Jump to content

Menu

Question for guinea pig enthusiasts


Recommended Posts

We're getting DD a guinea pig for her birthday. Would you (a) stick to buying one from a pet store or (b) find one off of craigslist?

 

The Guinea Pig enthusiasts are adamantly opposed to either of the above options. I'm not exactly sure where they suggest getting Guinea Pigs, but there is a forum at "Cavy Cages" where the enthusiasts hang out.

 

We just adopted a Guinea Pig ourselves.

 

Bill

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have had guinea pigs and a chinchilla.

 

I will NEVER buy either from a pet store again. All of them eventually got sick, it took years, but in the end it was because the animals were inferior pet store quality. All three guinea pigs died of bladder troubles. We actually only bought one at a pet store, but she was in a pen with males..... she wasn't even fully matured, and was pregnant. She had two girls, so we had the three. The mom died on the way to the vet, was drinking way too much water, the next one we spent way too much, bladder problems, probably cancer and had to put her down on the spot, the third when she started drinking too much water (and wincing in pain), we knew to put her down. The vet said her bladder was huge.

 

With the chinchilla, it was jaw trouble, which is common, especially with pet store chins. Breeders try to work jaw issues out of the linage. Pet stores' suppliers just breed, breed, breed.

 

My first choice would be a breeder. If you can't find that, then look for a guinea pig that is kept in a cage with just boys/girls (but you are still dealing with mass production...). Make sure the cage is clean, that birds and the like aren't above with their waste going into the cage, and so on. I'm not sure it would be much better to get private, unless they are reputable. Private parties probably just get a male and a female, so not much better than pet store.

 

Last but not least, if it gets sick, say goodbye, put it down and get another one. You will be tempted to run up a vet bill because you are attached, but they don't treat or recover well (or at all). One vet said he did a very successful surgery on a guinea pig, but it wouldn't wake up. My dh watched another guinea pig die in the waiting room while we were trying to save our chin (which eventually after much $$ was also unsuccessful).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have two we purchased from a pet store a few years ago, and we haven't had any trouble at all. They're in excellent health and very sweet.

 

I do suggest getting at least two, though. They're very social creatures. We started with one but could tell she was lonely, so we went back for her friend who was thankfully still available.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll tell you my experience with my piggies. I bought them both from a pet store. They both ended up very ill. I spent $1000, yes, $1000, getting them well. This was when I was single, made good money, and treated my pets like gold. :D After joining a guinea pig forum and learning more, I would never get them from a pet store or breeder again. If I were to ever adopt I'd get a rescue.

 

I had 2 males. It was tough at first because they both tried to be the dominant one so there were some fights and a lot of mounting. :glare: They NEVER became friends. They had a very large cage and stayed away from each other as much as possible.

 

The one was a sweetie and let me hold him all the time. He even let me know when he had to go potty. The other one would let me pet him, but that's about it.

 

While I loved my piggies, I'd never get one again. They smelled, especially after the one developed anal impaction (I'll let you look that one up), and keeping up with their cage was time consuming.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I will NEVER buy either from a pet store again.

 

My first choice would be a breeder. If you can't find that, then look for a guinea pig that is kept in a cage with just boys/girls (but you are still dealing with mass production...). Make sure the cage is clean, that birds and the like aren't above with their waste going into the cage, and so on. I'm not sure it would be much better to get private, unless they are reputable. Private parties probably just get a male and a female, so not much better than pet store.

 

Last but not least, if it gets sick, say goodbye, put it down and get another one. You will be tempted to run up a vet bill because you are attached, but they don't treat or recover well (or at all).

 

:iagree:

 

We have had 1/2 a dozen guinea pigs over the years. The best were always hand raised from a breeder or an accidental breeder in the case of a gal who brought home a guinea pig that was expecting and gave us one of the babies.

 

And guinea pigs are VERY good at looking and pretending to be normal when they are sick. By the time you know there is something wrong they are almost gone.

 

Our guinea pigs were some of our best and favorite pets. I miss our little piggies (but not enough to get more since it would be me taking care of them :tongue_smilie:).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you go with a pet store you need to be sure that they keep all the females & males separate. Or you'll likely come home with a pregnant piggie.

 

Checking with your local RSPCA or other animal rescue center might be wise. Or something to at least consider. Something to keep in mind if you do this though: some animal rescue shelters for guinea pigs have VERY VERY specific cage size requirements. This is NOT an ordinary cage but a VERY specifically built cage.

 

Another thing to keep in mind is that guinea pigs are REALLY social creatures & 2 are actually better then one. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...