Question about my GP to be picked up from Petco

jayval said:

HOnestly, he looked healthy to me...What other signs should I look for??
I only noticed a little dried mucus, barely noticeable on the nose, right away the lady said, she wanted to send it to the vet to make sure it was 100% healthy

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

Thanks so much everyone! I hear ya about the pet stores, I understand now....But when is this all going to end...These mills have been going on forever, and petstores are legal, so this is something the president should address in my opinion, because I think in reality, pet stores will still always thrive, also cause people are unaware..Maybe people should start protesting in front of pet stores...Pet stores should be forced to buy from reputable breeders only...

A healthy guinea pig does not have any dried mucus. Sounds like a URI. Most petstore guinea pigs also have mites, which you will have to pay to buy Ivermectin and to treat the pig(s) for. Guinea pigs are social animals and need to live in pairs, threesomes, etc.

Where I got my piggies:
Precious- Free on Craigslist, person moving and didn't kids want her any more
Sweetheart and Cutiepie- Free on Craigslist, person too busy with college
Rosie- Free on Craigslist, "kids didn't want any more", really was that she had major health issuses that we resolved after adoption. Some are ongoing.

And I adopted my dog from the Humane Society.

"Don't breed or buy while shelter animals die" is the motto around here. When you buy a guinea pig (or any animal) from a petstore or breeder, you just make more room in the petstore for another animal, and more room at the mill for more animals. You also then create a demand, telling the breeders and mills to keep breeding because people will buy the animals and put money in their pockets. There is no such thing as a reputable breeder. No animal should be bred when there are millions of homeless animals. I volunteer at my Humane Society and although we do as best as we can, we still euthanize 1/2 of the animals that come in. No animal should ever be euthanized without a necessary reason, not because there are just too many animals on this planet. It is for this very reason that I only adopt animals, I do not bring more animals into this world when there are already not anywhere enough homes for the ones that are already living.

If you don't have a guinea pig rescue near you, then Craigslist is the next best thing. With Craigslist you have to be careful though, because breeders frequently post animals on there. Most cities have their own Craigslist's, so you wouldn't have to travel far to get them.

Here are guinea pig specific rescues: https://www.guinealynx.info/rescue_organizations.html
but many dog/cat humane societies and shelters also take in guinea pigs. Here is a list of guinea pig vets. https://www.guinealynx.info/vetlist.html They are hard to come by, mine is 1 hour away from me, while my dog's vet is 5 minutes away.

Pet stores should be in the business of selling pet supplies, not pets themselves... selfish individuals have done a fine enough job saturating the rescues.

And you are spot on, jayval, about why these stores are still selling pets... ignorance. I, for one, didn't have a clue about the huge problem that exists in the US and elsewhere regarding guinea pig breeding. They are rodents, and most people outside of the community of owners don't give much thought to them.

In San Diego, a pet store was shut down recently after a week-long protest in front of it at one of our local malls. They tried to say they were only getting pets from wonderful places, and not puppy mills. A week later, the store was shut down. Good riddance!

I adopted both of my guinea pigs from craigslist. There are those guinea pigs in stores that you go " awww look at him!" and have that impulse to take him home, but thats how a lot of little kids get their guinea pigs. The little kid whines, the parents give in thinking" oh, It's just another mouse" and put him in a small cage. Then when the little kid has had their fill, and don't want the guinea pig anymore, up goes the add on craigslist.

Well, Jayval, the issue is that pet stores really shouldn't be selling live animals. Doing so caters to the impulse buyer who sees a cute puppy/kitten/hamster/whatever, gives in to the heartrending pleas of the kids to take it home, and then finds out that 1) it requires more, or more expensive, care than they knew, or 2) the kids aren't old enough to take care of it as they promised, or 3) it's not a good fit for the family, or 4), 5), 6) .... however many reasons you can come up with.

I thoroughly agree with you that people should be protesting in front of pet stores, and that state laws should be passed to prohibit the sale of animals in those stores. But the pet stores lobby the state lawmakers, because everybody who buys a cute puppy/kitten/hamster/whatever also buys a bed, food, toys, accessories, etc., and that's where they make their money. They don't want laws passed that keep them from being able to sell the animals.

I think I'd rather the president stick to matters of national security and the economic health of the country (or current lack of it), but that still leaves plenty of elected officials who could address the issue. The public gets excited about it when something like the Dallas incident happens, but then it dies down, and there's rarely any progress made.

