular vet visits, and you’ll guarantee your hamster can have a long and fruitful life.
Guinea Pig
Pivoting away from our smaller fluff ball, guinea pigs live for considerably longer purely due to their larger size, and by quite a bit at that. Most guinea pigs live for roughly five to seven years on average. However, these extended time frames require more leg work to keep your little friend going full stride throughout them.
One of the first significant differences between these two animals’ lifecycles would be how closely you must pay attention to your guinea pigs’ aging. With a hamster, they behave essentially the same throughout their lives, only slowing down marginally with age. On the other hand, guinea pigs exhibit minor changes in both behavior and mobility almost every year.
These changes can require slight changes in diet and additional health supplements to keep them at peak performance if you do give them the extra love and attention, much like with hamsters. Speaking of vet visits, you may be lucky enough to have a guinea pig live to be ten years old!
2. Size
Regarding size, some people might want a small, extremely tiny animal, whereas others might wish for a relatively larger animal. Because we strictly discuss the two rodents, it is easy to determine which is smaller or bigger.
Hamster
While hamsters may be considerably smaller than guinea pigs, that doesn’t mean they don’t have big hearts. The absolute largest species of hamster can reach up to fourteen inches long and weigh roughly 110 grams.
These differences in a hamster’s overall size can vary slightly when adding in extra factors like species differences and the hamster’s sex, as females typically weigh more than males.
Although the creature is compact, you may want to cram it into a relatively small enclosure. Hamsters need room to stretch and explore and, if you are up to it, burrow, provided you give them the proper bedding and room to do so.
It’s worth noting as well that hamsters have a tendency to get obese relatively easily, especially if they go through emotional changes or feel neglected. If you notice your hamster getting abnormally larger than it has been, especially if it is fully matured, a dietary change and trip to the doctor may be needed.
Guinea Pig
Ah yes, the big, lovable oaf of the two guinea pigs is larger, albeit more so in weight than in length, as most guinea pigs will only measure up to ten inches long at best. Still, when it comes to girth, these wonderful little guys (or girls!) can weigh up to 1,100 grams, making them massive compared to your average hamster.
While that may be viewed as an absolute win for most people, the size difference can become just as much a concern for guinea pig owners as it is for hamster owners. A guinea pig’s size proportions can quickly get out of hand with a poor diet or change in emotional stability.
It is absolutely pivotal to keep a keen eye on your guinea pigs’ diet if you want them to remain happy and healthy. This may prove difficult when these little guys are so adorable and, more importantly, affectionate.
3. Diet
Speaking of diet, knowing how to feed your little fluffy friend is imperative! After all, having a healthy diet will help them tremendously.
Hamster
Exploring the nutritional needs of hamsters a bit more in-depth, it’s obvious that they need a balanced diet. However, the menu that said diet is composed of is rather robust. Hamsters can eat anything from seeds to smaller portions of various greens, finely diced fresh fruit, and even mealworms, but most insects should be treated more as treats than a part of their routine diet.
Other more basic forms of nutrition are worth mentioning and sometimes better alternatives than going entirely organic. This is partially because pellet mixtures are guaranteed to stay within a hamster’s mandatory nutritional needs as long as you feed them appropriate portions and regularly.
Before moving on, it’s imperative to note that there are certain veggies and seeds that your hamster can alternatively NOT have, as they can be dangerous or hard to digest. Some examples are raw beans, apple seeds, citrus fruit, or even garlic. Take some time to research the full extent of these limitations, but do not skip this step, as doing so can be disastrous for your little friend.
Guinea Pig
As one might expect, guinea pigs can have more or less the same kinds of foods and veggies that hamsters can, but with some unique changes. For instance, they both share a special love for fresh greens, like cabbage, kale, parsley, spinach, and the like. They can also dabble quite heavily into fruits, with some tasty favorites being apples, oranges, strawberries, kiwis, and even pineapples!
Nutritional needs also make a spectacular appearance in guinea pigs, with some of their greatest needs being things like Vitamin C and supplements that will help further aid their digestion. To that end, you can once again rely on pellet-based foods that will take the guesswork out of dinner time and make things a bit easier on you overall.
It is also imperative to provide your guinea pig with fresh hay. This can come in the form of Timothy hay, alfalfa hay, and ryegrass. Providing your piggie with some hay is excellent for their teeth and digestion.
As always, too much of anything can inevitably become a bad thing, so micromanaging their diet, especially the more sugary fruits you introduce, will be something to keep in mind. If you are concerned about surprise weight gain, random changes in bowel movements, or even general lethargy, you should take your guinea pig to the vet immediately.
4. Social Behaviors
In some ways, guinea pigs and hamsters love to be held, coddled, and played with. Still, guinea pigs are even more into it than their smaller friends, primarily because of the way guinea pigs bond with people, but we will dive more into that in their specific section. Still, as far as being social amongst others of their species, they behave quite differently.
Hamster
By nature, hamsters are territorial; they do not play well with other hamsters, and, truthfully, should never be in the company of other hamsters, excluding for mating purposes (assuming you are a breeder, of course). This is primarily due to them being more than willing to fight for their home and personal space, which can become dangerous for any hamsters involved and get you bitten or scratched trying to resolve the situation.
