Want more piggies!

[midsnow1500]

So about 3 years ago i got my first 2 piggies, charlie and midnight. (all guinea's mentioned in this thread are Boars unless said otherwise) sadly charlie died as a pup when i got him, and then i got moon about 3 weeks after because my other guinea pig midnight was showing signs of depression. Moon about a week after getting him died from starvation although i was feeding him and he was eating. Then i went to a rescue instead of a shop and adopted snowball, which is my current pig along with midnight. I am quite young, and I don't have my own place due to my age which i prefer not to state. I love my current piggies to death but in the past 3 months I found myself wishing I could care for more piggies. My parents are not up to it, and they say i'm not responsible with my current piggies (even though they get there hay filled 3-5 times a day, a huge water bottle, a decently sized cage, cage cleanings often, and lap time once a day along with out of cage time 4 times a week) I am certainly not ungrateful for the piggies i have now! I just wish i could spread my love to more piggies, and I'm not saying I want 7-10 pigs, maybe just 2 females and another boar (of course females will be separate) over the course of 6-9 months after we move in a few weeks. My parents say no way but I want to convince them, whats some advice to try to convince them?

 

[Mo & Stubbins & Vani]

I will link some information for you!
Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides
Recommended Guinea Pig Rescues
Are Guinea Pigs For Me? - Wannabe Owners' Helpful Information
Daily Care Guides
Diet Guides
Cages And Hutch Guide
Piggies are wonderful and lovely animals, but you also need to ensure their quality of life. Please take the time to read these guides on care, diet, housing, etc.
If you are a minor, and your parents are reluctant to adopt more piggies, I would worry that they would not be willing to purchase necessary items or assist with setting up a vet fund. When guinea pigs become sick, their health can decline very quickly.
Good animal welfare requires disease prevention and veterinary treatment for all animals in need. Will you be able to provide this for them?
Two guinea pigs require a bare minimum of 8 square feet, but even that is much too small for boars, who usually need about 12 square feet per pair.
We all love piggies, but maybe I would give extra love to the little piglets you have now!
If you are set on adopting more piggies, this video states all of the positives of owning guinea pigs:

I hope that this helps!

 

[Piggylove82]

So about 3 years ago i got my first 2 piggies, charlie and midnight. (all guinea's mentioned in this thread are Boars unless said otherwise) sadly charlie died as a pup when i got him, and then i got moon about 3 weeks after because my other guinea pig midnight was showing signs of depression. Moon about a week after getting him died from starvation although i was feeding him and he was eating. Then i went to a rescue instead of a shop and adopted snowball, which is my current pig along with midnight. I am quite young, and I don't have my own place due to my age which i prefer not to state. I love my current piggies to death but in the past 3 months I found myself wishing I could care for more piggies. My parents are not up to it, and they say i'm not responsible with my current piggies (even though they get there hay filled 3-5 times a day, a huge water bottle, a decently sized cage, cage cleanings often, and lap time once a day along with out of cage time 4 times a week) I am certainly not ungrateful for the piggies i have now! I just wish i could spread my love to more piggies, and I'm not saying I want 7-10 pigs, maybe just 2 females and another boar (of course females will be separate) over the course of 6-9 months after we move in a few weeks. My parents say no way but I want to convince them, whats some advice to try to convince them?

If your pigs needed vet care, do you have the funds to pay for that? My pig had an xray today and it cost £195.

It's not just about how much love you have to give them. It's about being able to afford to give the pigs that you have a good life and know if they needed vet care that you would provide it without a second thought. If you are young then the responsibility for that cost would most likely fall at your parents feet. So I understand what they are saying.

There will be plenty of time in the future when you are older and have your own place and income to have more pigs. Just give the ones you have now the best life you can.

Pigs live for the day. Make each day great!

 

[Siikibam]

Firstly sorry for your losses. The piggies were likely ill when you took them home. I'm afraid I have to agree with what's been said above. Being as you are young, the responsibility in terms of money will fall on your parents' shoulders and not you. With 2-3 more piggies, you would need to triple the vet fund, which should already be sizeable anyway. You'd also have to consider the space you'd need. Having two sows near the boars could trigger a fallout - what would you then do about that if you had to have them in separate cages? And where would the single boar go in the grand scheme of things? He couldn't be put alone, he would have to live alongside the boars or sows. Do you have enough space for so many cages and arrangements?

