~Sunny~ A PetShop Piggy

Pig90 · Oct 8, 2011

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Hello, I've been lurking a while but just joined. I always knew I wanted a guinea pig since the first grade all those years ago. After doing all my research I finally got one in July. Now I know what you're thinking A PETSHOP PIG?!?! But alas, yes, I looked on pet finder, and called animal shelters near me and could not find one. I looked on craigslist for a while and nothing. So I drove 45 minutes and went to PETSMART, just to see the living conditions of the pigs. Their cages were nice and clean. Their cages were filled with hay and clean water. The piggies looked happy. I talked to a worker there and she was the opposite of what I was told they would be like. She REALLY knew her stuff. I looked at the pigs and then one special piggy looked up at me and I knew he was mine. I named him Sunday (Long for Sunny). I checked him over and he looked fine. My mom did not want to get him that much but now she loves him SO MUCH. She is always by his cage giving him treats and petting him. When we got him she said she wouldn't go near him and now she loves holding him. We got him home and he has been so happy, popcorning all the time. Well, we are taking him to a vet soon because we think he might have URI. and guess what! Tomorrow his friend Scooby will come live with us. (I bet you thought I was going to keep him lonely!) A friend of mine who doesn't take care of him very good is giving him to us. They will be in their own separate cages for now until we move in Feb, then they will have a C&C Cage!

sdpiggylvr · Oct 8, 2011

Welcome to the forum! You have a beautiful piggy.

Please take a look around and take advantage of all the great information this forum has to offer. A few websites that may be helpful to a new guinea pig owner, such as yourself:

https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...g-nutrition-charts-poisonous-plants-list.html
https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/diet-nutrition/24770-sample-veggie-menus.html
https://www.guinealynx.info/diet.html
(broken link removed)
https://www.guinealynx.info/emergency.html
Absolute best hay and pellets: (broken link removed). Try the bluegrass (orchard grass) or 3rd cut Timothy hay. For pellets, you can go with the Timothy Choice pellets if the pigs are under 6 months. If older, go with Alfalfa Complete pellets.
Other great hay and pellets: Oxbow -- they have orchard grass ((broken link removed)) and Timothy hay ((broken link removed)). Their pellets are Cavy Cuisine ((broken link removed))-) for pigs over six months of age and Cavy Performance ((broken link removed)) for pigs under six months of age.

Since your pigs are in pet store cages temporarily, you'll need to provide several hours of exercise time daily, separately. Here's information about that: https://www.guinealynx.info/exercise.html.

It's beside the point now, but your reasons for buying from a pet store really don't make it okay. Looking at the cages and the care and the workers does not make it okay. It's what goes on behind the scenes that you need to worry about.

Please make sure the sexes of both Scooby and your pig. Pet stores often mis-sex their animals, so it is important you make sure both pigs are males:
https://www.guinealynx.info/sexing.html
Sexing Guinea Pigs: How to Sex a Guinea Pig

Make sure you introduce them on neutral territory to ensure their compatibility before putting them in the same cage. This page is helpful: Guinea Pigs Social Life.

Again, welcome!

Pig90 · Oct 8, 2011

sdpiggylvr said:
Welcome to the forum! You have a beautiful piggy.

Please take a look around and take advantage of all the great information this forum has to offer. A few websites that may be helpful to a new guinea pig owner, such as yourself:

https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...g-nutrition-charts-poisonous-plants-list.html

https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/diet-nutrition/24770-sample-veggie-menus.html

https://www.guinealynx.info/diet.html

(broken link removed)

https://www.guinealynx.info/emergency.html

Absolute best hay and pellets: (broken link removed). Try the bluegrass (orchard grass) or 3rd cut Timothy hay. For pellets, you can go with the Timothy Choice pellets if the pigs are under 6 months. If older, go with Alfalfa Complete pellets.

Other great hay and pellets: Oxbow -- they have orchard grass ((broken link removed)) and Timothy hay ((broken link removed)). Their pellets are Cavy Cuisine ((broken link removed))-) for pigs over six months of age and Cavy Performance ((broken link removed)) for pigs under six months of age.

Since your pigs are in pet store cages temporarily, you'll need to provide several hours of exercise time daily, separately. Here's information about that: https://www.guinealynx.info/exercise.html.

It's beside the point now, but your reasons for buying from a pet store really don't make it okay. Looking at the cages and the care and the workers does not make it okay. It's what goes on behind the scenes that you need to worry about.

Please make sure the sexes of both Scooby and your pig. Pet stores often mis-sex their animals, so it is important you make sure both pigs are males:
https://www.guinealynx.info/sexing.html
Sexing Guinea Pigs: How to Sex a Guinea Pig

Make sure you introduce them on neutral territory to ensure their compatibility before putting them in the same cage. This page is helpful: Guinea Pigs Social Life.

Again, welcome!

Thanks for the link! I did sex Sunny and he is definitely a male. The PETSMART where I lived is only allowed to sale male piggies

Hhbean · Oct 8, 2011

What a cute little piggie! Glad to hear your getting him a friend(and not from the pet store:yuck

. I can't wait to see a picture of Scooby!

cavyluvr · Oct 8, 2011

awww sunny is adorbale and post some pics of scooby when you get him and I hope all goes well with sunny's vet visit

sdpiggylvr · Oct 9, 2011

Pig90 said:
The PETSMART where I lived is only allowed to sale male piggies

Don't believe them -- plenty of stores say "this" tank is "only" females or "only" males, but mis-sexing is so unbelievably common. We've heard many a story of two pigs bought from Petsmart who turned out to be a male and female when the owners found three extra pigs in the cage. You can't trust pet stores; they are corporations in it for the money, not the wellbeing of the pigs or the customer.

CavyMama · Oct 9, 2011

Pet store guinea pigs coming home with a URI is sadly, more common than you think. We are never surprised when we hear someone say that the pig they bought at the pet store ended up with a URI because it's very common. Same with mis-sexed and (surprise!) pregnant pigs. Like SDP said, just because they SAY they only sell males, doesn't mean they do.

I've heard of one store chain that sold only males at one location and only females at the other. Guess why that person was posting. Of the two pigs she brought home from that store (the one that supposedly only sold males) one was female and now was pregnant.

Although, as nice as it seems that the store is clean and the employees were knowledgeable, pet stores still perpetuate the breeding mills. As soon as you brought home your pig, his space at the store was filled with another product of the breeding mills and the money used to pay for the pig went to suppose those mills and keep them in business.

That being said, he's very cute and I'm glad you are planning to make a C&C cage.

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~Sunny~ A PetShop Piggy

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