Anyone here buy there Guinea Pig from a pet store?

[tggdan3b]

Adoption

Though some pet stores have clean and healthy pigs, a lot don't. It's a gamble.

I've learned after traversing this site however, that whether the pig is healthy or sickly, either way you're supporting breeders who breed the animals in terrible conditions and make huge profit selling them to the pet stores.

Adopting pigs from an animal shelter is better than going to a pet store. 1) you know the sex of your pig for sure. 2) you'll probably know whether it's sick or not (they should have trained people at the center 3) you aren't supporting for-profit breeders. 4) pigs that don't sell at a store are discounted until they do. pigs that don't get adopted are KILLED 5) adoption centers might be able to better direct you to a vet that handles pigs than a pet store would.


Dan

 

[2steps]

Re: Adoption

I've gotten pigs from pet shops and they have all been fine. But I got one that had bad mites too from a different shop so it depends on the shop. I also don't think it's fair to say that breeders keep their pigs in terrible conditions. Some might but others don't. There are good and bad in everything, even shelters.

 

[cavy crazy]

Not all stores are bad

HI! I work at Petcetera and we care a lot about our pigs ( at least at my store and all the other ones I've been to.) When I sell A pig, I have a routine. First I say, How big of a cage, if any, do you have. If they say anything under 6 sq feet, I recommend them to do some research on guineapigcages.com, and come back. they usually do. The ignorant ones ask me. I am very knowledgeable. I tell them that a single pig needs a minimum of 7.5 sq feet. They need quality pig food with vitamin C, constant supply of Timothy Hay, toys ( I never sell them toys, except for ferret crazy balls, I tell them simple stuff to do like paper balls and bags) I tell them to always supply water in a bottle, and to give them a cup or two of greens and other veggies a day. I tell them how to make hammocks, and show them ours and tell them how to make c

 

[hezzy1972]

Re: Anyone here buy there Guinea Pig from a pet store?

i've bought all my guinea pigs from a pet store and they all have lived long and happy lives. you do have to watch of course and make sure you know what to look for. i know of a pet store here that houses both the males and females together so i know not to buy from them. my latest one i bought from the pet store two years ago and shes wonderful. i've had guinea pigs for 22 years so i know what to look for.

 

[SassyFireAngel]

Buying from a pet store

I also purchased my Punkin from a pet store. I regret not finding this site before I purchased my piggy buddy , but the only thing the pet store misinformed me about was proper cage size. Now I am clearing out space to build a nice C&C cage for my pet, and a new buddy for him as soon as I get it built (another male - no babies for me!). The people at the pet store I went to (at least the one I talked with) was very knowledgable, and my piggy was correctly sexed.
I understand that by purchasing a guinea pig from a pet store, it is possible to support improper breeders. However, it is impossible to find a pig around here in a rescue or shelter without driving two hours, and I refuse to put a pig through a 2 hour car ride. Others may travel with their pigs, but mine was terrified in the car just bringing him 15 minutes from the pet store. I am happy I found a nice, clean pet store, because the others around here are disgusting.
All of this is my opinion!

 

[vaz119]

Re: Buying from a pet store

i got my pig from petsmart. he was at the vets 4 times in three weeks. I thought he wasn't well when i bought him but the guy in the pet shop said he was just younger than the rest and that wa why he was so small (this guy said he had had his gpig for 9 years so i guess i trusted him). I couldn't leave him there. i am sure he would have died if i hadn't got him that day. i wont even go in that store now. i'm glad i rescued him when i did

 

[shellonabeach]

Re: Buying from a pet store

Over the years I have had 13 pigs (I now have 3) all came from rescue centres.

One thing which has stood our to me in this thread is the people who have only bought ONE guinea pig from a petstore. The rescue centres I have been to would not have allowed this, guinea pigs being social.

I have 3 pigs now because one of my 2 elderly boars died of kidney failure 2 months ago, the only pigs the remainer would accept were the baby boars - there were only 2 so both had to come home, and I am glad because all 3 are happy.

I never leave a pig on it's own, hence why I have had 13 (most have come when they were 3+ years old) and as soon as one of a pair goes I arrange to find the remainer a new companion. Going through the rescue centre means that my pig (and therefore I) am happy, I take mine along and try him with the other pig in a neutral area, and if things go wrong with the pairing I can always return the new pig and try another (which has never happened yet). Unlike in a petstore where I would be stuck with the new pig, and have to quarantine it for a month to try to ensure it didn't have any nasties. But that would be supporting the petstore trade in live animals which I do not agree with.

