New here

[jazzymom]

Hi all.
We just got a female teddy guinea pig off Kijiji. She is around 10 weeks we were told. Owner had bought her mother already pregnant from a petstore, and was very thorough in her interview with us before agreeing to let us adopt her.
I know two is better, but she only had the one. And we searched Kijiji for weeks before her ad showed up. The shelters here rarely get guinea pigs, and the last we visited there were all males. For my own reasons I wanted a female.(really not willing to clean an impacted male, if it ever happened. Good pet loving is knowing your own limitations)
I built her a C&C cage( 1 1/2 x 3, & 1 1/2 x 1 upper level. To fit our space 2 grids deep was not possible), and she gets out daily in a large run, or the kitchen.
Her name is Jasmine, Jazzy for short. She is all black.
Anyway, I am here to learn more. Thanks.

[hueyeats]

Hi and welcome... from a newbie to a newbie.

Like yourself, I am here to learn & research to be a better pig parent to my gals. This is a great site & since I have joined... I am here almost everyday, still learning more everyday!

Here is a very easy to follow diet colored chart of food when, how & why if you haven't found it yet:

http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...arts-info.html

I follow it like the bible making my feedings to my piggies extremely easy & do note that there are 2 page to it.

Congrats on your pig, do share some photos when you are ready & enjoy this great site!

[starshine123102]

Welcome to GPC!

Can't wait to see some pigtures!

p.s. I love your usename.

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Welcome.

Not all boars get impactions and it isn't that big a deal. With sows you have to deal with reproductive issues instead, among other things.

[jazzymom]

Great news, we found another young female teddybear guinea pig. She is from a pet store. They had just come in the day I visited. There were 3. I know pet stores are not always the best place to get an animal, but wanting Jazzy to have a friend overrode that for us. She is also black, with a bit of grey on her neck(so not pure teddy), so sweet. She is much more curious and bold than Jazzy, who is quiet and docile. They were quarantined for 2 weeks, and fought a little at first, but are now best friends. We named her Molly.

[rabbitsncavyluv]

People always say they can't find guinea pigs. I'm sure if you had waited or looked harder, you could have found one.

If there are pet stores that sell guinea pigs, there are unwanted guinea pigs.

By the way, there are no teddy bear guinea pigs. They're called teddies only.

[jazzymom]

Well, we did search online and our local SPCA(the ONLY shelter here) for a few months. None were what we wanted, either male or male/female pairs, or to old. I am sure some would wait months to find one, but we didn't want to. I understand many people dislike pet stores, I am not one of them. There are good ones and bad ones, good rescues, bad ones, good breeders, bad ones. I did adopt Jazzy from an ad on Kijiji. And here they call them teddy bear. And actually, the pet store here(also the ONLY one in this city) does not carry guinea pigs regularly. They get maybe 6, every few months. And in the 5 months I searched the SPCA they got in only 7 guinea pigs. There were about 5 on Kijiji, Jazzy was one. If I am going to get a pet, I will wait until my preferences come along(in this case females). Rehoming happens when poor research is done. I researched, knew what we wanted.
Tell me now, if this is a site where everyone waits to pounce on every preconceived "wrong", I will move on.

[breezy2]

I think you made a good decision of getting a female, if you did not want to clean impactions. As someone else said, they don't all get them, but in my opinion better to be safe than sorry. And it was more responsible not to get a male than to just not clean it, which I am sure many do.

I too am not a big fan of pet stores. My female, purchased from a pet shop, had 2 babies. Sure they were adorable and healthy, but not all are. I wouldn't purchase from a pet shop again for that reason. No more babies for me.

Why did you want a teddy specifically, just a preference of how they look or are there other reasons/benefits? I don't know much about different breeds.

[jazzymom]

We didn't want a teddy necessarily, just a shorthaired one. Knew I didn't want the responsibility of longhair, and abbys don't appeal to us. Jazzy happened to be a teddy(her mother was also bought pregnant, from our local petstore, about 4-5 months ago I guess, judging by what I can find on length of gestation) we adopted. So when the store got 3 teddies, I got another.

Look I keep parrots too, I know all about bad breeding, the problems with most petstores, etc. But there are exceptions. I do not believe in painting all with the same judgmental paint brush. FYI parrots are one of the most often rehomed animal. But if someone buys one at a petstore, I would not trash them, but be there for support and advice when needed. No matter where an animal comes from, it did not ask to be here, and deserves love and care. Period. You can say "Buying one from a petstore just frees up space for yet another." Well instead of trashing a pet owner, put your energy in petitioning the government for stricter rules/regulations for petstores. Slowly things are improving...in Canada most petstore chains have stopped carrying large parrots, its a start. This came from public outcry, large parrots are not for a beginner.

[breezy2]

I am sorry you felt I trashed you. If you read my post again, I in no way did that.

[jazzymom]

Breezy2, so sorry, I was not directing that at you. You certainly were not trashing me. One poster posted only to point out how my decisions, and reasoning was all wrong. I hate that. More bees with honey and all that. People learn by kind, gentle education, not criticism at every turn.

[rabbitsncavyluv]

I'm sure you've already read Pet Stores and Guinea Pigs and been here long enough to know why buying from pet stores and supporting breeding mills when there are guinea pigs getting killed in shelters and dumped elsewhere is a horrible idea. My repeating it isn't going to make a difference to you. You've made up your mind that not all pet stores are bad.