I think the best thing to do is to wait until you're able to live alone, and have autonomy over finances etc. And importantly are able to pay for any vet fees etc. I know it's not what you want to hear, but I think trying to convince your parents and kind of 'forcing' them to agree wouldn't be in the interests of the piggies you'd get. Enjoy the two you have and lavish them with love. Lastly, it's about more than love. It's what you can provide for them so they have the best life possible.

I have been considering adding another sow to the two I have, but have decided against it for many reasons. I would love to have two herds, but that isn't possible right now and may not be in the future. It's not what I want to decide but it's for the best

 

[Swissgreys]

I tend to agree with others I am afraid.
I am also a parent and our guinea pigs belong to my children.
My girls are great with their pets - they do 90% of the daily care, prepare fresh and keep the cages clean, etc.
I am extremely proud of how well they have taken the responsibility on board.
But for now we will not be getting any further piggies, becasue as they get older they will have less and less time to care for the guinea pigs. At 13 and 15 they are still at home and lot, but in the next couple of years I can see how this will become less and less.

Plus whilst they do care for their guinea pigs, I am still the responsibile adult so I am the one who pays the vets bills, gets up every 4 hours in the night when someone needs syringe feedings, drives to the emergency out of hours vet, books and pays for the pet sitter when we go away etc.
So whilst your parents are the responsible adults in your home, then you really have to respect their decisions about how many guinea pigs they feel you can manage.

 

[Little Ones]

I agree with the others and advise against it. I was around 12/13 when I got my first guinea pig. It wasn’t properly cared for at all and passed away when I was 14. Then I got two more Guinea pigs (and also joined this forum) and it took about 2 years before they were cared for the way they should be. It wasn’t my fault, I was urging my mum to look after the guinea pigs the way they should be. It bothered me a lot, they only got hay once a week, the cage was tiny, no veg but carrots. But because I wasn’t the one funding their care, I couldn’t have a say and my mum refused to listen. After about a year, my boys finally got hay unlimitedly, slightly more veg variety and we changed to fleece. They lived in their tiny cage for another year before I was able to convince my mum to allow me to buy a c&c cage for them. It was also when I got the new cage that she was willing to understand about the proper care of guinea pigs, this also included vet bills. From being sixteen, I’ve been paying vet bills with no help. This meant saving all my birthday and Christmas money. As it stands, I’ve spent several thousands on vet bills over the last four years and that has been on 3 guinea pigs in total. Without the support from my mum, I don’t think I would’ve been able to handle it. It was only up until a month or two ago that I finally felt like my guinea pigs weren’t a burden on her. Every time one was ill, I was so worried to tell her because I knew she probably thought it was ridiculous to spend so much money on them constantly.
Anyway, my point is that you should listen to your parents. Your guinea pigs will get ill and you need parents who are supportive of going to the vets. The mental struggle you will feel if they don’t support you will be so difficult and stress you so much. If they tell you no, then that’s no. To convince them means they won’t be supportive, it just means they felt as though they couldn’t say no.
I’ve been where you are, and I can tell you it’s not worth it. I, right now, have lots of love to give and wish I had more guinea pigs to do so. But, I have to be responsible and also realistic. You need to do the same.

 

[Zanzan]

I loved guinea pigs all my life but had to wait until I was 28 and settled in my own house with enough space and money to care for them properly. I know you don't want to say how old you are but it seems likely in a few years you will be entering a time in your life with lots of changes - college or leaving home, house shares or travelling maybe. I can tell you moving a load of pigs with me when I was at that stage of life would have been almost impossible. Please enjoy the ones you have, most of us on here would love a houseful of piggies but it is not that easy

 

[Merab]

Welcome to the forum.
I can only agree with what has been said already.
One day you will be in a position to be completely responsible for all your pets and will be able to make your own decisions.
Enjoy the piggies you have - your love for them will still be there in years to come.
Please can we see pictures of your piggies

 

[midsnow1500]

To those who provided me with their honest and kind answers,
yes, we can afford a bigger cage(s), i am saving up for the necessities for 2 more
I have a vet fund set away, it has about 500 in it, and my parents said they have 600 set away for it. I also have a free clinic nearby that specializes in small animals (for extreme emergencies) The problem is I will most likely be unable to move out until I am at the minimum 30 due to reasons pertaining to a disability. In my little fund for cages and such I have 200 out of 1000 I plan to save. i plan to use 300 of it to add to vet funds. I talked to my parents before i started saving up and they said "yeah sure" but now that I am actually doing it they keep saying "We aren't turning your room into a nasty pig room" even though my room is large and plus we have an empty room that is about the size of a large luxury walk in closet so if I needed to separate girls from boys room wise I definitely could. I am completely able to care for them both financially and physically.