However, as far as their relationship with humans goes, hamsters can be trained to become lovable companions. This is much easier to do when you introduce yourself to them earlier in their lives, as older hamsters that have been left to their own devices are much less likely to be open to the idea and may lean more towards simplistic interactions like petting rather than being held.
Despite their behavior, hamsters are in dire need of attention. Without it, they are prone to depression and anxiety and can develop severe health issues simply because of how sad and displeased they can become, so be sure to show your hamster love!
Guinea Pig
Unlike hamsters, guinea pigs can live together with one another, but not in large groups; they are more like isolated pairs, and they have to be of the same sex. Otherwise, you may encounter unforeseen issues (or surprise pregnancies).
Regardless, guinea pigs will do well socially, assuming you follow this golden rule, which can occasionally be broken if you keep them in family units (i.e., father and son, mother and daughter, and the like).
When it comes to a guinea pig relationship with a human, they play favorites in ways you wouldn’t believe, as they are very likely to pick a “special person” that they imprint on and become fascinated with this person, looking forward to them arriving, and potentially getting upset if they don’t see them for a few days.
While this behavior is impressive, guinea pigs express it in very strange ways. Guinea pigs don’t typically like being picked up and can be innately finicky, so the duality of their emotions can be rather silly at times.
5. Activity Levels
Everyone loves playing with their favorite pet but said pets might not be willing or happy to play with you. This is especially true of hamsters and guinea pigs because an interrupted sleep schedule can be pretty dangerous for your pet and your fingers, depending on how you approach the situation.
Both hamsters and guinea pigs can benefit from using a hamster ball, but these toys must be supervised. You’ll need to safety-proof your home before allowing them to play with it, as larger pets can prove dangerous to these little guys. Steep falls down just a few stairs could spell disaster, so be careful!
Hamster
If you were to only view your hamster’s activity level based on your own sleep schedule, you might be led to believe they are incredibly lazy creatures that only want to move for a few hours a day, but you couldn’t be further from the truth.
Hamsters have a very odd sleep schedule (which can flex depending on where you are located and what hours the hamster decides to wake up), but typically, they are active at both dusk and right before nighttime, which can be problematic for people with normal jobs or who aren’t exactly night owls.
During these “peak” hours, however, hamsters are incredibly energetic. They look forward to rummaging around their enclosure, going for a spin on their favorite wheel, climbing around any rope ladders you may have gotten, or even burrowing, provided you’ve given them the means to do so.\
A change in overall activity level can be a sign of serious issues arising in your hamster. Anything from slight laziness to a lack of interest in moving or eating may be cause for alarm. Should you notice this, get your pet to the vet quickly, as you might not have much time to remedy the issue.
Guinea Pig
As far as activity goes, guinea pigs might as well exist purely on coffee, energy drinks, and frantic, jittery movements because these little guys can stay away, mobile, and alert for up to 20 hours a day and sleep for only four hours total before getting right back into the fray like nothing even happened.
Although guinea pigs have such an erratic sleeping schedule, they suffer nothing regarding the will to play, passion for their favorite hobbies, or commitment to cleaning themselves or spending time with their cage mates.
Your guinea pig will need plenty of options for exercise with them being awake for so long, however. Some easy options you may want to consider are hollow logs for a few easy laps and a wooden fort to explore or even play tag in. All of these can give your guinea pig a full, happy life.
6. Grooming
Nothing is worse than coming home to the smell of a funky animal, and while that might not exactly be the case when dealing with hamsters, it can be an unfortunate event that occurs when taking up a guinea pig as a pet, and to that end, you’ll need to be a little more hands on.
Hamster
Cleanliness is next to godliness is a mantra that hamsters live by evidently, and with the oils they secrete naturally, you can trust pretty heavily in that ideology, these fluffballs not only make an oil that can keep themselves clean, but they do so in a very efficient manner, evenly spreading it over themselves and maintaining it daily.
The benefit here is that you don’t need to manually bathe them, and more importantly, you shouldn’t, as this act can not only prove dangerous for the hamster but can also cause it to despise you, which is not a great place to be as a pet owner.
If you notice your hamster getting a little more dirty than you’d like, you can look into alternatives like comb-in soaps or sand baths. However, you’ll need to take time to get the appropriate sterilized sand and be mindful that it doesn’t contain potential dust that can give your pet respiratory problems.
Guinea Pig
Living up to their second name, “pig,” guinea pigs can get filthy sometimes, and to that end, they will most definitely need a bath. Still, you’ll want to use a soap and cleaning regimen approved by your vet or a heavily endorsed product. If you’ve never bathed a guinea pig, you’ll want to watch a few YouTube videos on the proper method to do so safely, or again, ask a professional for proper methods to be shown to you firsthand.
While it would be possible to attempt a step-by-step explanation of how someone might bat a guinea pig, a visual explanation would be safer for the animal itself. In the interest of their health, you should lather them thoroughly with your soap of choice and avoid completely submerging the pig in your water. Ideally, only their hind legs should be submerged, with you supporting their front legs with one hand and cleaning with the other.
