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AlisonW

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Hello all! I'm a new member here. :) My name is Alison! I'm a mother of 2 young boys and I recently bought myself 4 piggies!

I went into the pet store with the intention of only buying 2. But when we got there all 4 sisters were in there. And I couldn't pick and choose whom I wanted and I didn't want to break them up either! Sooo I got to surprise my husband when he came home to see 4 piggies in the cage. :)

I love them! Love these forums too. I'm getting a ton of ideas as well as things I want to buy/do now.

can't wait to learn more!
 

jowasaurus

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Hi Allison! My names Joe and it's nice to meet you. Most people around here are going to ask to see as many "pigtures" as possible. :p Having guinea pigs is really an awesome thing and I'm glad you got some.
What kind of cage do you have for them now? I hope it's big enough to house them all.

And just a side note: some people might get offended by you saying you bought all four from a pet store. This is a pro-adoption site and everyone tries to help each other find shelters, rescues, etc. for that purpose.
I wish you and you piggies the best of luck and health together! lol
 
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kittymalone

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Welcome! Don't feel bad, a lot of us bought their first pig (or 4) from a pet store. My son bought our first one from our pet store with his own money and we rescued our second, after discovering this site. It didn't even occur to me look for rescues because we hadn't really planned on having a guinea pig! The important thing is that you got them out of the terrible livng conditions of the pet store and into a loving home with people that are going to care for them!
Some warnings (I have found these situations here) about pet store pigs: Watch carefully for signs of illness, especially upper respritory infections, also, make sure to take them to the vet if you cannot properly sex them. A LOT of unplanned pregnancies occur at pet stores because they don't take the time to figure out if they have boys or girls and often times, they mix them all up in the cages and people buy one and get a cute little surprise in a few weeks!
As already stated, we LOVE pictures! This forum has LOTS of great ideas and inspiration and LOTS of people that care about pigs and helping them live a LONG and happy life. I found most helpful the diet and nutrition section and the never ending photos of C&C cages. Peek around a bit and you'll be glad you're here!
 

bpatters

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Welcome to the forum, AlisonW!

Since you got your pigs from a pet store, you'll need to do two things. One, immediately check the sex of all of them, or you may have more than four pigs in a few weeks. Pet store pigs are missexed a lot. There are good sexing instructions at Sexing Guinea Pigs: How to Sex a Guinea Pig. If you find you've got some of each, please separate them by gender immediately. The males can impregnate a female at around four weeks, and the females can get pregnant by 5 or six weeks. Birth is very hard on females, and about one in five die giving birth. The figure is higher for young females. The pups often don't make it, either.

The second thing to do is to watch them very carefully for illnesses. They'll likely need to be treated for mites -- if they're young, that will require a vet treatment, as they can't have ivermectin until they're about 350 grams. Also watch them carefully for any respiratory illnesses -- if one or more is sneezing, has runny eyes, is puffed up, won't eat, etc., then a vet visit is in order ASAP.

If you also bought a pet store cage, it's too small. See the Home page of this site for recommended cage sizes for pigs. Read the "read me" sticky in the Diet and Nutrition forum for suggestions on what to feed them. And they'll need long strand grass hay all the time, as much of it as they'll eat.
 

AlisonW

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They have only been in the home not even 3 days yet. So they are super shy right now. :)

I actually did try to look for some that needed to be adopted before I bought them but there was no place in my area that had them when I searched on Craigslist and on pet shelter sites.

I did hear that PetSmart was a female only store. They all seem to be doing great right now. All eating well and what not. Seem to be slowly settling in. :)
 
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jowasaurus

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A lot of Petsmarts try to only sell one sex in their store for the reason of trying to avoid accidental pregnancies while waiting to be bought, so the one you got your girls from very well might be female only. But I would still just have someone who knows what they're doing sex them again to be 100% about them! =]

I'm trying to rmemeber how my guys were when I had them for only 3 days and it's so hard! They were so cute and tiny but only got more handsome with age! lol Bocefus, my older male, is becoming a 1 year old tomorrow!
Take it slowly and just let them acclimate to your family at their own pace. Good luck! Have you been able to find a guinea pig-savy vet in your area yet? People here are willing to give some tips for that one too
 

ellisa

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Hello and welcome! I would love to see pictures of your girls!
 

Wildcavy

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Welcome Alison! Can't wait to see pics of your piggies -- we have 4 and it's great fun to see how their little personalities come out as they warm up and get to know you!
 

bpatters

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Petsmart policy varies by store, and even then, you can find the genders accidentally mixed. Please either check them yourself, or have a vet check them. The link I gave you has the best sexing instructions on the web.

If you get any more pigs, please post that you're going to do, and we'll help you find a rescue. There's a chain of rescues up and down the east coast that routinely move pigs from one rescue to another as needed, and they would have helped you find a shelter pig. Also, most rescues keep their pigs in foster homes which are spread over a wide geographical area, and there might have been a rescue foster in your home town.
 

guinnymom23

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Welcome! I too bought all my four at a pet store - PetSmart, I did some research and the only rescue facility for guinea pigs is in London, ON and that's a bit far to go for us...my thoughts are we're still saving them by taking them from the pet store and giving them a loving home. With my four, I have a 2x6 C&C with a 2x2 loft and that's tons of room for them. Again welcome and feel free to browse through all the informative sites/links they provide here...it definitely has helped us with our piggies!!
 

bpatters

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my thoughts are we're still saving them by taking them from the pet store and giving them a loving home.

For what it's worth, the worst part of buying from a pet store is not getting them out of the store conditions, bad as they are. It's the infinitely worse conditions in which the breeding sows and pups are kept, and getting a pig from a store perpetuates that cycle. If you're interested in just how bad it is, and I hope you are, read the PETA article at PetSmart Cruelty.

That said, you've got your pigs, and if you ever need another, hopefully you'll consider rescue. If yours are new, just do watch them very carefully for mites, illnesses and pregnancy.
 

Senamian

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I had gotten one from a store (non-chain), and even she was housed with a male. Have to be so careful, and a vet is your best bet to give them a good check up :) I'm getting my gals in for a checkup here soon, to ensure health and prevent problems before they start. Also watch for signs of wet tail - although it is more common in hamsters and smaller rodents, in pet stores (I used to work in one!!) guineas do have a higher chance of getting it, and it is very sad to see, and very contagious.
 

bpatters

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FYI -- as far as I know, guinea pigs don't get the condition called "wet tail," or if they do, it's very rare. It's usually caused by a specific bacterium found in hamsters, Lawsonia intracellularis, and spreads easily in pet store conditions. Guinea pigs do get diarrhea though, and that's generally why "wet tail" disease is called "wet tail" in hamsters -- the constant diarrhea makes their tails really wet and yucky.
 

Senamian

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Yep. When I worked at the store, two guineas got wet tail, and it's very sad to see... They were lethargic, wouldn't eat, and I had to get them to drink a little bit. Even the manager said it was wet tail - which I asked why it would get the guineas, not hamsters? :( So it can happen, but it is very rare. It's just something to take in mind :) Plus sterilizing is the hard part x.x
 
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