What is the best way to adopt?

[oreocookies]

I'm really looking for a few new piggy friends, and i've been told not to adopt from the pet store. Should i adopt from a shelter? advice? info would be appreciated.

[Susan9608]

Yes, adopting from rescues and shelters is the best way to go. If you adopt from a rescue/shelter, you are much more likely to get a healthy, properly sexed pet, plus you don't contribute to the overpopulation of animals.

For clarification, you cannot adopt from a pet store. At a pet store, you are a consumer and you can *purchase* an animal, but you cannot adopt or rescue an animal from a pet store.

If there are no rescues or shelters available to you to adopt from, try contact vets in your area, try checking the newspaper and craig's list, and try looking in the adoptables section of forums like this one. If you still can't find any pigs, post your location and one of us will help you. If there are pigs being sold in pet stores in your area, then there are pigs needing rehoming as well.

[Wichita&Abilene]

Hey there - I see your location is in Maryland. I strongly suggest contacting the people at the Metropolitan Guinea Pig Rescue that serves the DC area. There website is - Metropolitan Guinea Pig Rescue

They adopt out piggies from local shelters and they come spayed/neutered and all checked up and healthy. They're also generally brilliant people when it comes to pig care. They helped my fiancé and I find our pigs Wichita and Abilene who are now a bonded pair of happy piggers.

Let me know how it turns out for you!

[Alusdra]

Also there was an adorable pair at the Baltimore County Humane Society. But if you Petfinder.com your zipcode I'm sure you'll get a ton of hits- I got over 30 for within 1/2 of where I am.

[oreocookies]

thanks so much for the advice. I'm really looking for some piggies that have special needs, because i would love to help out a piggy and give them a good home. is petfinder.com the best way to go?

[Wichita&Abilene]

Yes, petfinder.com is an ok route to take. I've noticed when I was looking for adoptables in the DC area that a lot of the guinea pigs that come up using petfinder.com are often times links to shelters or old posts. It's hard for lots of local humane shelters to keep up with piggers on petfinder because I know a lot of them in the area don't keep their online list up-to-date. So there might be more or less in shelters in the area than listed on petfinder.com. I suggest calling shelters near you up and asking if they have any piggers that you can come look at.

Also, I really suggest again trying MGPR. You'll be getting a fixed pig which has been already given a full health exam by an exotics specialist so you know you're not getting a pig that might have a condition that spreads to other pigs of have them pass away early. They sometimes have special needs pigs too. You can check some of the ones they have adoptable and also fill out an application which lets the MGPR people know of your interest and they'll work with you one-on-one to make sure you get the pig that you're looking for. They are literally getting more pigs in each week from local shelters and whatnot so I suggest emailing them your interested and then checking their availables page every week or so. Available Guinea Pigs for Adoption

[Jennicat]

If this is your first pair of pigs, I'd probably suggest against getting a special needs pair (unless the issue is something very simple). Guinea pig health care can be somewhat intensive (for example, if they need handfeeding, you need to do it several times a day).

[MCR_Rox]

Great link for adoption:
Petfinder.com: Adopt a pet and help an animal shelter rescue a puppy or kitten.

[tweetybird82569]

Petfinder.com: Adopt a pet and help an animal shelter rescue a puppy or kitten.

I found this site very helpful.

I have not yet adopted a piggie yet, but I am planning to.