General My mom is letting me buy only one guinea pig

First, it will be fine, as long as you are giving your pig a lot of attention and lap time.

Second, please look into adopting rather than buying, there's so many guinea pigs up on Craigslist and in rescues.

Please don't buy one at all. Pet store guinea pigs are bred and raised in horrible conditions. They're often sold when they're sick, or have parasites, or are missexed and the baby sows are already pregnant.

If there are pet stores around you, there are guinea pigs for adoption. You can post your location on here (city/state, not your street address) and someone may know of a pig near you to adopt. You can look at https://guineapigfinder.com/, or at www.petfinder.com. You can also look on Craigslist for people who may want to rehome a guinea pig, but be careful not to take a pig from a backyard breeder -- they're sometimes worse than the pet stores.

peachyteen said:

First, it will be fine, as long as you are giving your pig a lot of attention and lap time.

Second, please look into adopting rather than buying, there's so many guinea pigs up on Craigslist and in rescues.

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Yes I agree 100% adopt not shop. We bought two hamsters different times, ONLY because they were being attached. 1 didn't make it over night but at least was not being attached anymore and the other time - the pour hamster had a very red and swollen ear, We bought it and then we took it to the vet the next day. The vet said that mostly she would loss the ear But she didn't. She was on meds and pain killers... Poor Little one.

bpatters said:

Please don't buy one at all. Pet store guinea pigs are bred and raised in horrible conditions. They're often sold when they're sick, or have parasites, or are missexed and the baby sows are already pregnant.

If there are pet stores around you, there are guinea pigs for adoption. You can post your location on here (city/state, not your street address) and someone may know of a pig near you to adopt. You can look at https://guineapigfinder.com/, or at www.petfinder.com. You can also look on Craigslist for people who may want to rehome a guinea pig, but be careful not to take a pig from a backyard breeder -- they're sometimes worse than the pet stores.

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I went to the website of the animal shelters near my house but all of them only have dogs or cats. None of the shelters have guinea pigs. I went to Craigslist too but they only had like 2...

Also, how do you know if the pig is from backyard breeder or not? It's my first time looking for pets so I don't really know about those stuff...

Basically if they're being listed as many for sale, or the wording is meant to price general guinea pigs it's going to be a breeder. A legit rehoming will SAY rehoming, not selling, or wholesale or anything like that.

If you can give us a general idea of where you're located, we can help you find a place in your area. A rescue would be your best bet because they just might have some guinea pigs that don't get along with any others. Those guinea pigs often become more closely bonded to their humans because they still crave companionship. I have a loner and she's really aggressive with other guinea pigs but she's as sweet as can be with us.

Have you checked the Pet Finder website yet? Sometimes you can find them on there!

Technically, if your mum wants you to be able take proper care of your pig-to-be, she should let you adopt him/her a friend. A guinea pig needs a cage-mate if it is to be properly cared for.

However, it would probably be okay to keep your pig-to-be by him/herself for a short time while you convince your mum that you can care for piggies .

For me it is way easier having two to take care of, i only had one for a little bit after its buddy died. Two for me is easier.

pinky said:

If you can give us a general idea of where you're located, we can help you find a place in your area. A rescue would be your best bet because they just might have some guinea pigs that don't get along with any others. Those guinea pigs often become more closely bonded to their humans because they still crave companionship. I have a loner and she's really aggressive with other guinea pigs but she's as sweet as can be with us.

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I live in Round Rock TX

Snoopy0304 said:

I live in Round Rock TX

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Here's a link to some rescues in TX. Keep in mind that if some aren't that close they probably have foster homes closer to you can might even meet you to get your guinea pigs closer to you. Contact them to ask if they will work something out with you.

There are good rescues in your area. See https://www.petfinder.com/pet-search?location=round+rock,+tx&animal=smallFurry&breed=Guinea+Pig

https://www.onlineguineapigcare.com/guinea-pig-rescue-shelters-texas/

Okay... here's the link...

I know that your all talking about rescuing instead of adopting now but I'd like to address the single guinea pig problem. You shouldn't adopt one with the intent of getting a second for a few reasons. I am very familiar with this problem so i'll quickly explain my piggies adoptions first so you understand how I know this.
I got hazel from a biology teacher who used the animal room at the high school as a temporary home for pets needing forever homes. The plan was to keep her for the summer so she could have more attention and use that as a trial run for her. We only did it this way because it was best for her to live with us for the three months regardless of our final decision to keep her after the three months. We obviously loved her and didn't bring her back. We got her a friend a while later (Willa). hazel had never been around other guinea pigs since she was bought by her original owner but Willa had. Hazel was cuddly and loving and seemed happy enough but the amount of research I found made me decide I needed to get her a friend. The problem had been that I didn't really know how she should have been acting and once she got a friend it was magical how much happier she was. I could tell that she was playing more, eating less, sleeping less, talking more, and all around healthier in every way. Willa had been with guinea pigs before and I didn't have her around long before she was introduced to hazel so I can't say how she changed if at all. So that's a rough explanation but enough for me to explain the following problems with starting with one Piggy with the intent of getting a friend.

1) You don't know what normal behavior is because they act differently when in a herd/pair then when alone. This makes it very easy to say that there is not need to get a friend because he seems happy enough when in reality he could be depressed or sleeping to much ect. We never realy saw Hazels personality until Willa was around.

2)Introducing a new GP is very difficult when one has been around for a while on its own. This is especially a problem for first time owners who haven't had as much experience with herd behavior and such. its much better for your first experience with herd behavior to be with a previously bonded pair if possible so you know whats normal before trying to introduce a pair. Besides this the original will probably be more territorial even if you properly prepare the habitat simply because they will still recognize the smells and surroundings.

3)what if you can't keep her? There is no certainty that your mom will let you keep her. So if you have a single piggy you will have to find someone else to adopt her and if you had two they could be adopted together and you can be sure they spend their lives together. ...I'd like to add in that I feel you should sit down with our mom and have a conversation to decide yes or no. meaning no trials because this is the future of a GP or two that are dependent on whether or not you can keep them. It is best to be committed before you make the decision.

If all else fails and your mom says there is no way she would let you get two GPs I recommend a hamster or some gerbils. I know from experience that hamsters are less work and money and can live by them selves. As for gerbils I recommend research because I don't know if they can live on their own, I do know you can have more than two together and hamsters that can live in groups need an even number but that some thing to research if your interested. I know they are less expensive and take less room, as do hamsters. Parents are usually more willing to let something smaller into their houses. Hopefully you can prove your self with a hamster or something and maybe add two GPs to your family if it works out. I currently have One Syrian hamster and two GPs and one you have the one time costs taken care of its not that expensive to keep them up. (I use fleece to keep costs down)

I hope In helped. Let me know if you would like more details about something I've mentioned.

Also it isn't possible for human company to fulfill the needs of a GP. Lots of lap time is great but its not the same as another GP.

I suggest you adopt an older pig that has failed to pair with any other piggies.

I have only one guineapig because she severely injured another piggy at the shelter and I don't want to put another animal at risk. She is fine, never seems sad, sick, or lonely. I do give her lots of love and attention at least 2 hours a day, just make sure you spend lots and lots of time with them

Please please please look at PETAs website before making any decisions! Read what they have to say about petstores and adopting (if your squeamish this is your warning about some of the videos on their website). I think everyone who wants a pet should read absolutely everything they have in their companion animals section. I do disagree with a few points here and there but reading it gave me awareness to the controversial issues that are out there.
P.s. the main thing that I disagree with is giving cats and dogs vegan diets. But I don't have a cat or dog so I haven't actually looked into it much

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