Hi. I'm a rodent lover (have had 3 rats previously & hamsters, even mice) & now my 20 year old daughter has suggested we get guinea pigs. Yes, suggested by my daughter, but enthuisiastically taken up by me, who LOVES the idea of piggies So basically they will be my piggies & I will just pretend to share them with my daughter
I live in Cape Town, South Africa, where we unfortunately cannot get hold of the wire crating system to make a C&C cage and I'm most annoyed about this. I want us to have set up the cage first before we look for our piggies. We know they are socialable so we are keen on 2, but I am terrified I end up with a boy & a girl & they mate before I am aware of it (I am very anti breeding just because male + female = babies), all my other pets (3 dogs and a cat) are sterilised.
I know this forum is against store bought piggies but unfortunately it doesn't seem that there is a guinea pig rescue in the Cape Town area so unless I find one in the next month or so, we are going to have to get from a petstore. It's not my 1st choice, as it is we saw one today at the store (investigating what we would need to get) who was a year old & we were so tempted to take him as it seemed no-one wanted an adult pig But the store assured us he was fine living there so with difficulty we walked away (& we would want 2 as they prefer company & I don't have a clue how to introduce a youngster to an adult so thought perhaps I should know more about piggies before I attempt something like this).
Now for some questions:-
Would it be better for the piggies if they come from the same litter, as in they know each other & will 'settle' easier & get along better? I believe 2 males together might not get along so that leaves 2 females together as the 'better' option? Is this correct?
Is it possible for the store to sex them at the time we are looking? 1 store today said they could not sex them & suggested we get 1 rabbit & 1 pig as they make good buddies, and another store said he could sex the piggies & that we can rest assured he would get it right.. ? To be perfectly honest, rabbits are not my favourite animals (childhood memory of being bitten by one) so I would prefer 2 piggies..
I have some questions about accessories for the cage but will leave that for another time, as I think I've waffled enough for my 1st post
I live in Cape Town, South Africa, where we unfortunately cannot get hold of the wire crating system to make a C&C cage and I'm most annoyed about this. I want us to have set up the cage first before we look for our piggies. We know they are socialable so we are keen on 2, but I am terrified I end up with a boy & a girl & they mate before I am aware of it (I am very anti breeding just because male + female = babies), all my other pets (3 dogs and a cat) are sterilised.
I know this forum is against store bought piggies but unfortunately it doesn't seem that there is a guinea pig rescue in the Cape Town area so unless I find one in the next month or so, we are going to have to get from a petstore. It's not my 1st choice, as it is we saw one today at the store (investigating what we would need to get) who was a year old & we were so tempted to take him as it seemed no-one wanted an adult pig But the store assured us he was fine living there so with difficulty we walked away (& we would want 2 as they prefer company & I don't have a clue how to introduce a youngster to an adult so thought perhaps I should know more about piggies before I attempt something like this).
Now for some questions:-
Would it be better for the piggies if they come from the same litter, as in they know each other & will 'settle' easier & get along better? I believe 2 males together might not get along so that leaves 2 females together as the 'better' option? Is this correct?
Is it possible for the store to sex them at the time we are looking? 1 store today said they could not sex them & suggested we get 1 rabbit & 1 pig as they make good buddies, and another store said he could sex the piggies & that we can rest assured he would get it right.. ? To be perfectly honest, rabbits are not my favourite animals (childhood memory of being bitten by one) so I would prefer 2 piggies..
I have some questions about accessories for the cage but will leave that for another time, as I think I've waffled enough for my 1st post