Canada pet store or adoption?

[SIR PONPON]

should i get 2 females from a pet store or adopt them?

 

[onedesire]

A no brainer: adoption! Check local shelters or rescues. You could also look on kijiji/craiglist for people who need to rehome them

 

[bpatters]

NEVER from a pet store. Those pigs are bred and raised in horrible conditions. They're often sick, with parasites, missexed, and the baby sows are pregnant. Breeding sow for pet stores are kept continually pregnant, and each succeeding litter of pup is less and less healthy. When the sow is too old to breed, she's killed. See www.petsmartcruelty.com for how animals going to pet stores are treated.

I know they're cute, and they deserve good homes just like any other guinea pig. But to the pet store, it's just an item to sell. So when the ones they have in stock have been purchased, they order a new lot from the breeder.

There are thousands of unwanted guinea pigs in rescues and shelters and even for adoption online. If you take a rescue or shelter pig, you not only give a pig a good home, but you free up a space for another unwanted pig to have a chance at being adopted. If you have trouble finding one near you, tell us where you are (city/state, not your address) and we'll see if we can help you find one.

 

[Beatrix187]

Ditto the others: Adopt! You can use this site to find some pigs! I find it very easy to use https://www.adoptapet.com/

 

[lunarminx]

When people finally stop buying from pet stores all the pet mills will shut down. Over 2 million cats and dogs alone are killed in American shelters every years. No one ever mentions the small animals that get killed.

 

[RiverWalker]

hey bpatters - i've been looking for a month now for a pair of piggies (preferably female and preferably no red eyes) to adopt -I live in Prince Rupert - British Columbia (Canada) - the nearest I've found is about 900Km out of town. any advice/help?

 

[bpatters]

You ARE out in the boondocks, aren't you?

You may not like my advice, but if I were you, the first thing I'd do is see what kind of vet care is available before I got GPs in your town. Small animal (dog and cat) vets are not trained in the care of exotics, and some of them are downright dangerous. Even exotic vets don't always know how to treat dental issues in guinea pigs. If there are no exotic vets available to you, I think you should pick another pet that a small animal vet can care for. That probably means a dog or a cat. I know pigs are cute, and I love mine to bits, but vet care is expensive, and even in Houston, the 4th largest city in the country, there are only a handful of exotic vets. And they're all expensive.

Guinea pig are prey animals, and as such, any symptoms of illness they have are hard to detect. They can go from well to dead in 24 hours from a respiratory infection, and in less time than that from bloat. Some things you could treat yourself, but URIs, bloat, and dental issues require a professional. It would be very hard to see your guinea pig die because there's no one available who can treat it.

Maybe you can put GPs on your list of "must have" pets when you live someplace a little more urban, and with an exotic vet for pet care.

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

Ditto what bpatters said, and as a fellow Canadian I can definitely say that care is more difficult to get here than it is in the United States. I was lucky that there are actually 2 cavy savvy vets within a 30 minute drive of where I live, but I also live in the most populous area in the country. I'm in the middle of a hay dilemna right now, and the best things your pigs can get are in the U.S. and simply not available in our country. I love my pigs to absolutely no end and I will do anything humanly possible for them. That said, it is tougher to get quality care and feed in Canada. I can only imagine what some of our members in places like Brazil and India run up against.

 

[RiverWalker]

one of our local vets is an exotics vet... specializes in rodents, birds and reptiles.. so i'm not too worried about the vet care.

In terms of Hay - is Orchard Grass an acceptable hay? I know a farmer in the next town who grows/harvests it. its nice stuff... if its ok for pigs?

 

[bpatters]

Yes, orchard grass is fine. Also meadow, blue and brome.

The closest ones I see are in Prince George. You might contact the rescues and see if there's some way you could arrange transport for them. They might know someone going in your direction.

 

[RiverWalker]

these three little gals apparently need homes... they are at the wildlife shelter ... so i guess you just need to put it out there into the universe. - thank you bpatters. (also i have an abundance of salmon berry bushes and alder trees.... can guinea pigs eat the leaves? )

 

[BeckieL]

they are pretty girls!! let us know who you end up with!

 

[CavyTV]

What gorgeous girls! The one on the left reminds me of my boy Flyn; he has a white stripe running down his nose as well. Good luck with them! Make sure you adopt at least 2 piggies if you do not already have one at home. Guinea pigs are social creatures and depend on one another for protection. You may also adopt all 3 if you'd like - they'd make a nice trio.

 

[bpatters]

I have no idea whether they can eat those leaves. Leaves aren't a natural part of their diet.

Turn them all over and make sure they're all females.

 

[RiverWalker]

The piggies are coming from a neighbouring town, but the Wildlife Shelter is run by a veterinarian who said she double checked the sex and is confident they are all Female and healthy. Apparently she has a couple boars as well, which might end up as food for a cougar who is in their care. Two of them will be delivered on Saturday.

 

[cavycalm1]

Definitely adopt!!! The gp I adopted had been left on the side of the road, her siblings dead, and close to the brink of death herself!!! It's so much better when you give a pig a second chance!!!!

 

[Guinea2002]

You can always look around the Local Animal Shelters

 

[CrystalCavy]

Adopt of course! If you don't like going through/don't have time for paperwork and interviews at shelters and rescues, you can always try Kijiji. Just make sure they aren't a guinea pig breeder.