Hi, definitely not at the moment but maybe quite soon I would like to get another pair/trio of guinea pigs. Where of I get them from?
my beautiful sows were being advertised on Facebook by a friend but I was wondering where else I would look if I wanted more piggies?
a website, facebook, pet shop, breeder or animal shelter maybe?
thanks.
Hi!
By far the safest place to get guinea pigs from is a good welfare standard guinea pig rescue with mandatory quarantine and medical care, a pregnancy watch for sows that could have been in contact with boars, careful character matching and a non-kill policy etc. Only healthy piggies that are used to human handling and ready for a pet home will be put up for adoption.
Any adopted piggies that you can't for some reason keep any longer will have to be returned to the rescue you have adopted from and can't be handed on without their knowledge in order to make sure that any rescue piggies will stay safe for the rest of their lives.
It basically means that for a bit of an extra effort you will gain A LOT of peace of mind, life long back-up for the adoptee and can neatly avoid all the usual pitfalls that await the unwary. You will also not just help the piggies you adopt but make vital space for more piggies finding safety and an assured future. Rescues don't have infinite capacity; if they can't find new homes for those ready to move on, they sooner or later come to the point where they can't take on more animals in need and give them the level of expert medical and behavioural care that you as an inexperienced owner will struggle to provide.
Please also note that 'shelters' in the US or Canada (they are called 'pounds' in the UK and operate only for dogs) are just holding places for animals without medical care and a euthanising policy. If there is a rescue operating in that area, they will often pull as many piggies as possible from a shelter to cure and rehabilitate them. If you rehome from such a shelter, you will have to make sure that you have the wherewithal to deal with whatever your piggies come with. The same sadly very often goes for adoptee piggies in pet shops; unlike good standard rescues pet shops don't ask any questions or make home checks as to the kind of home these piggies go to. There is also often no veterinary care for these piggies.
Here is our map for recommended and carefully vetted rescues in the several countries (the link for rescues in some other countries is at the bottom). We can't vouch for any other places:
Rescue Locator
Please be aware that in the English speaking countries anybody can call themselves a rescue or a breeder without licensing or regular supervision. Breeders are only covered by showing regulations, not how they keep their piggies at home - sadly welfare control and standards behind the scenes is still an area that needs to be addressed.
Welfare organisations can only step in if the piggies are not fed, don't have access to water or are kept in unsafe conditions; they can only make suggestions for improvements if lives are not at risk. Clean pens are also not necessarily conducive to good practice as a number of members have found to their chagrin when faced with unplanned pregnancies, mis-sexed babies, skin parasites or ringworm. Beware of any place that explains away bald patches as seasonal 'dry skin' - there is no 'dry skin', just untreated skin parasites and fungal...
There is also not a clear division between breeders and rescues as a number of breeders run a 'rescue' on the side which can range from rehoming no longer wanted breeding stock to taking it off other breeders and indirectly supporting breeders in churning out more and more piggies to taking in real piggies in need to any mix thereof.
Some places even deliberately sell pregnant piggies - it makes a nice line of income for them as they will happily make more money from any surprise babies handed back but without having to carry the risk of the relatively large number of births going wrong...
The vast majority of breeder piggies come from for sale breeders, whether that is commercial mass breeders for pet shops or backyard breeders (including many at shows). True hobby breeders don't usually sell their piggies outside breeding circles to pet owners. This means that all those piggies haven't had anything or much in the way of human interaction and are not used to being pets - including pet shop piggies.
If you rehome privately from the free-ads or via facebook etc. you have to be aware that the risks are all on your side and that you do not have any recourse. You'd be amazed at how economic people desperate to get rid of pets can be with the truth (fallen out boars, mis-sexed piggies or 'immaculate conceptions', serious health issues, severely traumatised pets etc.) You'd better had enough money in your account for some major vet bills and any surprises re. gender or hidden baggage as well as space for a spare cage. It can be a very, very steep and expensive learning curve for would-be rescuers.
These guides here deal with the most common pitfalls and how arrival in a pet home looks from the perspective of the piggies:
New guinea pigs: Sexing, vet checks&customer rights, URI, ringworm and parasites
Arrival in a home from the perspective of pet shop guinea pigs
Importance Of Quarantine
Please also note that you shouldn't introduce piggies of the opposite gender to those you already have (unless it is a neutered boar to a sow place) and that certain numbers or combinations don't work. You can also not just bank on merging all your piggies - especially NOT boars!
Also be aware that if you have teenage boars, it would be better if you got those safely to adulthood before tackling another pair, in case of a fall-out and the need to find a two cage solution for them.
Please take the time to read this guide here; it deals with what works and what not in more detail:
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
The temptation when you are happy with your first pair of piggies to add to that is always very tempting but it is a step that should be well thought through and researched as you can very easily land with a real mess in just so many different ways, as we have and still see repeatedly on here.
Adopting from a Rescue centre is best.
also, can you get roofs for c&c cages?☺