7. Housing Needs
The precise housing needs of both animals can prove a point of contention amongst different owners. Those who are keen on hamsters burrowing, for example, will say that cages obviously need to be larger to accommodate this behavior, but those who say it is unnecessary will vouch for smaller enclosures being perfectly fine.
Hamster
Assuming you are someone who wants to stray away from burrowing lifestyles for your little friend, the average hamster will be perfectly content with roughly 700 square inches of room in their cage, but this size can be larger if you have a different species of hamster, so some diligent research may be required before making any purchases.
Alternatively, if you do want to indulge in burrowing, you’ll need a larger cage, one with a stronger bottom to support the additional weight, and bedding that is not only easy to navigate for your hamster but also safe enough not to collapse on them when they are in the process of exploring.
It goes without saying, but burrows are much more difficult to clean than a traditional hamster cage. As such, you’ll be looking at a fine balance between overall engagement for your hamster and more tedious cleanings for you.
Guinea Pig
You won’t need to worry about burrowing when it comes to housing your guinea pig, but you’ll definitely want to give them ample room to play. Their larger sizes merit bigger enclosures, and you’ll need even more if you want them to live in pairs.
Guinea pigs’ increased size and constantly active lifestyle will require you to get them a relatively large enclosure, which is up to over seven feet in most cases. Make sure you shop around appropriately and get a cage that fits the aesthetic design you want your pig to have and doesn’t clash with your home. Seven feet might not sound too vast, but it can quickly become an eyesore when you think about how much space is in a room.
8. Health Concerns
The perfect health and safety precautions you can take to ensure a long and happy life for either a guinea pig or hamster are similar, but the size differences do account for some changes, especially when it comes to issues of the stomach.
Hamster
Some of the most common issues a hamster owner might have to endure are diet-related. Congestive heart failure, blood clots, and more can occur in your little friend, so regular vet visits are imperative to keep them in prime shape.
Short of routine checkups, though, other issues like diarrhea can crop up due to a poor diet and, due to their size, can prove fatal quickly. If you notice anything like this, get your pet to the vet immediately, as even a few hours wasted can make all the difference between something being overcome or playing out poorly.
As hamsters age, their bodies naturally deteriorate. Hearing and eyesight are usually the first things to go, often accompanied by intestinal issues shortly after that. Any difficulties maneuvering their cage or lack of enthusiasm for eating or play can be signs of serious problems.
The final thing to be wary of would be complications involving their skin. Because the secret oils must remain clean, you’ll find that there are a handful of issues that can complicate the entire process. Anything from bumps, abscesses, and mites will become problematic quickly if left unresolved.
Guinea Pig
Pigs are prone to many different issues involving their ears and lungs, but some more pertinent ones involving their intestines can also fall into your lap relatively unexpectedly. While some of these can be handled with routine cleanings, checkups, and proper diets, some are truly unavoidable and boil down to the species itself being more likely to suffer from them than any particular reason.
As far as respirator issues are concerned, you can significantly reduce them just by cleaning your pet’s cage. This is especially important given how many bacteria your pig creates simply by existing, making regular cleanings even more imperative to maintaining your guinea pig’s health.
Due to guinea pigs’ incredibly sensitive gastrointestinal tract, they are very prone to getting scurvy, which, for those of you who don’t know, is essentially a Vitamin C deficiency. This can be relatively easy to resolve, especially if you feed them pellets made from formulas that specifically fight against this, but it’s worth knowing.
Other issues, like tumors and abscesses, can also plague your pig, so keeping an eye on them for any visible changes and lesions or sudden bouts of depression, lethargy, and disinterest in food will be an immediate call to arms if you want to get your pig back into a good state of health.
Are Hamsters as Smart as Guinea Pigs?
Unfortunately, no, hamsters are not as smart as guinea pigs, but it isn’t for lack of effort, they are just poorly equipped for the battle at hand, as they have less gray matter in their brain, which innately affects how easily they can absorb information, and to a lesser extent governs their attention span, making it incredibly difficult for them to learn tricks and the like, especially in comparison to guinea pigs who benefit from bigger brains, and more time to learn tricks as well.
Do Hamsters Bite More Than Guinea Pigs?
Once again, guinea pigs’ larger size makes them naturally more comfortable in a wider array of environments than hamsters. This difference in size, as well as hamsters’ being slightly less social by default, makes them more likely to bite you than a guinea pig would be.
Are Guinea Pigs More Cuddly Than Hamsters?
No, guinea pigs are less cuddly than hamsters because they are much more afraid of being picked up and handled than their smaller counterparts. That being said, if your definition of cuddly meant meaningful interactions, guinea pigs could take the crown here, as they LOVE the people they designate as their “best friend.”
Conclusion
You can’t truly go wrong when picking either of these fantastic rodents as pets, but you could make a choice that puts the animal at a significant disadvantage if you cannot commit the time or space to ensure they get the quality of life they need.
