Hello Everyone, Newbie Family Here!

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theprincessofpink

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi everyone :luv:

I have been browsing the internet for a while now with my daughter researching into getting pet guinea pigs. We have borrowed some books from the library and I kept piggys myself when I was younger (we wont discuss how long ago that was :no:) and my how things have come on since then!

I'm making sure that we do all our research and want to have everything set up before we go and get our pigs and my daughter, who is 8, is furiously saving up her pocket money to contribute towards toys.

I guess I'm just seeking some advice really, we live in Glasgow so as far I am aware there are no rescues near us and we don't drive, I know that pet shop piggys aren't ideal but do you think stalking the rehoming section of pets at home would be our best bet?

Also, we did see a gorgeous little abyssian male in there in the adoption section last week to be rehomed as a single. I said no ( I said we had to work out all the logistics and save up first) but if that situation should come up again do you think it would be wise to adopt a single male and then possibly neuter and pair him up with a female which we could get later after he'd had the op and was all 'safe'?

On that topic can anyone recommend a pig savvy vet in Glasgow? I have looked on the locater but there isn't one listed and I want to make sure that I will have vet care all organised so I can get piggys checked over when we get them esp since they will prob be pet shop ones.

Anyway, apologies for rambly post and hello!
 
Hi and Welcome to the Forum. You seem to be doing all the right stuff before getting your piggies. It's good to see a prospective owner getting all the info first rather than wait until something goes wrong.

It's really surprising that there's no rescue in Glasgow but that could be a big city thing as I've never heard anyone on here mention a rescue in London! Maybe other members can point you in the right direction.
 
Hi and welcome.You could be taking on a piggy with health problems if you took.on a p&h pig.If you find a rescue you have a bigger chance of a healthy pig and a. bonded pair.Good luck .A lot of piggies don't play with toys so your daughter could be wasting her money.Tunnels and hideys are popular with them and mine like destroying willow balls.They like homemade toys such as cardboard tubes filled with different types of hay.Some people hang them as well to make it more of a challenge...
 
Thanks for the replys.....she's got her heart set on buying one of those bendy wooden log tunnel things and a willow ball so hopefully we're on the right track lol I would prefer to rescue but logistically there just doesn't seem to be a rescue within a public transport friendly distance and the sspca don't seem to get many pigs in. The best chance I have at rescue will be the adoption area at pets at home....not ideal I know but do you guys think I would be better taking on a pig from there as oppose to baby pigs from there?
 
I paid about £70, and i dont think that was with consultation fee ( had my cat in getting vaccinated at the same time, so dont recall exactly how much it was), for my piggie to be neutered. Since you mentioned you were saving up for getting piggies, maybe two girls would be cheaper? (that is hoping they won't be unhealthy needing the vets of course)
 
Unfortunately, there aren't any rescues in Glasgow that are safe to use or whose practices come up to scratch. if you can get to Hutches (or close to) at all, please consider so - for your own peace of mind and a smooth ride with your piggies.

There is a direct cheap train link from Glasgow to Stirling. Perhaps you can organise something via public transport? Guinea pigs travel pretty well over quite large distances. I don't have a car either, but a number of my piggies have come from quite a way like South Wales or West Yorkshire - by train!

@lisaali
 
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thank you all so much for your responses. I am quite happy to pay to neuter a boar if that will work out better for them so they can live with a sow......I should explain the saving thing is more to do with showing my daughter that you can't just go and buy a pet on the spur of the moment, along with the research you need to save to properly provide it with all the things it will need rather than just scraping together what you have at the time to satisfy an urge, does that make sense?

It annoys me no end that one of her friends from school was bought a pair of rabbits last easter and they are living in a ferplast 100 in their kitchen! The poor things are on top of each other constantly but they insist they can't afford a bigger cage so that's probably got a lot to do with it!

I will look into Hutches Wiebke, thanks for the recommendation and you're right Stirling itself is accessible by train it's just a case of how far outwith Stirling the rescue is.
 
Hi :wel:to the forum...

As @Wiebke says there are no reputable rescues near you in Glasgow. Hutches Rescue is by far the best rescue in Scotland at the moment and Joanne would certainly be able to point you in the right direction for your piggy needs. She has a vast knowledge and experience of running a rescue and boarding facility and we have nothing but good things to say about her. Regarding your situation it is absolutely commendable in thinking of going rescue rather than a pet shop. Also you can be assured that any piggies adopted from a reputable rescue are fully health checked and strongly bonded. This cannot be said unfortunately for guinea pigs that are being re-homed from other outlets. If you contact Joanne at Hutches we might be able to help you with the transport arrangements providing this could be agreed between yourselves and Joanne. We can assure you it is well worth the effort and it is so rewarding to know that you have contributed towards giving piggies, who may not have had the best start in life, their new forever home.

As for piggy savy vets in Glasgow we are tagging @Nicola and @flintstones who may be able to advise of good vets in your area.

