Frustrated Where to get guinea pigs

[CavyTV]

HelloJust recently I found a craigslist listing for 2 male guinea pigs. Last monday, Kasper passed away and now Flyn is left by himself. My parents have been driving me crazy and being very stubborn about driving me to get another guinea pig. I really do not want to turn to a pet store in this situation as I have learned that buying animals from them is not okay. However, the closest guinea pig shelter to us is the Critter Corral Guinea Pig Rescue, and I emailed them only to get a reply back that they had no spayed females and all of the males "do not play nice with others". The shelter is more than 2 hours away, and I asked my parents if they could drive me once they had a spayed female or a baby boar available. They said that because of the distance they would not take me. They said they didn't want to pay money for the gas and tolls and they also didn't like that they would be "wasting" more than 4 hours of their time just so I could get another pig. Now, I understand that, but I don't know where else to get a guinea pig from besides the pet stores and craigslist. I also checked petfinder, but the only results that came up for my location were 2 animal shelters that were also too far for my parents. As I've said before, I did find a listing today and, lucky for me, the 2 guinea pigs are free (including the cage and all of their supplies) AND it's super close to us. I already asked, and my parents agreed that there's a high chance we can go pick them up this Sunday. So I emailed the person once again to see if they are available for that day, and so far I haven't got a reply back. My concern is wheather or not I made the right decision. In the pictures, one of the guinea pigs seemed to have over-grown nails. Not severe, just a bit curled. The other pig didn't have long nails. Other than that, they seemed to be healthy (or so I hope). However, I did notice that they are being over-fed on pellets based on the picture of the cage (Midwest habitat). There were 2 bowls that were filled with more than 1/8 of a cup of pellets. The guinea pigs look to be around a year old. Should I be worried? Not only that, but I'm also afraid of taking the risk at bonding all 3 of them. When Kasper was with us, Flyn was the more dominant one. I've heard a lot of people say that boar trios never work out. I already asked the owner if I could take one, but he said that since they are brothers, he wants them to go together. I'm only allowed to have 3 guinea pigs max, so getting a 4th for Flyn wouldn't work if the 3 of them wouldn't get along. I know I shouldn't get a guinea pig from the pet store, but I'm starting to think it might be a better option I either have to risk bonding 3, have the two together in one cage and Flyn in a cage next to them, wait for another craigslist listing and possibly risk the opportunity of having free guinea pigs for adoption so close to my area, or get a baby from the pet store without having to stress over the fact that the bonding will be unsuccessful. I really don't know what to do If I were to go to the pet store, I would go to Pet Supplies Plus. They only sell baby boars and they always look healthy..But then again, that's not really the right thing to do. I'm really frustrated with this. Please help.

 

[bpatters]

The best help help I can give you is to tell you that your post is nearly unreadable. If you'll break it into paragraphs and double space between them, you'll get a LOT more responses.

 

[CupcakeCavy]

Yep, very few people will take the time to read it.

 

[CupcakeCavy]

I have first hand experience with pigs not getting along and let me tell you it can be a nightmare! Generally craigslist isn't the best place to get guinea pigs but from everything you have mentioned it may not be the worst thing to do.

I would check with the owner and see if you can keep them for a day (week or month) to try to bond them.

In this time you could also take them to a vet to ensure they are healthy (I would take them to the vet first to ensure they are not passing along a illness) I would also do a lot of research on methods of bonding boars. One of my favorites is the buddy bath system- http://www.cavyspirit.com/sociallife.htm

Make sure you have the proper space for them (I wouldn't really recommend the midwest for three boars as the main reason for bickering in boars is space) A 2x5 c&c is the minimum requirement but going up never hurts.

 

[jaycriae]

I'd personally go wide if possible when attempting a boar trio. As in, 3x4 or more. The ability to go around each other is very useful.

I don't have much advice other than to say, make sure to properly quarantine if you do get the Craigslist boars. You don't know what they could have that's asymptomatic as of yet.


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[Saylavi]

Check into the other rescues in IL and see if any of them are willing to have one of their fosters transport. I know wheek care (pa) will transport 500 miles if it means getting a piggy adopted/rescued.

 

[kcake67]

Have you tried checking the website guinea pig finder? They have listings for rescues and guinea pigs all over the united states!

