Hi everyone,
We are well on our way to deciding that guinea pigs are the right pet for us and would be looking to get them from our local pets at home. What have peoples experience been with getting pigs from Pets at Home?
Thanks,
Rebecca
Hi and welcome!
Good that you are looking around before buying!
The experiences with pets@home have been very varied; it depends very much on the quality of your local shop. Some of them are sadly not good at all, as a number of our members have found out the hard way! You will also find that any cages and hutches cost a lot more when shop bought.
Please be aware that any guinea pig bond relies on character compatibility, even more so with young boars. You will not get that in a pet shop or at a breeder's and will be at a much higher risk of fights and fall-outs because of that. Character matching takes time and experience, which is something that shops don't have and commercial/backyard breeders don't care about. Sows can come with a risk of being pregnant in case of mis-sexing and/or not gender separating early enough, but the same goes for any small pet.
It is a common misconception that guinea pigs (or other small pets) are by nature cuddly animals; guinea pigs are prey animals and are usually not used to being a pet when they are being sold.
Guinea pigs are cute babies for just a few weeks, hormonal teenagers for nearly a year and adults for 4-6 years of an average lifespan.
Please rather consider looking at one of our recommended rescues instead! We can guarantee for those that we have listed that you will get only totally healthy/quarantined, non-pregnant and carefully bonded piggies, As a new owner, you will only be matched up with guinea pigs that are used to being handled. You will also get support not just during the settling in period, but for the whole lifetime of their adopted piggies, so you won't be left dealing with piggies that don't get on at any point. It is really worth going a bit further and to a bit more effort for the sake of a smooth, headache-free ride with a good start - and not just for the sake of a good deed. You will be amazed just many beautiful guinea pigs end up in rescue; over half of the intake have started out their life in pets@home in some way or other, by the way...
Here is our good standard and safe to use rescue locator:
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/pages/guinea-pig-rescue-locator/
Our forum recommendations comply with or surpass the RSPCA minimum recommendations, so you shouldn't have any problems with any rescue requirements. We have got lots of information at the top of our various Care section, which you may find helpful in researching guinea pigs and guinea pig paraphernalia, but you are welcome to ask any questions you may have.
You may find these threads here helpful:
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/children-and-guinea-pigs-a-guide-for-parents.124784/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/boars-sows-or-mixed-pairs-babies-or-adults.108944/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/getting-a-guinea-pig-items-youll-need-to-buy.112288/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/veterinary-fees-some-important-information.91847/