Please feel free to PM us if you would like any more information on Hutches and how Joanne works. Heres the website address for you to take a look at http://www.hutches-boarding-rescue.org.uk/

Lisa & Ali...x

PS Our neutered boar Ouzo and his wifepigs Morgan and Tia all were adopted from Hutches.
 
theprincessofpink said:
thank you all so much for your responses. I am quite happy to pay to neuter a boar if that will work out better for them so they can live with a sow......I should explain the saving thing is more to do with showing my daughter that you can't just go and buy a pet on the spur of the moment, along with the research you need to save to properly provide it with all the things it will need rather than just scraping together what you have at the time to satisfy an urge, does that make sense?

It annoys me no end that one of her friends from school was bought a pair of rabbits last easter and they are living in a ferplast 100 in their kitchen! The poor things are on top of each other constantly but they insist they can't afford a bigger cage so that's probably got a lot to do with it!

I will look into Hutches Wiebke, thanks for the recommendation and you're right Stirling itself is accessible by train it's just a case of how far outwith Stirling the rescue is.
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Ah okay that sounds great then :) if you end up going to a rescue where they are already bonded the genders would be less important.
 
I've looked at the Hutches website and googled for directions, it's just too far for me to go on public transport. It's crazy that there isn't anything nearer. It does however make me more worried in a way for the ones that get handed in to pets at home...what happens to them if they can't rehome? Do I even want to know?!

My first pig, who I imaginatively named Piggy, my dad brought back from the pub one night lol The man who owned it was going to let it go because his daughter had lost interest in him. He was lovely as well......I got a lot of satisfaction from taking him on and coaxing his wee personality out.
 
Hello and welcome! I really approve of your attitude to teaching your daughter responsibility. I do the same with my children.
My first piggy as a child was also brought home by my dad from the pub! My dad was a sucker for waifs and strays.
 
Hi there. We are quite new to the forum, too, although we used it loads for information before taking the plunge and joining! Last year when my daughter (then 8) was "earning" her piggies - by researching and doing all those jobs that she would NEVER do otherwise - she did lots of preparation, like your little girl is doing, too. We printed out a very comprehension veggies list, with recommended feeding frequencies, and together we drew up some sample weekly menus and shopping lists for the piggies. My daughter also starting collecting cardboard boxes (shoe boxes, etc) and experimenting with making little hides, and to this day this sort of thing is always more popular than any of the shop-bought ones! As she has got to know Nibble and Munch's personalities and individual likes she has got more proficient at coming up with little boredom busters for them. OK, the house is always full of random bits of cardboard, but everyone's happy! Even cereal boxes are put to use: cut in half heightwise they make great disposable litter trays for the areas of the hutch that get the heaviest use.
 
Her Nibship, that sounds fab. I will show this to her tomorrow and no doubt my recycling will get raided lol Has it worked out well for you as a family?
 
Hi Ginger and Friends, you are so right on the receptiveness to pigs in Glasgow! Maybe if they drank buckfast they might be more popular lol Have you got an good local recommendations re vets or supply shops etc?
 
Absolutey! We adopted 3 more piggies last weekend! We got a very large run for the garden which meant that last summer my daughter was able to sit in there with the piggies, sometimes reading or drawing, and the piggies would hop on and off her knee in between nibbling the grass. Can't wait for the weather to be good enough for them to do that again!
 
Sorry about taking so long to reply, I've been on holiday. There is only one vet that I would use for my pig's and it's quite a far trek from Glasgow it's Apex Vet's in Denny - Glenn, he is amazing with Guinea Pig's and has saved more than one of my pig's. His knowledge is amazing, and he is so through when examining, I've tried a few other's but after he saved my P's life I decided my pig's all deserve the best so we only use him.
 
Can I just add my support for Glenn at Apex. I'm on my way in 10 minutes to deliver one of our piggies. I was going to post a long message about his amazing saving abilities with our 5+ years guinea pig (Badger) and an abscess! He is the most amazing Guinea Pig vet ever (and I have been to a few). We travel quite a long way, and we transferred all our animals over to them (by the way, I used to be cyberpig (I wrote about Badger 3 years ago and got a wonderful response from one of the forum members), but my email account with the password doesn't exist anymore (work email). I'm not sure if I should contact the moderators. I decided to re-register again.
 
Rabchen said:
Can I just add my support for Glenn at Apex. I'm on my way in 10 minutes to deliver one of our piggies. I was going to post a long message about his amazing saving abilities with our 5+ years guinea pig (Badger) and an abscess! He is the most amazing Guinea Pig vet ever (and I have been to a few). We travel quite a long way, and we transferred all our animals over to them (by the way, I used to be cyberpig (I wrote about Badger 3 years ago and got a wonderful response from one of the forum members), but my email account with the password doesn't exist anymore (work email). I'm not sure if I should contact the moderators. I decided to re-register again.
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You can always contact admin via our help desk! ;)
 
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