 

[midsnow1500]

Welcome to the forum.
I can only agree with what has been said already.
One day you will be in a position to be completely responsible for all your pets and will be able to make your own decisions.
Enjoy the piggies you have - your love for them will still be there in years to come.
Please can we see pictures of your piggies

I would love to but I am not home and i dont have my drive with piggie pics. snowball kind of looks like this piggie

Midnight is an all black piggie with one line of white behind his head. He is short hair, note that snowball is medium length haired.

 

[Siikibam]

I’m afraid 1100 could easily be swallowed up by two piggies, especially in the US where vet fees are more expensive. I know it’s hard but at the end of the day it’s their decision whether they will allow you more piggies or not. Don’t force their hand because then they won’t be willing to help should anything happen. Having the space and means to have more doesn’t necessarily mean that you should.

I’m curious about this free clinic. How experienced are they with small animals (piggies to be precise)? How come it’s free for emergencies?

 

[Mo & Stubbins & Vani]

Just one quick question I forgot to ask in my first response.
What is the size of the cage that your piglets currently live in?
Please do be careful about using a free clinic. As Siikibam stated, do you know how reliable they are with cavies?
I would enjoy your time with the two piggies you have now! I currently only have three piglets, but they consume many, many hours of each day. When it comes to care, food, "rehab", and cleaning, I realize that caring for my animals is a full-time job!
I can tell that you have good intentions and definitely have a lot of love to share, just make sure that you are keeping the best interest of your furry friends in mind.

 

[midsnow1500]

I’m afraid 1100 could easily be swallowed up by two piggies, especially in the US where vet fees are more expensive. I know it’s hard but at the end of the day it’s their decision whether they will allow you more piggies or not. Don’t force their hand because then they won’t be willing to help should anything happen. Having the space and means to have more doesn’t necessarily mean that you should.

I’m curious about this free clinic. How experienced are they with small animals (piggies to be precise)? How come it’s free for emergencies?

I looked into it more, it is discounted for non emergencies and emergencies. This clinic is specifically for small pets/exotics. I called and asked how they are free and they said they get donations, grants, and government funding.

 

[midsnow1500]

I agree with the others and advise against it. I was around 12/13 when I got my first guinea pig. It wasn’t properly cared for at all and passed away when I was 14. Then I got two more Guinea pigs (and also joined this forum) and it took about 2 years before they were cared for the way they should be. It wasn’t my fault, I was urging my mum to look after the guinea pigs the way they should be. It bothered me a lot, they only got hay once a week, the cage was tiny, no veg but carrots. But because I wasn’t the one funding their care, I couldn’t have a say and my mum refused to listen. After about a year, my boys finally got hay unlimitedly, slightly more veg variety and we changed to fleece. They lived in their tiny cage for another year before I was able to convince my mum to allow me to buy a c&c cage for them. It was also when I got the new cage that she was willing to understand about the proper care of guinea pigs, this also included vet bills. From being sixteen, I’ve been paying vet bills with no help. This meant saving all my birthday and Christmas money. As it stands, I’ve spent several thousands on vet bills over the last four years and that has been on 3 guinea pigs in total. Without the support from my mum, I don’t think I would’ve been able to handle it. It was only up until a month or two ago that I finally felt like my guinea pigs weren’t a burden on her. Every time one was ill, I was so worried to tell her because I knew she probably thought it was ridiculous to spend so much money on them constantly.
Anyway, my point is that you should listen to your parents. Your guinea pigs will get ill and you need parents who are supportive of going to the vets. The mental struggle you will feel if they don’t support you will be so difficult and stress you so much. If they tell you no, then that’s no. To convince them means they won’t be supportive, it just means they felt as though they couldn’t say no.
I’ve been where you are, and I can tell you it’s not worth it. I, right now, have lots of love to give and wish I had more guinea pigs to do so. But, I have to be responsible and also realistic. You need to do the same.

