Help With Finding Companion Guinea Pig

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Namaah

Namaah

Junior Guinea Pig
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I recently got a guinea pig and I am looking for a compainion for him but struggling to find anywhere to get a second guinea pig in my area. I would much rather rehome a guinea pig than buy one from a petshop but I cant find any rescue centers in central scotland. The list on this site only has 1 center in scotland on it and it no longer rescue's and rehomes animals.
I have phoned the sspca shelter local to me and the do rehome guinea pigs but the woman was rude and unhelpful. I asked her about boar dating and she said it is not something they allow, I would have to adopt the guinea pig first then introduce them at home. I was considering giving this a try so I asked about what would happen if the 2 really didn't get along and she told me that I would "be stuck with him and responsiable for housing them seperatly". I found being told that i would be "stuck" with a pet a very strange thing for a rescue center to say. Is this normal for rescue centers as everything I have read seems to indicate helpfullness and ongoing support. I dont have the space for 2 guinea pig cages and then I would also have the problem of trying to find companions for 2 lonely guinea pigs and potentionally ending up with 4 seperate guinea pigs and so on....
I've seen guinea pigs go up on facebook/gumtree/etc before but i'm very wary about getting a pet from those kind of places, especially since most of the ones I've saw are selling the guinea pigs for quite alot of money (It makes me wonder if they are selling them for a profit rather than being genuinly unable to care for their animal). I have also never owned guinea pigs before so I would have no idea if what I was getting was actually a healthy male.
Does anyone have advice on where I can rehome a guinea pig from in central scotland (anywhere within 30 miles of glasgow or edinburgh preferable)
 
Namaah said:
I recently got a guinea pig and I am looking for a compainion for him but struggling to find anywhere to get a second guinea pig in my area. I would much rather rehome a guinea pig than buy one from a petshop but I cant find any rescue centers in central scotland. The list on this site only has 1 center in scotland on it and it no longer rescue's and rehomes animals.
I have phoned the sspca shelter local to me and the do rehome guinea pigs but the woman was rude and unhelpful. I asked her about boar dating and she said it is not something they allow, I would have to adopt the guinea pig first then introduce them at home. I was considering giving this a try so I asked about what would happen if the 2 really didn't get along and she told me that I would "be stuck with him and responsiable for housing them seperatly". I found being told that i would be "stuck" with a pet a very strange thing for a rescue center to say. Is this normal for rescue centers as everything I have read seems to indicate helpfullness and ongoing support. I dont have the space for 2 guinea pig cages and then I would also have the problem of trying to find companions for 2 lonely guinea pigs and potentionally ending up with 4 seperate guinea pigs and so on....
I've seen guinea pigs go up on facebook/gumtree/etc before but i'm very wary about getting a pet from those kind of places, especially since most of the ones I've saw are selling the guinea pigs for quite alot of money (It makes me wonder if they are selling them for a profit rather than being genuinly unable to care for their animal). I have also never owned guinea pigs before so I would have no idea if what I was getting was actually a healthy male.
Does anyone have advice on where I can rehome a guinea pig from in central scotland (anywhere within 30 miles of glasgow or edinburgh preferable)
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome!

I am very sorry; there are very few decent rescues in Scotland except Hutches in Alyth. None of the SSPCA and RSPCA rescues offer boar dating - the only one I know that goes as far as offering boar-rescue baby boar speed dating is in Birmingham; sadly not all centres are really piggy savvy, either. :(

I am linking @lisaali in, our Scottish moderator. She may have more updated on the ground knowledge.
 
Would it be an option to try and piggy train (i.e. organise transport for) your boy down to an English rescue for a week of residential bonding to make sure that they really get on and are stably bonded? Especially if you were prepared to do a part of the journey?
 
Namaah said:
Thank you, Yeah I tried Hutches but the no longer rescue or rehome animals :(
Click to expand...

Unfortunately Joanne at Hutches has suspended rescuing of Rabbits and Guinea pigs at present, which has left a extremely large gap in good rescues here in Scotland.

Whereabouts are you in Scotland, this will help us to try and suggest options for your piggy.

Lisa & Ali..
 
I'm in Falkirk but can travel to anywhere within about 50 miles of me.
I don't really want to send my piggy away on his own as I've only had him 2 weeks. My husband has some time off at the end of May though so if I don't manage to find him a friend before then I could look at travelling to where there is a good centre and staying a couple of days. Would have to see how money is at the time though as we have 4 kids and would also have to find someone to watch our dog while we are away. I also don't know if I could find somewhere to stay that would allow a guinea pig to stay as well
 
So sorry for all the trouble your having finding a rescue or a place that rehomes and allows dating. I'm in the U.S. and in my area there are not that many places that allow "dating" either unfortunately. Luckily my 4 boars get along great seeing as how boars can be finicky. If you have to conduct the dating at home like i did (even though its not recommended if you don't have room for 2 cages) make sure to introduce them in a playpen or other safe neutral area with plenty of stimulation other than the new pig. I put toys, hay, and lettuce with a few hide houses when I introduce two pigs or another pig to my herd at home and have always had wonderful luck. Also keep some towels handy just in case they decide to squabble so you can throw the towel over them instead of trying to separate them with your hands and chance getting bitten. I leave mine in the play pen and monitor them 24/7 for the first 2-3 hours then if they are doing well I start cleaning the cage (while checking on them every so often) and making sure all traces of the current pigs smell is gone to help with dominance issues. Also change where the housing is and what not so everything is new.

If they mount another, rumble while doing a swaying side to side walk that is pretty normal and a non aggressive dominance show. Fighting on hind legs, baring teeth, and heavy nipping are aggressive signs and the pigs should be watched to make sure they either work it out or need to be separated. Also they will sniff each others hind quarters and aggressive pigs may even nip sensitive parts in some instances. Like I said though, I have four boys, all introduced this way at home, and everything went great. I understand not all introduction work this well but for me it did and no aggression was shown.

I hope you find a "dating" place but if not hopefully this may help you out. Good Luck!
 
Hi there
My name is Donna Wilson I run the small furry holiday hotel in whitburn west lothian, I am starting my own piggy rescue this year but in the mean time I board and do a bonding service as well, I also am an admin on a Facebook group called the piggy train this a group set up for people volunteering to move piggies all round the country and from rescue to you or from gumtree to you as well as taking piggies to specialist vets, if you like please join us today, also if you find a friend I am happy to bond them for you hopefully my rescue will be up and running this year I will also keep my eyes open for you
 
Hello @Namaah I am so sorry you were rudely treated by the SSPA centre you contacted. I volunteer for the Rspca in north Wales and we do offer piggy speed dating at our centre, but at Wiebke has pointed out, not all RSPCA centres have the facilities or piggy-savvy staff to do this! I hope that you are able to sort out a friend for your guinea pig x
 
I'll still have my old cage so I can use that as a temporary house for a short time until I manage to (hopefully) bond the pair, I'm more worried about the long term if the 2 of them hate each other as the old cage is too small for him to live in long term (the one I was sold from a pet shop). Since there is no rescues near me that could help me re home him I'm not sure what to do if it doesn't work out.
Whitburn isn't that far away from me, would be great if you set up a rescue there, or if you know of any single males needing a new home let me know. I'm assuming you would know how to check they are definitely a male, I'm worried about getting a piggy from someone who says they are male and then finding out that they are female. If you are needing any help setting up the rescue let me know, I'd be happy to come over and help.
I might try contacting the SSPCA again another day, hopefully the woman was just having a bad day. It felt like I was inconveniencing her by asking about re homing an animal, she couldn't get me off the phone quick enough.
 
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