While I think there are enough unwanted animals of any species in this country that breeders are totally unneeded, I do make a distinction between breeders who care for their animals, get vet care for them, breed them only selectively, screen any potential purchasers or adopters, and attempt to improve the breed. They're not the same as the pet mill breeders, who house dozens or hundreds of animals in poor conditions, with little food or water or bedding, whose animals are repeatedly backbred (how would you like to have a child every nine months and get pregnant only hours after each one's birth?), and who provide no vet care whatsoever. They, and the irresponsible pet owners who fail to have their pets neutered, are responsible for the huge homeless and uncared-for pet population in this country.

But those responsible breeders are very thin on the ground. I don't personally know of a single one, although I do know of several show breeders around me. But they, and most other show breeders, sell their unneutered "culls" to pet owners and backyard breeders, where they just become part of the supply and demand cycle, winding up as sick and missexed pigs at Petco, PetSmart, etc. that are foisted off on uneducated pet owners who fall in love with a cute animal.

It's a complicated issue, and it feels like a losing battle trying to educate people about it. I keep hoping that some multi-billionaire animal lover with deep pockets will take it on as a cause -- maybe then we could get enough laws passed to at least make a dent in the problem.

jayval,
So sorry that you felt attacked for a moment there, things can get pretty emotional when it comes to precious animals and you're dealing with some pretty intense animal lovers. No one is trying to tell you what to do, but more like what we wish you would do. However your love for twix is clearly legitimate and no one person can/should take that away from you.

I would recommend keeping an eye on him and your daughter once you get him home and definitely have a vet ready just in case. My husband is allergic to our Guinea Piggies but he still loves to hold them and talk to them (gotta wash hands when done, and no kisses! lol).

I bought my first 2 piggies from a local pet store (not a large chain) and had absolutely no problems. They have come and gone now though (Hamlet lived 7 years!). I do not have experience buying small animals from places like Petsmart or Petco, however when I had a fish tank I NEVER bought my fish from those places because the death rate was just awful - not to mention the spread of disease to my existing fishes.

I had the opportunity to adopt a 2 yr old female piggie from a shelter so I jumped at it and could not have been happier with my decision. I helped make room to house another piggie at the shelter that had come to them in dire need of a good home AND got to take the sweetest most affectionate piggie ever home!

You're doing all of the right things for Mr. Twix and I am sure that if/once his health is in order you will be an excellent momma for him.

Good luck and do not become discouraged. You sound like you will make the right choices for you and your family.

jayval said:

I am an intelligent person, who is totally not selfish, I devote 24/7 to our daughter, I am a stay at home mom, not a mom that would ever put my child into daycare., etc.. and would never introduce an animal into the house if she had an allergy..What Im saying to you all is, she has been with the animal twice, and no issues..So hoping she is not allergic..Not all people go to an an allegist before bringing animals into their homes to test all of their children..That woudl be ridiculous! Sorry if Im getting upset but I feel liek I being kind of attacked...And you cant go by Petfinder 100% some of those are puppy mills, etc, that are masked..And many rescues, are rescues from mills themselves...

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1. No one attacked you or called you selfish.
2. I find your comment about how you are "not a mom that would ever put my child into daycare" both unnecessary and insulting to the many fine moms here who use daycares. (For the record, I also am a SAHM.)
3. I have never, ever, EVER heard of Petfinder being used as a "cover" for a puppy mill. If you would like to back that up with something factual, please do so. (Buying from Petco virtually guarantees your animal came from a mill operation, of course.)
4. Of course many rescues have taken in animals from mill operations. They wouldn't have to do so if the mill operations didn't exist. They exist because of the places such as Petco.

Lil Pig.Thanks so much! Really appreciate it
Thanks to everyone else also! Grea tto see all the guinea pig lovers out there..Im completely new to GP so its great to get all this info! Without my research I never woudl have known that I need a 7.5 sq ft cage!

Unfortunately it is extremely easy to upset people via text postings. There's no body language to go along with it so as humans we're missing 90% of the criteria for interpretation and communication. I feel like everyone here is trying to do the right thing, however when it comes to anything moms, or animals fur tends to fly.

Jayval, just keep doing research. Gain as much knowledge as you can because that's what we're here for. Forums are supposed to be more inviting and less emotionally fueled - to make a relaxed learning environment for all!

Good Luck!

Somre petstore animals are ok. My local petsmart has a foundation for cats, that aren't bought from breeders, but are rescued from pounds and some of them are strays. I'm going there every Friday to clean out their cages and play with them. THey are really cute.