I'm an experienced pig owner, and I feel i'm ready to adopt some pigs. I just want to give them a loving and supporting home I guess.

 

[midsnow1500]

Just one quick question I forgot to ask in my first response.
What is the size of the cage that your piglets currently live in?
Please do be careful about using a free clinic. As Siikibam stated, do you know how reliable they are with cavies?
I would enjoy your time with the two piggies you have now! I currently only have three piglets, but they consume many, many hours of each day. When it comes to care, food, "rehab", and cleaning, I realize that caring for my animals is a full-time job!
I can tell that you have good intentions and definitely have a lot of love to share, just make sure that you are keeping the best interest of your furry friends in mind.

The cage is about 10 square foot.

 

[Sweet Potato]

I'm really sorry but I also feel that it's your parents decision (sadly not everyone want's to live in a zoo). It's clear you really care for your animals and have a lot of love to give but now maybe just isn't the time. Why don't you try and find a local animal rescue to volunteer with so that you can offer that love to many more animals than you could ever keep at home.

 

[Little Ones]

I'm an experienced pig owner, and I feel i'm ready to adopt some pigs. I just want to give them a loving and supporting home I guess.

It has 0 about experience. You need your parents support.
Funnily enough, I’m also disabled (autistic) and so I also am in a position where I’m unable to move out. I don’t know your disability so you may get disability money which I don’t. However, what I do know is that I’ve never been employed, and will struggle the rest of my life to be employed simply because of my disability. This is why none of the money I acquire goes on myself, but on the pigs.
A vet fund of £1000 isn’t good enough. As I said, I’ve spent thousands. There’s been times where my mum has had to lend me money as I didn’t have enough and then slowly pay her back. Are your parents ready to lend you $400, at least, for if the vet find runs dry but a pig needs an X-ray and blood test?
I told you before, I understand you have a lot of love to give. But you need to be responsible and realistic. Realistically, if you have a pig that gets ill, you don’t have enough money in the pot to save them. Even with two guinea pigs you don’t, but you may be able to scramble enough together if it’s needed. Any more pigs and you won’t.
Everyone on this thread, all of which have years and years of experience owning Guinea pigs, have advised against it. How are they all wrong in their advice? Yes, we don’t know your experience 100% but we know what it’s like to own guinea pigs for a number of years.

 

[Siikibam]

I looked into it more, it is discounted for non emergencies and emergencies. This clinic is specifically for small pets/exotics. I called and asked how they are free and they said they get donations, grants, and government funding.

How much are their fees? For example if your piggy needed an X-ray, meds and then surgery how much would that come to altogether?

 

[LMPigs]

Hello!

You seem like a very thoughtful and responsible pet owner. Its frustrating that your parents won't let you have more animals in the home, but I don't think some random internet strangers will be able to talk them into it if their own child isn't able to.

One other thing you might consider if your parents were ok with it would be offering to foster a couple more pigs for a local shelter or rescue. Sometime a rescue need community members to look after their animals on a temporary basis while they find their forever homes, so - if there is an organisation near you that needs this kind of help - this might be a way for you and your family to test run having a couple more furry friends but without such a long time commitment attached if it doesn't work out for everyone involved.

I was also trying to think of other ways you could increase the piggieness in your life:

• Spend a lot of time of the forum! (In the "Piggie chat" section some people have ongoing threads on their pigs so you can follow them over time and keep up with how they are doing )
• Someone above had suggested you could volunteer at a local animal rescue or shelter. If it would be an option for you maybe the charitable exotics clinic you mentioned needs an extra pair of hands?
• You could look into is sponsoring a piggie that lives permanently in a rescue. Often disabled pigs or ones that are going to need regular veterinary care for life are kept on permanently in a shelter/rescue and some places look for members of the public to "sponsor" them by contributing financially. You can also send them gifts like, hay, food, hidey's and stuff like that, and the rescue will keep you up to date on how they are doing, send pictures, etc. This obviously isn't the same as caring for a pig in your own house but it could be a way to spread the love and feel involved in another pig's life that would only impact you and not your family.

As said above we would love to see some pics of your pigs whenever you get the chance.