Cage New pig from Petco ....

[brandonbe]

Yesterday my girlfriend and I went into Petco and she fell in love with a Guinea Pig ... we had no intention of leaving with one, but we did. We took the advice of the Petco worker and bought a large fish tank with a screen top.

When I got home I began googling Guinea Pigs to make sure we had all the information we needed to care for him and that's when I learned things such as

Never buy a Guinea Pig from a pet store ... and don't put a Guinea Pig in an aquarium.

Well it's too late on the buying of the pig part ... but it's not too late to fix the cage problem.

The aquarium I currently have is 36 x 18.

I'm thinking of building a C and C cage if the aquarium is definitely no good.

Also been reading it's mean to not get another Guinea Pig as a companion to this one? Does anyone else have just one?

Interested in what people have to say, thanks.

 

[bpatters]

The aquarium is definitely NOT good -- they're breeding grounds for respiratory infections.

See the Main page of this size recommendations, and be aware that those are minimums -- bigger is always better, especially where boars are concerned.

And yes, your pig definitely needs a buddy. He'll be much happer and more social, and you'll enjoy the interactions between them.

 

[jaycriae]

A C&C cage is a great idea, and you're in luck, there's loads of info on them on this site.

While the aquarium is certainly bad for a piggy, at least it's useful for something if you or a friend ever wants fish, reptiles, etc. Not as bad as the poor folks who are swindled into buying tiny expensive cages that are only useful for travel!

While guinea pigs are social animals and prefer to be kept in pairs, I'd wait until you have a good cage and a good grasp on your piggy's health and personality before even considering adopting another. Pet store pigs are often sick, stressed, or even pregnant, so giving your new pet some time to unwind and get used to your home is a good idea. You should also double-check the sex of your piggy, in case the petco employee was confused.

Honestly... I feel bad for the rare pet store employee that knows what they're talking about. Their coworkers give them a terrible rep. It's not your fault you were taken advantage of, it's happened to a lot of people. Now it's time to learn to take the best care of your piggy you can.

Welcome to the forum and to piggy ownership!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bpatters]

Here's some recommended reading for new pig owners:

https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/113176-Information-for-new-guinea-pig-owners
https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/107827-What-NOT-to-do-for-your-guinea-pigs!

 

[brandonbe]

Hello.

Just bought a second one. I tried to go to the local shelter, the ones I saw online were recently adopted. So I tried petfinder.com and craigslist .. decided even tho people say its bad .. i would buy a second one from petco because it will at least make the one I have happy. They are supposed to be both males. They have only known each other a 10 minutes now but seem to be happy. The cage WILL be upgraded to C&C soon.

 

[bpatters]

I wouldn't trust "supposed to be males" as far as I could throw an elephant by the tail. Take both pigs out, turn them over, and compare their private parts. If they're not the same, then separate them immediately. Pregnancy and delivery are very hard on guinea pig sows, and the death rate is high. This is especially true when the sow is young, and most who are sold in pet stores are young. We've had many a pregnant male on here because some pet store employee couldn't tell one sex from the other.

 

[CavyTV]

Hello.

Just bought a second one. I tried to go to the local shelter, the ones I saw online were recently adopted. So I tried petfinder.com and craigslist .. decided even tho people say its bad .. i would buy a second one from petco because it will at least make the one I have happy. They are supposed to be both males. They have only known each other a 10 minutes now but seem to be happy. The cage WILL be upgraded to C&C soon.

[video=youtube;zONwVQBvz_s]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zONwVQBvz_s[/video]

You should've waited until there was an animal available in a shelter or on craigslist. There is absolutely no excuse to support these stores in any way. I understand you want your guinea pig to be happy, but waiting wouldn't hurt.

 

[BeckieL]

we got our first pig from petco because we didn't know any better. I've been waiting 3 weeks now for pigs at our local GP rescue to complete a ringworm treatment so I can find a new friend for our Catnip.

 

[RodneyLuv30]

I hope you even checked shelters within 100 miles from you. I drove a 200 mile round trip to adopt my boy it only cost me like 25 for gas, 20 for donation, and 5 hours od my day. Very much worth it. Maybe next time for you?

 

[brandonbe]

I'm trying .... otherwise I wouldn't be on this forum .. My Guinea Pigs are going to be in a large C&C cage soon and I already feel they are getting comfortable with me. I shouldn't have bought from Petco ... but I bought the first one there and then learned they need a friend ... couldn't find a friend from an innocent source .. so I decided to go back to Petco .. rescue a second one from them and never buy anything from them again.

Yeah ...two petco guinea pigs but they are still guinea pigs and they deserve a good life petco or not. In the future if I decide to have guinea pigs beyond these I will be smart about it and not buy from a pet store ... but these ones are going to be treated awesome ... not their fault they are from a pet store.

 

[CavyTV]

I'm very sorry. I did not mean to come off as aggressive. I too made the mistake of buying a piggie from a pet store. I just wanted to get my point across that buying from pet stores is not okay. The video I provided does a great job of showing what pet stores are all about, in my opinion. I did not intend to scare off anyone. We all make mistakes, and I understand that. I did not mean to yell or accuse anyone of anything. I just simply wanted to show and prove my point. I'm terribly sorry for driving anyone away from the forums.

 

[BeckieL]

@brandonbe I built a C&C cage after reading all about them here. It only took me a few hours and my pig loves it! My only advice is to make it as big as possible, not just "minimum size". For two pigs the minimum recommended size is 2x4 grid, but I wish I had done bigger since I had the space. I'm working on the addition this week (I've only been here a few weeks myself!)

 

[BFGuru]

I adopted off of Craigslist one. My second one we went to petco for hay and my 8 year old suckered me into a calico. I hear your pain. I just REbuilt my c & c cage even larger than before. But I had moved and they were stuck in a too small cage post move because said 8 uear old did not transition well with his autism to the new house and we ended uo in amd out of the hospital and.my poor girls were neglected for a few months since they were in a back room.

I was getting ready to give them up when I ultimately decided to ignore the fact that my son was gone yet again and put the cage together with my older boy. We moved them to a front room where everyone hangs out and now they get so much attention they are probably sick of us.

Any way, you do your best. You ask questions and learn. Know better, do better. That's how it really works. Good luck. Try home depot for the coroplast. I got my grids at kmart. Stupid cheap too on sale. Two 6 cube shelves for 25$.

Have fun!

 

[Lady_Magoo]

I have made the same mistakes in my life...I always say "young and dumb." I was 21 when I got my first girls from Petland. And I bought a really small cage until I could talk someone into driving with me to the "big city" to get my grids for my C&C cage. Unfortunately a year later I had to move 2 hours from home and my roommate was allergic to them. I thankfully found a really nice girl through this website who had 3 piggies herself to home them with.

Recently, we adopted our Flower girls, Petunia, Gloria (after Morning Glory) and Lily. They too actually came from a petstore...but came from an overcrowded rescue up north that had needed some help. The manager (he's a personal friend of mine) brought them back and we stumbled upon the three girls a few days later, and absolutely fell in love.

This site has a lot of great information. 5 years later, I came back here to brush up on my piggy mom skills. I forgot things and learned new things I didn't already know.

Every piggy needs a home and a friend, no matter the background they come from.

 

[4GPmom]

The fact that your trying says a lot I just want to give you mad props for for making sure that your guinea pigs get the best life that they deserve. The way I look at this is yes in fact you did purchase them from a pet store but they are still guinea pigs and I believe every animal deserves to live the best life. The truth is that it's not that mistake that defines a person but what you decide to do after the mistake.

 

[Happy Cavy]

Amen to that.