Ours does too Picky Piggy

hello, i got my guinea pig from petco... she is perfect

Good to know Omipiggie!

haha! just wanted to let you know

Jayval, welcome to the forum! I am glad you're considering a guinea pig!

Please know that pet stores are stores -- businesses in existence only to make a profit off these animals who are nothing but merchandise to them. Maybe cute merchandise, but a way to make money nonetheless. Do you support puppy-mill style breeding? Do you believe in putting profit above welfare? Are you okay with allowing a guinea pig from a shelter to die? Whether you know it or not, you do all of the above when you buy a pet from a pet store. Every guinea pig you BUY is one that wasn't ADOPTED and will be euthanized, because no one adopted it and the shelter needs more room. Do you want to do that? Do you want to tell the pet store you support their neglectful and abusive practices of buying and supporting backyard and puppy mill breeders? I don't believe you do.

You may have fallen in love with this guinea pig, but if you buy it you'll be telling the pet store to fill its place and continue producing animals. Females are forced to produce litter after litter without ever knowing a human's love or a comfortable home. And don't think they are raising the guinea pigs in clean and spacious cages or with top-quality food, because they're not. Are you okay with this?

I'm not trying to attack you or offend you. The importance of your situation is that you have a real choice here as to what you want to support -- cruelty and neglect, or rehoming and responsibility? Remember, when you adopt you save two lives: the one you took home and the one who can occupy the place you opened up at the shelter.

OMIPIGGIE said:

hello, i got my guinea pig from petco... she is perfect

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She may be perfect to you, but did you consider adopting or that you could have saved a life in doing so? You're knowingly supporting the cycle of neglect that I don't think anyone would want to support.

I don't think there's anything to smile or laugh about. This is about real abuse and it's nothing funny.

In all honesty, no matter where you go outside of TRUSTED shelters and SOME*SOME!* breeders, hopefully people looking this route personally know the breeder, you will always have a chance of adopting a sickly GP. I actually adopted a guinea pig from PETCO, yes i adopted-I did not buy her- i adopted. She was brought it that morning, actually i still saw the crate she was left in, and I was browsing through at a scorpion they just got in, i tend to go to my local PETCO if I happen to be in the area, along with if i am buy a local owned petstore (idk...impulse i suppose) and I saw her being put in and asked the story since she didn't come from the usual box/crate they have when they get new animals in. So i adopted her and she is doing great! Just got her C&C cage up and going tonight, took me 6 stores and 3-4 hours of local travel to find the cubes *(you'd think coroplast/corrugated plastic would be the harder thing to find)*
Either, have faith in your local PETCO...have good luck like i happened to have that morning, or adopt one from a local shelter or take in a unwanted GP.

Overall, good luck there bud and I hope everything works out for you in the end! We can't change what you do and I think you will make a good decision based on what you have provided explaining your research and whatnot that is. I wish you the best

What it all boils down to is voting with your dollars. It use to be that almost all pet stores had puppies and now they are few and far between. It's because people became aware of puppy mills and the horrible conditions that the animals were kept in. So people stopped buying from pet stores. When pet stores stopped making money on selling puppies they stopped stocking puppies. Simple as that. A lot of pet stores now have dog adoption days. The rabbit rescue has been on Petco for awhile and now some Petcos offer rabbit adoptions from local rescues. All of this good has to start somewhere and it starts with not buying the animals from pet stores no matter how cute they are. The problem is most people people don't think about guinea pigs, rabbits and the like as much as they do dogs and cats. Like their little lives just aren't worth as much. =(

It is a very easy decision to go to a store and pick up a piggy. It takes more time and effort to adopt a piggy. Its very important that any and EVERY person as possible adopts all the time and spreads the word to other. This will be the only way to change such an ingrained part of society. More and more people are adopting everyday. Thanks to the economy more privately owned pet stores are going under. I see less and less people back yard breeding. But the other thing that you need to remember and pass on is to NOT buy from stores that sell pets either. They make more profits out of the products than the actual animal sales. Many of us buy from people like Kleenmama's who give back to shelters and rescues and don't use their profits to breed more animals but rescue them. I know it seems daunting but its great pleasure knowing you saved the animals you could and didn't contribute to the problem. Do you recycle? Do you worry about all the other people that don't recycle? Do you turn off lights when you are not in the room to conserve energy? Do you get upset about people that don't? We only have a short time here on this earth and sometimes we can do huge great things and sometimes we cant. But to the animal you rescue none of that matters, they are just thrilled to be given a chance to live...