Frustrated Is petsmart a good place to get Guinea pigs?

[The_Cavy_Crew]

I got a Guinea pig once from petsmart and it died, I have heard that they don't treat them well. Is this true?

 

[scoottie]

Don't ever get any animal from a petstore yes they are mistreated, sick, missexed, and could be pregnant if they are girls

 

[magicpiggie]

They can be pregnant even if they are labeled as males. They can be missexed and are almost always sick. They come from horrible conditions. Like puppy mills for guinea pigs. The mother gets bred as much as she can take before she dies, they have too small cages, and are raised in unhygienic conditions.

 

[lissie]

As others mentioned, Petsmart is not a good place to get guinea pigs.

Please look for rescues and shelters in your area.
https://www.petfinder.com
https://guineapigfinder.com/guineapigs/latest-adoptables
https://www.guinealynx.info/rescues.html

 

[pinky]

I have 4 guinea pigs that I found listed on Craigslist. Just make sure it's not a breeder selling guinea pigs on craigslist.

 

[kemmm]

But say someone (me) didn't know this before they got their guinea pigs. Should they be worried about their piggies not being normal?
I've had them checked out by a vet and have had them for a couple of months and have not noticed anything strange. Other than being timid but they're naturally that way from what I read.

 

[scoottie]

If you took them to a exotic vet and they found nothing immediately wrong I am sure they are fine.

 

[kemmm]

Okay good. I did take them to an exotic vet and everything checked out.
I was kind of worried that because I got them at a pet store they would have psychological problems or something. D:

 

[scoottie]

Are you sure they are what ever sex they should be?

 

[kemmm]

Yes. I made sure to have the vet double check that. (Males) I kept them separated until I was sure. (I did NOT want a pregnant pig.) Plus, I don't know if females do this at all, but they are constantly rubbing their balls all around all the fleece.

 

[scoottie]

They are marking

 

[kemmm]

Oh yes I know. I find it funny. It just helps reassure me that the vet was correct in her diagnoses.

 

[CreamCheese]

I highly recommend not to. Most pet stores don't know what there doing, the animals are bred in poor conditions, they are placed with the opposite sex, medical problems are ignored, there are about 3 guinea pigs in a 10 gallon tank, it's just horrible. I know it's hard to resist saving a poor piggy from those conditions but you don't want those breeders to stay in business. Some small business pet stores are okay. I recommend rescue in gone but if you really can't find a shelter to adopt one from go to a small business pet store and if you see these things they are in descent care and I guess it's okay to adopt one;
-All look healthy
-No more than 2 guinea pigs are in the same cage
-All cages have hay available to them
-There are no wheels or anything that will damage there spine in the cage
-Only males are placed together and only females are together

 

[magicpiggie]

If you took them to a exotic vet and they found nothing immediately wrong I am sure they are fine.

I have to disagree, there are some things a vet cannot see. That is why even if the vet says the guinea pigs are okay, you still quarantine.

I highly recommend not to. Most pet stores don't know what there doing, the animals are bred in poor conditions, they are placed with the opposite sex, medical problems are ignored, there are about 3 guinea pigs in a 10 gallon tank, it's just horrible. I know it's hard to resist saving a poor piggy from those conditions but you don't want those breeders to stay in business. Some small business pet stores are okay. I recommend rescue in gone but if you really can't find a shelter to adopt one from go to a small business pet store and if you see these things they are in descent care and I guess it's okay to adopt one;
-All look healthy
-No more than 2 guinea pigs are in the same cage
-All cages have hay available to them
-There are no wheels or anything that will damage there spine in the cage
-Only males are placed together and only females are together

Where there are pet stores, there are rescues. There will always be people that impulse buy and what happens when they don't want the pigs anymore? They take the pigs to the shelter, and there are always people looking to re home.

 

[Comely Guineas]

If there are a lot of piggies in shelters looking for homes (which there are) then there is no reason to pay someone to breed more.

 

[The_Cavy_Crew]

The closest ones are 2 hours away and we have about 4 pet stores, 2 petsmart, 1 petco, one local pet store (they have the healthy and local breed ones, I have never seen them have a sick one)

 

[bpatters]

You wouldn't necessarily be able to tell by looking at the animals in the store if they were ill or not. If you want to know how pet store animals are treated, read www.petsmartcruelty.com. Be warned, it's graphic. And Rainbow Exotics is still in business.

If there are four pet stores near you, there are guinea pigs for adoption in your area. Keep an eye on places like Craigslist, Kijiji, neighborhood advertising flyers, etc. Just don't pick one from a backyard breeder. They can be as bad or worse than the pet stores.

 

[sierralj97]

I just bought a 2 month old boar at PetCo a week ago, and I've already had to take him to the vet for a URI. I'm sure Petsmart is just as bad.

 

[paperjamjordan]

I wouldn't believe anything published by PETA. Not saying that everything is 100% with big name pet stores, but I'd rather not have people check that link and expect it to be reliable.

 

[bpatters]

There's plenty of other documentation for that. It was in all the newspapers, the rescues in North Texas were overwhelmed with the animals from there. Google it if you don't want to take PETA's word for it.