Looking for another pig in PA!!! - Guinea Pig Cages, Care, Store, Photos of Guinea Pigs and More Forum!

**MamaG** · #1 09-05-06, 10:23 am

I live in Reading, PA and I would like to know about any Guinea Pig rescue groups near me or anyone that has pigs to re-home. I just got my first pig, he is 8 weeks old and it was suggested that I get him a friend.
Everything is going so good right now, I am still a little unsure about adding a friend and causing Snickers stress or making him sick. Should I get a pig younger or older than him? I have a 46X23 cage that will have to house both of them for a while. Will that be okay? If it is to small, I will just stay with one pig until I can make something larger. (not for a while though).

**VoodooJoint** · #2 09-05-06, 10:29 am

Being boars I would suggest waiting until you can build the bigger cage. Boars may fight in a small cage when they can't get any personal space.

Try to make a bigger cage as soon as you can. Your baby would love the extra space to run and play.

When you do adopt, if it's while your baby is still young, I recommend trying to find an older, laid back boar. That way the older one will be more able to put up with your Snicker's hormone surges as he goes through his "terrible teens".

**MamaG** · #3 09-05-06, 10:38 am

And what are the terrible teens??? Sounds frightening!!

I went through that with my oldest son and daughter and now my youngest son. Can't be worse than that, can it????

I just put the cage in my son's room so the dog stays away, so for now I can't go larger. Maybe I better wait to get another pig until I can come up with a better idea. If I put the cage downstairs, my dog will keep hitting the cage and crying and barking and that just would not be good for Snickers. To upsetting for him.

**amm59** · #4 09-06-06, 09:06 am

If you do make a bigger cage soon, check out Petfinder and Craigslist for adoptable piggies. There's also Looking for Love Pet Rescue (I think they are in Hatboro) and Have a Heart Guinea Pig Rescue in NJ. Or you could check the SPCA.

**Talishan** · #5 09-08-06, 05:52 pm

"Can't be worse than that, can it????

"

No, but it's about the same.

Two adolescents (for guinea pigs, that's roughly his current age until about 9 months or so) sort out dominance issues until the hierarchy in the cage is determined. Males are usually worse about this than females, but not always. We have two males that have sorted things out, and three females that unconditionally hate each other.

Your present cage is very roughly 1 1/2 x 3 "grids' worth". You want to be able to do at least a 2x4 for two males, so waiting until you can manage a larger cage is probably your best bet. You don't have to go much larger, though; you're very nearly there.

An older male with a younger one often works quite well, although you can also pair two adults if the personalities fit.

Good luck and please keep us posted.

**__ben** · #6 09-08-06, 07:24 pm

Furry Friends Guinea Pig Rescue this is a great rescue near philly they have lots of guinea pigs who need homes.

**MamaG** · #7 09-09-06, 03:58 pm

Thanks for the information. I will check out Furry Friends website.

I really want to find him a friend before he gets any older.

**GadgetGirl** · #8 09-10-06, 07:49 am

I'm in Delaware and I got two piggies from a private home in Pennsylvania through PetFinder.com. Who knows, you might get as lucky as I was. I hope you find one soon.

GadgetGirl the Piggie Lover

**MamaG** · #9 09-10-06, 12:15 pm

Thanks for the info. I thought Petfinder was for shelters and rescue groups only. I have never seen private listings on there before. I will check again.

**Percy's Mom** · #10 09-10-06, 12:47 pm

Private adoptions are going to be in the Petfinder Classifieds. Check along the top tabs and click on the one that says Classifieds.

**MamaG** · #11 09-12-06, 10:39 am

I checked PetFinder Classified and found 2 male abbys that were 4/5 weeks old. When I checked on the town in PA it was over 4 1/2 hours away.

I can't drive that far. I did find a gp closer to me, but the lady won't give him to me because she feels my cage is to small. 46x23.

**Percy's Mom** · #12 09-12-06, 11:13 am

Sounds like she knows what she's talking about. That is just smaller than the size of a 2X3 C&C cage that we advocate on the forum, and I wouldn't recommend putting 2 boys in a cage that small. I'm assuming that you have what the store probably labeled as a large guinea pig cage. Check out the how-to sections on the home page for the forum www.guineapigcages.com. You can build something far larger for far less money. Maybe if you build a new cage, so the boys have enough room, the lady will reconsider letting you adopt her guinea pig.

**MamaG** · #13 09-12-06, 11:30 am

This is a Marchioro cage 46x23 and I can't take it back. So I guess I will have to stay with one piggy. I have it on a coffee table and this is the largest that I can go. I will just have to keep one rescue piggy happy with lots of love and attention.

Would I have this problem if I would have gotten girl piggies?

**Percy's Mom** · #14 09-12-06, 11:41 am

That would still be too small for 2 girls, although 2 docile girls could fit in a 2X3 which is just slightly larger than your current cage. Is there anyway you could put a piece of plywood on top of the coffee table to make it large enough to accomodate a 2X4 for 2 boys? As much as you love and pay attention to your pig, he would still do better with a guinea pig friend. Imagine if you never saw another human again, and your only contact was from beings 50+ times your size that reach into your home to make sure you're clean, have food, and play with you.