Pig Sitting Conundrum!

[jewelgirl94]

Hi everyone, I'm in need of some advice.

This December my family and I are going to be gone on and off over a period of about three weeks (for sure from the 13th to the 17th, and then a few days between the 26th and the New Year I'm not exactly sure on exact dates) and I'm not sure what I should do with my three girls while we're away. The friend I've asked before had a baby recently, and I feel like it would be a huge hassle for her to come over every day with him so I'd like to keep her as my last resort. I've got friends in the next town over that have offered to watch them at their place (they're about 20 minutes away, so it would be really inconvenient for them to come over every day). My other option is to try and find a pet sitter online.

Obviously I'd rather my friends took them then have to pay a pet sitter, I'm just worried that the new environment and traveling back and forth will stress them out too much.

[Kelsie]

If you feel that your friends are guinea pig savvy and will take good care of them I think that is your best option. I don't think the short travel time would upset them all that much and as long as they have a proper cage environment I don't think it will cause them undue stress.

I honestly think that choosing a pet sitter online is taking a bigger chance. You might find someone who is wonderful but then again you could find someone who turns out to be a big disappointment. When you are looking for someone to care for a dog or cat it's easier to find someone good. It's more of a challenge to find a good guinea pig petsitter.

That is why we haven't taken a vacation in years. I just wouldn't trust too many people to give the proper care. Many of them would mean well but if they don't understand a guinea pigs' health and dietary needs it could be a serious situation in just a short time.

[jewelgirl94]

I feel like my friends are more likely to follow my directions and ask questions if they're unsure of things. Plus they know how much I love my babies and they would want to do their best to take care of them, and his cousin is also a piggy mom and lives a few minutes away from them if they need help and can't reach me.

[bpatters]

I vote for the friends. Travel doesn't hurt pigs.

[LittleSqueakers]

I agree that having the pigs stay with your friends sounds like the best option.

A 20-minute drive is nothing. I adopted 2 of the 4 pigs I've owned in the past from Knoxville, a 2-hour drive from where I live. Both times I brought Tribble with me to meet the pigs at the rescue so he could choose his new cagemate. Everybody did fabulously on the drive there and back.

As for the change in environment: if you can get your pigs accustomed to the setup they'll be staying in while they're at your friend's house, they should be a lot more comfortable when the time comes for them to be dropped off. I brought my pigs with me a few times when I went to spend a few days at my parent's place over the holidays. I used all the same bedding, hides, toys, etc that the pigs always used, so for them, it must have felt like they were still in their safe, familiar territory. Nobody showed any signs of stress on these trips.

[Candalalala]

As a college student, I travel 3 hours home.with my piggies. I would take everything I needed for a cage and would make a cage set-up at home. They were totally fine with the travel and the temporary set-up.

[SSLee]

I also vote for your pigs to stay at your friend's place. Periodically I take my piggies to work and it is 1.5 - 2 hours by public transit each way. I have a temporary cage set up at the office and I don't notice any difference in their behavior.