 

[CavyTV]

The best help help I can give you is to tell you that your post is nearly unreadable. If you'll break it into paragraphs and double space between them, you'll get a LOT more responses.

Sorry about that. When I was typing it, I did break it into paragraphs. However, when I clicked "Done", everything that I wrote became one big blob. How do I edit a thread that's already been sent?

 

[BCPiggies]

I feel your pain. Very sadly, I had to resort to getting my pigs from a pet store. The nearest shelter was over 2.5 hours away and my parents bluntly refused because they hadn't wanted me to get a pet in the first place, but I managed to persuade them. I love my pigs, and seeing as I've grown attached to them, if I went back in time I would still go to the pet store, but if you are a new owner I'd try everything possible to get healthy pigs from the shelter. The pet store pigs always look fine-you only realize all the problems a couple months in. Having to treat my pigs with ivermectin, by myself, yup, just a little kid with a syringe giving topical ivermectin doses for mites like some experienced vet ten years older than me, was a very stressful experience. If I were you, I would avoid these problems as much as possible. Hope this helps <3

 

[bpatters]

One thing you should think about -- if you're having that much trouble finding pigs, you're going to have even more trouble finding vets who are qualified to treat them. Maybe it would be better to stick with a non-exotic animal, like a cat or a dog, until you're own your own in a place that has exotic vets.
[MENTION=38487]CavyTV[/MENTION], you can edit a thread for 10 minutes after it's been posted. After that time, you can't.

 

[DroidGuineaPig]

I feel your pain. Very sadly, I had to resort to getting my pigs from a pet store. The nearest shelter was over 2.5 hours away and my parents bluntly refused because they hadn't wanted me to get a pet in the first place, but I managed to persuade them. I love my pigs, and seeing as I've grown attached to them, if I went back in time I would still go to the pet store, but if you are a new owner I'd try everything possible to get healthy pigs from the shelter. The pet store pigs always look fine-you only realize all the problems a couple months in. Having to treat my pigs with ivermectin, by myself, yup, just a little kid with a syringe giving topical ivermectin doses for mites like some experienced vet ten years older than me, was a very stressful experience. If I were you, I would avoid these problems as much as possible. Hope this helps <3

If you cant get a pig from a shelter, you really should not get a pig at all.

 

[kcake67]

I also had to resort to getting a pig from a pet store. The closest rescue to me the Atlanta metro guinea pig shelter, just closed their doors. I have no other rescues near me so I went to petco.

 

[CavyTV]

Turns out the pigs are taken. The person emailed me less than 30 minutes ago. I checked petfinder, guineapigfinder, craigslist, and a countless amount of shelter websites. One of the shelters, Doberman Rescue in Barrington IL, was perfect as it wasn't that far from us, but I checked out all of the guinea pig profiles they had and they all say "So-and-so is happiest as a single piggie" or "So-and-so is best as a single guinea pig but can be bonded, with a proper introduction, with a submissive guinea pig". Flyn is NOT submissive. Gosh, why is this so hard? It seems like I'll never be able to get a friend for Flyn without buying one from a pet store. Uggghhhh

 

[bpatters]

Nobody HAS to resort to getting a pig from a pet store. There are always pigs available somewhere. You may have to wait a while, or drive a little, but there's always another option besides pet store purchase. I'd choose a different kind of pet rather than buy one of any kind from a pet store.

 

[CavyMama]

[MENTION=38487]CavyTV[/MENTION] - what is your zipcode? We might be able to find a shelter or rescue closer to you.

 

[CavyTV]

@CavyTV - what is your zipcode? We might be able to find a shelter or rescue closer to you.

60073. The only ALL guinea pig rescue I could find was Critter Corral. However, since it's almost 2 hours away my parents refuse to drive me. I doubt there's any others.

 

[CavyMama]

If Downers Grove isn't too far, there is a Critter Corral foster located there that has 6 adult male guinea pigs. LaGrange Park also has some males

 

[CavyTV]

Anything that's an hour or more away my parents say no

 

[CavyMama]

Are Downers Grove and LaGrange Park both an hour away?

 

[CavyTV]

Downers Grove is 1 hour and 4 minutes away from me. LaGrange Park is 1 hour and 12 minutes.