Your reasoning is flawed. All pet stores buy from breeding mills and backyard breeders. It doesn't matter how clean the store looks or how nice the employees seem. The cycle of abuse and neglect is the same.

There were homeless guinea pigs in your area yet you still bought.

[jazzymom]

And you have made up your mind that ALL pet stores are bad. I think your reasoning is flawed as well. But I won't waste time arguing about it. Thanks.

[guineapigluver1]

All petstores that sell animals are terrible.

[Petey'sDaddy]

I'm new here too! My name is Jeff and my piggie companion is Petey. She will be five years old come next spring. I adopted her 3 and a half years ago when a friend of mine who had had her for a year passed away. I may be predjudiced, but I think she's the most precious piggie in the world. She's definitely a diva, that's for sure. Morning romaine and nightly fruit and veggie plates, fresh fleece bedsheets three times a week, and nightly "cuddle" time have seen to that. She's not spoiled at all, of course, . I was referred here because I was told the people were great and the info on ongoing cavy care was really good. I recently had Petey's picture taken with Santa for Christmas, a story I will detail, and post the picture, in the photos forum. I'm anxious to meet other piggie nuts. If you'd like to chat, drop me a line and let's talk. I love sharing Petey's pictures and stories, as she truly is a little sweetheart. Hope to hear from you guys very soon!

[Peggysu]

Originally Posted by algonquins

We now know what to do the next time around.

That's all we ask. Many of us have bought a pet store pig before hand because we didn't know about all the issues regarding animal selling. No one asked anyone to return their guinea pig and I would hope no one does. Just adopt the next one and try not to support pet stores, that's all. If you feel this isn't a place for you then it isn't a place for you. Unfortunately you'll miss out on some great information about caring for your guinea pigs. Have a great night.

[breezy2]

I bought my first piggy and I love her like crazy. I would never return her, but I did learn from this website not to buy any more. Some members on here can act very harshly and I do think it upsets a lot of people, but there is far too much great information on this site for me to leave because of those few.

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Show me where the bashing was? The op knew about rescue and pet stores/breeders but they still bought one. It's one thing if you don't know better then choose to educate yourself and rescue.

And where did anyone tell you to return your guinea pig? It's your guinea pig's loss if you decide not to come back. Either way, this site and Guinea Lynx :: A Medical and Care Guide for Your Guinea Pig have the best source of care info.

Just be aware of puppy mills from now on and adoption.

Originally Posted by algonquins

Please delete mine also. I should have read the introduction forum before I came here, but after reading through most of these threads I can't stand the atmosphere that some people give off in this forum.. I've decided that I will go elsewhere.

I came here to ask more information about cages, since I read the information regarding store bought cages on this site -- since apparently I also bought mine at a pet store. But to clarify, I had no idea it was a bad thing.. nor did I have any idea about these sites that warn against this before hand. I only found out after I started to look into how to take care of my guinea pig. After now knowing this... I will not go return my guinea pig just for that reason. I want to take care of her and give her a happy life. If people want to bash us for not knowing this information ahead of time, there is no use for being here since what has been done, is done. We now know what to do the next time around.

[jazzymom]

Yes I know of rescues. I already told you we have ONE here. And no females were brought in. I was not interested in a male/female pair, nor a male.

Where do you think rescue pigs come from? Breeders and petstores. So if all petstores and breeders stop, where will guinea pigs come from? Will the pet guinea pig die off? Is that the goal?
So if I did get a rescue pig, it just as likely will have come from the same place you claim petstore pigs come from. And may just as well have the same problems.
So if we succeed in shutting down all petstores and breeders, so where do people get guinea pigs? Or any animal? Rescues will not have them. There will be none to rescue.

All breeders are BYB. If no breeders, where will guinea pigs come from?

Seriously! Is no pets the goal? If so why do you have them? Stop rescuing them. It just frees up space for more. Let the petstores stop selling, breeders to stop breeding, rescued pigs to live their last days at the rescue. Then nothing to grip about. No pets.

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Read Breeding Guinea Pigs Instinction is not in the realm of reality since we have a pet overpopulation problem.

A rescue pig will be healthy and already treated for any illnesses by the rescue, etc. And you aren't contributing to the problem when you adopt. You are when you buy.

Originally Posted by jazzymom

Yes I know of rescues. I already told you we have ONE here. And no females were brought in. I was not interested in a male/female pair, nor a male.

Where do you think rescue pigs come from? Breeders and petstores. So if all petstores and breeders stop, where will guinea pigs come from? Will the pet guinea pig die off? Is that the goal?
So if I did get a rescue pig, it just as likely will have come from the same place you claim petstore pigs come from. And may just as well have the same problems.
So if we succeed in shutting down all petstores and breeders, so where do people get guinea pigs? Or any animal? Rescues will not have them. There will be none to rescue.

All breeders are BYB. If no breeders, where will guinea pigs come from?

Seriously! Is no pets the goal? If so why do you have them? Stop rescuing them. It just frees up space for more. Let the petstores stop selling, breeders to stop breeding, rescued pigs to live their last days at the rescue. Then nothing to grip about. No pets.