 

[IceyStylez69]

Pet Store

I would never purchase my guinea pig from a pet store.. and to my dismay my friend did. She purchased one from a local Petco.. (PETCO!!) and not even a month later, the piggie suddenly died! Regardless, I've also heard many things about Petco and such, to where I am discouraged from ever recomending a pig to be purchased from there. If you don't have a piggie adoption place, then FIND one somewhere else! Even if it's far... don't contribute to Petco's profits.. you might save one pig, but what about the others that follow? You can't buy them all!

​

 

[precious]

Re: Anyone here buy there Guinea Pig from a pet store?

My husband and I searched for adoptable pigs for months. I went into a reputable pet store to post a pig wanted sign on the board and fell in love with Tribble. The woman in the store led me to believe that the pigs were from someone who happened to have babies and needed to find homes for them, that seemed fine so I brought home two for my husband for valentines day. We had them less than a week before pixie started getting lethargic. I noticed it on the fourteenth before work and asked my husband to keep an eye on her. While I was at work, my husband spent valentines day comforting our pig, she was dead by the time I got home. The next day I went to the store to ask questions, the person there actually cares about pigs and told me the truth. They ship three week old babies all the way from Oregon!!! Also, the type I bought (they called it Abbysynian) "just don't seem to do well". I had a not too nice talk with the owner of the store and suggested through clenched teeth that they revise their practices. I check back pretty often to look at their pigs. No more like pixie, and the pigs are usually older, but I still don't like that shop!!! I'm looking for piggies all the time that need to be rescued up here, there aren't too many (which is good!) but sooner or later, a piggies gonna need me, and I'll be ready!

 

[LisaJ429]

Re: Anyone here buy there Guinea Pig from a pet store?

I purchased both of my girls from PetSmart (before knowing anthing about this website or being able to adopt them). They are both healthy and happy. I guess I just got lucky. Piglet will be a year old in July and Snickers will be a year old in November.

p.s. they love their cage that i built for them along with their cavy cozies.

 

[Marlania]

Re: Adoption

My experience with pet store piggies are hit and miss. More miss than hit, actually. We don't have cavy rescues in south Louisiana. If we did, I would have adopted as I do with all pets.

My first pig died within a week. I was working for a vet at the time, and I brought her in the day I got her so she could examine her. Three days later she was dead. Knowing that I did my part, I went back to the pet store dead pig in tow (and her health record). Instead of having the rest of the litter examined, they gave me another pig at half price. Feeling sorry for the piggies, I took another one, and had a funeral later that day for the original pig.

The half-priced piggie grew up fine and healthy. She is almost a year old now. Just recently I returned to the same pet store for an aquarium pump and found a blind baby guinea pig. I tried to convince myself someone else would take her in. That was ruined when the store clerk told me she was being taken back by the supplier to be used for breeding. No was was I going to let that happen. So now this piggie has been with me for 2-3 weeks and is living a nice life.

My friend has also had problems with pet store guineas. Her first done died from coccidia despite several vet visits and medication. My friend reported this to the pet store (a different one than the one above), warning the owner that the others were probably also sick. He did nothing. She now has two others that are in great health.

Like I said...pet stores are very hit and miss.

 

[MoMmA CaVy3160]

Re: Anyone here buy there Guinea Pig from a pet store?

My First two girls i had came from a pet shop where i use to live 3 1/2 years ago. i knew the guy really well and he had never had guinea pigs before in his shop, so he called me up and asked me if i had wanted them since he didn't know how to take proper care of them and didn't know how to suggest to anyone how to give them the proper care they need, so ofcourse i rushed over there quick to check them out. they were adorable, they were a mom and daughter duo, the mom was no older than 6 months and the daugher was about 4 1/2 weeks old, my other two girls i had adopted them from a person who clod no longer take care of them, i had the extra space for them so got in contact with the person and i arranged a date for them to be picked up by myself. so i had the best of both worlds (pet shop and adoption). although pet shops are fine, i would have prefered adoptions, that way the owner can tell you alittle about their personality and eating habbits.

 

[GIZMOandCJ]

Re: Anyone here buy there Guinea Pig from a pet store?

My husband and I bought our piggy from PetSmart, only because we felt sorry for it, becuase it was in a cage with 4 other piggies. Well, we got the shock of our lives because even though he turned out to be a very pregnant she, we were still happy. We got three more little angels out of the buy, and it is the best one ever. Although Chubbs(the mom) and Mesquite(the tiny one) both died, we still have the other two boys, and they are the sweetest things. I will never say that I regret buying Momma from the store because we would never have ended up with the babies if we hadnt. I am just glad we got her, and accepted the babies, instead of someone else who might very well have done something horrible to them simply because they didnt want any more piggies.

 

[sumojen]

Re: Adoption

i did, and now my guinea pig has mites. i'm not going to buy my next guinea pig from a store.