Adopt vs. Buy: Getting a newborn in about 2 weeks

[Natari]

In about 2 weeks or so I will be getting a baby guinea pig.
I was wondering if the C&C cage is ok for babies.

Also, Coroplast is extremely difficult to find...
any thoughts on just getting a shallow plastic storage bin and attaching the "stackable crates" to the top of that?

any advice would be appreciated.
ive done alot of research and had guinea pigs before,
but never an itty bitty baby.

thanks.
-nat

[Deenanicole08]

Why is it going to be a newborn? If the mother made it through the pregnancy, and is nursing them, there is no reason to take them from their mom before they are ready to be weaned, which is 3-3 1/2 weeks old.

Also what is the dimensions of the bin? Most bins do not meet the proper cage size measurements.

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Plastics bins aren't recommended. You need to baby proof the cage either way.

And please adopt two - a baby shouldn't be kept alone

[Natari]

my mistake,
i will be getting the guinea pig when it has been weened and is ready to be adopted.
i am just trying to make the cage ready for her when i get her.
i've had guinea pigs before, but never a baby.
if it's important that they are not raised alone from babies, i will adopt two.

[lmarieaa]

your adopting or buying? Big difference.

[salana]

Honestly, the best thing for a baby would be to have an adult auntie or uncle (of the appropriate gender, of course!) when going to a new home. When you were about 5 years old, would you have wanted to move somewhere new all alone, or with at least one of your parents or other adults in your family?

[akstrohm]

A bin almost certainly will not be large enough and may not provide proper ventilation. If you cannot find coroplast, look into the alternative C&C cages listed on this site. You will need to baby proof the cage. You can do this by overlapping grids so the holes are smaller or by placing cardboard between the grids and the coroplast.

Guinea pigs of any age should not be kept alone. You should get two of the same gender, either two babies or one baby and one adult.

I would recommend doing a bit more research before getting any pigs. Make sure you know how much space they need, what food is best, what bedding is best, etc. Once you've done your research and understand their care and have made their cage, then go get them. This site along with cavy spirit and guinea lynx have very good information. Reading the stickies will help you a lot.

[Natari]

So, here is the latest news for anyone who was concerned.

I recently bought two baby, female guinea pigs. I bought them after they had been weaned and were considered healthy and happy enough by the pet store to be separated from their mother.

I bought cubes from target and Coroplast from a local sign store.The cubes are overlapping and secured with zip ties to make sure the holes are small enough to prevent any mishaps. The cage is equivalent to a 2X5 grid until I move to my new place and add on to the cage.

Thanks to everyone for their concern, but I assure the guinea pigs are very well taken care of. I did do a little extra research, as well.

Thanks for all the advice, and I'm sorry if I caused anyone to worry about the babies habitat.

[wigglesgiggles1]

Too late now but you should have adopted from a rescue. WE people on this site are against buying animals from pet stores.

[Natari]

The last guinea pig I had was a rescue pig. I would have liked to adopt a guinea pig, however there were none for adoption in my area.

[wigglesgiggles1]

Well that is where the waiting comes in play. ANd I garuntee I can find at least two guinea pigs in your area so don't try to use the classic "there were none up for adoption" excuse.

[LauraBean]

I don't mean to sound rude, but there are always guinea pigs for adoption. Adoption isn't only from shelters, or rescues. you could have "adopted" from someone on Craigslist, or from the newspaper. There are always people who, for whatever reason, need to rehome their guinea pigs.
Perhaps you should have looked a little harder, or waited.

[wigglesgiggles1]

I agree with Laurabean, waiting is worth it. Even if you have to drive a bit to get a guinea pig.

[Natari]

Well, although you both make a good point, the fact remains that I still have the two guinea pigs. I have also had 2 in the past.
I was not looking for judgement to be passed, just for good advice.
I will continue my search elsewhere.

[LauraBean]

No one is trying to judge you. Most (if not all) of us have been guilty of petstore buying before we knew better.
It does sound like you didn't do as much research before hand as you really ought to have done.Just because you have had piggies before doesn't mean that you still couldn't learn some things. I have had many piggies in the past, and I am still learning things.
Once again, I am not trying to be rude. But if you've read posts on this forum, you would have known that NO ONE here supports buying from a petstore. We would have all pitched in and been happy to help find pigs in your area to adopt.
What's done is done now. If you need advice, you will find it here. You will also find critisim, but it's not given because anyone is trying to be cruel, only because we care about the welfare of guinea pigs (and all other animals) in the long haul, and buying from a petstore supports the petstore to continue to breed, and in many cases neglect and/or abuse the animals. They also don't care about the health of their animals, and they are rarely seen by vets, or feed the proper diets.
In short, no one is judging you, this is just a piece of advice.

[SnowFlower]

With all due respect to the very knowledgable Cavy owners on here. I feel that we should not attack people, no matter how good intentioned we are, for where they obtain thier piggies. People come here for advice, and they get the best. They don't need to be put to shame on how they aquired thier furry babies - they may have been uneducated, or whatever. That doesn't mean we should go full boar (no pun intended) on the pet shop discussion. A brief explination is fine, but I think this thread got a little flame-y. Please don't be upset, just an observation so we can keep Guinea Pig Cages Forums the wonderful, friendly and informative forum it is

[cielo]

With all respect Snowflower. She came here before buying. Most likely she knew about adoption already and choose to support a breeder or mill. Nobody is attaking her though. This forum is to educate people in all areas, not only in GPs care...

[Paula]

Natari, you came to this forum more than two full months before buying your guinea pigs. It seems to me your intentions were good enough, and yet you still made the choice to buy your guinea pigs despite seemingly knowing all the reasons not to. You rescued a pig before, so it seems to me you absolutely should have known better than to buy and support a cruel cycle of breeding mills and selling animals for profit.

The only way there aren't pigs available from a place other than a pet store in your area is if you couldn't be bothered to look.

However, you're right, and despite the disappointing choice you made, you do have the guinea pigs now, and hopefully you can use this site and any others to better their lives and further your knowledge of them.

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Originally Posted by Natari

The last guinea pig I had was a rescue pig. I would have liked to adopt a guinea pig, however there were none for adoption in my area.

Pitiful excuse and probably not true. You could have found pigs to rescue if you tried hard enough or waited.

Your pet store pigs are likely sick and missexed. And you just condemned two shelter pigs to death and more suffering at the breeding mill from which your babies came so more can replace them.

[Starr]

I have to say I have been coming here for a month also before getting my girls. I read 3 books and 2 magazines on guinea pigs, I wanted to be well informed and wanted to give my babies the best possible care. I also got my girls from a pet store, I live in a very remote area. The closest city is 2 hours from me and the closest house is 5 miles. So when someone like me says there are no rescues around, they my just mean it. I looked on the internet and talked to the shelter that is 2 hours away from me daily with no prevail. So I decided even if the pigs I got at the pet store were sick or missed sexed they still had a right to be cared for and loved just like an other pet. I dont understand how a bunch of people who love animals could condemn (and yes that is what it sounds like to me) some one who saved 2 pigs from becoming snake food or going home with someone that would not have taken care of them.

I applaud you Natari for saving the life of those pigs.