Looking to Adopt More than Two

[Bennalaya]

Hello, everyone. I am new to this site and I wanted to ask a question about adopting multiple cavies from a rescue. I had two cavies (boars) several years ago and they have long-since crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. One of the boars I adopted had multiple birth defects. It was one of the aspects that endeared me to him, but he did not live past one year of age.

Anyway, I found the rescue I adopted my two boars from through PetFinder and she is apparently no longer running the rescue (or she may have moved out of state). There are a couple of rescues in my area. One is approximately two hours away, but they only have five cavies that are currently adoptable and will no longer be running the rescue after December of this year.

I'm looking for three sows, young adults. This is a group effort between myself, my sister and my mother (we are all adults). We loved having cavies in the past and we're ready, once again, to adopt them. The trouble is finding enough cavies at one rescue of the same sex, ones that are not seniors or eaten up with tumors.

Perhaps it is seflish, but I want more time with my cavy this go around. I took in the sickly cavy last time and I just didn't get to spend enough time with him. Watching him have seizures that I could not help him control was gut-wrenching. I want relatively healthy cavies that I will get to enjoy for many years. I'm wanting to be in it for the long-haul. I want that sort of commitment. I wanted it the last time, but fate had other plans.

Obviously pet stores and breeders are out of the question. I'm looking into filling out an adoption request form from http://www.kimmiesguineasrescue.com/.

She is in my area (Atlanta, GA USA), but I am not familiar with her rescue and her website does not offer much in the way of credentials or adequate contact information. All of the success stories are from 2006, so I don't even know if she is still adopting out cavies. Does anyone have experience with Kimmie's Guineas Rescue or information about her rescue?

These are really my only two options (with the exception of the Humane Society who, last time I contacted them, informed me that they send all small/exotic rescues to various foster homes) in my area, unless someone here knows of another rescue agency that does not advertise online. I would appreciate any help/information.

[Bennalaya]

Okay, here is an update. We still have not heard back from Kimmie's Guineas Rescue, but I'm assuming that she may not handle the business operations on the weekends. I got a response from another rescue, but the only adoptables are special needs cavies.

So, I was checking Craigslist and there is a woman in my area who had two boars and two sows (in separate cages). I looked at the photographs and she obviously takes good care of them. They are in C&C cages and they are exceptionally clean, have shiny coats and bright eyes. The only way I would take the male is if I could have him neutered. We do have a vet in my area who specializes in small/exotic animal care, but after reading up on the procedure and some of the posts here I realize it's extremely risky.

Would it be worth the risk if I could adopt all three cavies from this woman? She recently lost her job and is unable to financially provide for them and is looking to rehome them in a good, forever home. I can't get those piggies out of my mind, but I'm so concerned about the risks involved with having the one boar neutered so that he could be cage mates with the females. The woman did have another boar, but she recently found him a home.

Any advice?

[VoodooJoint]

Someone rehoming their animals (as long as they aren't breeding them) is an acceptable forum of adopting. We encourage people to check craigslist all the time because there is almost always someone looking to get rid of their pets.

If you are comfortable with taking them all and dealing with possibly pregnant girls (all it takes is one laps of judgement and people aren't always 100% honest) then I say go and get them.

[PiggieMamaKelly]

I think it sounds like a great situation. I've had two very successful boar neuters by two different vets. Both were extremely easy and relatively inexpensive. These three sound great. Too often craigslist pigs are in quite bad shape with inadequate housing and poor diet.

[Bennalaya]

Thank you both for the encouraging responses.

Originally Posted by PiggieMamaKelly

These three sound great. Too often craigslist pigs are in quite bad shape with inadequate housing and poor diet.

I agree. I saw a lot of ads without pictures from people who had only one that their child "grew bored with". One lady in my area had two males she purchased three months ago from PetSmart and just found out she is pregnant and she cannot handle two children and the cavies.

So, I was tickled when I saw a cavy owner who obviously cared enough to keep her boars and sows in large, separate cages. I feel for her because she lost her job. Times can be tight right now, but it's obvious she loves her piggies and wants nothing more than to find good homes for them.

I am going to call the vet clinic tomorrow and inquire about the risks and cost associated with neutering a cavy as well as seeing about getting the two females checked out and vetted if necessary.

I'll keep everyone posted.

[Percy's Mom]

Does she have 1 boar or 2? You said she has 2 boars and 2 sows, and then said 3 pigs. Is she keeping one of them?

Definitely get as much information from your vet as possible. I had my boar neutered, and he lived for about 3 years with his women. It can be a risky operation, but very rewarding if the boar is otherwise healthy, and the vet is very knowledgable.

[Bennalaya]

Originally Posted by Percy's Mom

Does she have 1 boar or 2? You said she has 2 boars and 2 sows, and then said 3 pigs. Is she keeping one of them?

I'm sorry. I didn't clarify in my post. She had two boars, but she already found a home for one of them. So now she is left with the one boar and two sows.

[Percy's Mom]

That makes so much more sense. I think I'm just easily confused tonight anyway. I would definitely get the three of them. I think once you have your vet perform a successful neuter, you'll find that you have a wonderful little cavy family. Don't forget that you need to keep the boar apart from the ladies for 3 weeks post-neuter to make sure all of his sperm are dead.

[Bennalaya]

I have an update. I had two opportunities present themselves to me. One was the lady on Craigslist. The other was a man my father works with who owns exotic reptiles. My dad was talking to him at work about how we had been scouring the internet and local vet clinics to find a cavy to adopt. He told my dad he had a pregnant sow. He had bred her with a hairless male so that he could feed the hairless guinea pigs to his python! My dad told me I should call him at work.

So, I did. I couldn't bear the thought of her being kept as a breeder pig for snake food. I was as kind as possible because I didn't want to make him angry and jeopardize the potential rescue. I offered to pay for her, but he told me I could have her, so long as I was understanding of the fact that she was pregnant and that she probably would produce some hairless babies.

So, he told my dad he would bring her to work and asked us to please make sure that we didn't try and pick her up since she is farther along in her pregnancy (at least he somewhat cares). She is a year and a half old, this is her fourth litter and she is roughly one to two weeks from her due date.

I'm going to take her to the vet, but from surface appearances her coat is clean and shiny, her eyes are wide and bright and her nose is clean. While she was eating a carrot I did check her back to see if she had any fleas and she appeared clean. No scabs or flaky skin.

She took right to her litter box. She went into it, peed and pooped, grazed on some hay and went back to her Pigloo. We've decided that we will be keeping her along with all of her babies and we will neuter any males she may have. I know there is a risk of complications with her pregnancy and birth, but since she has had successful litters in the past, I'm hoping for the best, but making the proper arrangements (I already have a small animal vet lined up) for the worst case scenarios.

We named her Abby, because she is a tri-color Abyssinian. I'm giving her a couple of days to acclamate to her new surroundings before bombarding her with taking pictures, but as soon as she's comfortable I'll post some pics.