New to Site, Proud Guinea Pig Owner!

[ddrost3]

Hey everyone! I have two female guinea pigs, Dixie and Cookie, one american short hair and the other abyssinian!

I got my first guinea pig from Petco, she was the cutest little baby! I named her Ella. Unfortunately, after less than a month she had trouble breathing and became very ill. I rushed her to the vet the first sign of any trouble breathing but it was too late the vet tried shots of medication and put her on oxygen but they told me she was in too much pain and it would be better to put her down. After that horrible experience I did some research and learned a lot of people experience this with smaller animals or reptiles they get from Petco! It made me so angry.

So a couple months later I adopted two 2yo guinea pigs from a local rescue (run out of a woman's home) and I am very happy! They are healthy, well-fed, energetic, and happy! They are still shy around new people and only like to play when it's quiet and a little darker in the room (and when it's just me!). But I am very happy and I love guinea pigs!

Thanks for reading about me and my pigs!

 

[Starthecavy123]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Guinea pigs are prey animals so they're just naturally skiddish.

 

[spudsthepiget]

Welcome to the forum!

Your guinea pigs are super cute! I love your abby's coloring Your cage is really cool, too; it looks very well made.

 

[Rywen]

Hello and welcome to the forum, your piggies are so adorable!

 

[Stephanieg518]

Hi and welcome! Your piggies are so sweet!

 

[kamkam822]

Your piggies are so precious! !

 

[PiggleLove2013]

Welcome! I have the exact same fleece!

 

[onemors]

Welcome they look adorable!

 

[CinnaAndNutmeg]

Great cage, cute pigs! Welcome!

 

[krystle.smith2]

Welcome and awe their so cute

 

[tweetyva757]

Welcome, you babies look so sweet. I love your cage....... I see a "honeydo" list coming for my hubby. LOL

 

[Dagny_Rango]

Dixie and Cookie are super cute! I'm sorry about your first pig Ella.

 

[abbysguineas]

Hey! I am glad you joined this site! You have beautiful piggies and a great cage! Thank you for rescuing the guinea pigs! They are prey animals, so they are naturally skiddish. With daily handling, they can be come much less skiddish once they get to know and trust you, form a relationship if you will. I am sorry about Ella, aren't some of the pet shops ignorance horrible!? Keep us updated on your guinea pig journey!
-abbysguineas

 

[SativaFlower]

Your guinea pigs are so cute & you have a wonderful cage! Petco is a horrible, horrible place. People do regular "dumpster diving" in Petco's dumpsters & if you search it up there's a video of a baby chameleon in a net in their dumpster They don't take care of their animals & when they get to sick for someone to buy them they just throw them out. It's horrible but true. Adoption is always awesome but I personally would suggest purchasing your pets from Petco to really save them! (this is just a personal preference please don't hate on me!)

 

[CinnaAndNutmeg]

Your guinea pigs are so cute & you have a wonderful cage! Petco is a horrible, horrible place. People do regular "dumpster diving" in Petco's dumpsters & if you search it up there's a video of a baby chameleon in a net in their dumpster They don't take care of their animals & when they get to sick for someone to buy them they just throw them out. It's horrible but true. Adoption is always awesome but I personally would suggest purchasing your pets from Petco to really save them! (this is just a personal preference please don't hate on me!)

I would suggest not buying from Petco actually. Yes you are saving an animal but you are in adoption also and Petco will just keep getting more and more animals to treat unfairly. You are helping keep their business running by buying from them so I really don't recommend it. And I don't mean to hate on you at all I understand your point of view but this is mine.

 

[Starthecavy123]

Really I don't see how your saving one your just keeping the cycle going. Plus your just taking a home away from one that's in a shelter. It may seem like saving but it really isn't. But of course that's just my opinion.

 

[Aertyn]

Purchasing an animal from a pet just creates demand. The pet store, upon selling that animal, will go 'okay, there is a demand for this product here, we'll order extra for the next shipment'. You just create a cycle. Better off not purchasing them at all, that way the store works out that there is no demand for that product and won't order more.

Also, welcome to the site, that's a really nice cage you've got.

 

[SativaFlower]

I would suggest not buying from Petco actually. Yes you are saving an animal but you are in adoption also and Petco will just keep getting more and more animals to treat unfairly. You are helping keep their business running by buying from them so I really don't recommend it. And I don't mean to hate on you at all I understand your point of view but this is mine.

[MENTION=28349]Starthecavy123[/MENTION] & [MENTION=32598]CinnaAndNutmeg[/MENTION]
Actually I've never even thought of it that way. Thank you for sharing!

 

[Christin Barnes]

Hello! I love your cage. I want to make a bigger cage for my Gin-Gin but I am short on funds and will be moving in a few months so it will have to wait a bit. I can't wait to be able to share pics of my setup though when it's done!

 

[Momto3boys]

Your cage is great and your pigs are adorable.

As much as its horrible to support pet stores, sometimes you look at a certain face and you fall in love, theres not much you can do about it. Its better not to support pet stores but on the other hand those animals need love and good homes as well. Its kind of bittersweet.