Little Piglets
Junior Guinea Pig
For the record, both of my current GP were from a local PS. At the time I was looking, I noticed local rehoming sites had a couple and they were far away, posts were rather old, very old ages, etc.. and wasn't aware of "gp" rescues being a thing (local rescues seem to mainly handle dogs and cats more than anything else). My boar is what I'd consider a 9.5 if it were a human dude (seriously, little is a stud in the human sense) as his eyes are bright and spaced wide, solid roman nose, perfect ears, perfect fur, etc., and female a 7 as she had a few minor issues (frayed ear tips and an U_R_I) but eyes are bright, nose bridge is narrow but suits her, ears healed but if not genetetic, than maybe some poor initial handling by whomever had her initially; seemingly smarter than the boar, very active, etc.. Using this completely arbitrary grading to baseline what you might see from gp in general, not for "show" grading or other nonsense. Basically stating no real defects and happy with them AND their temperaments.
However, while at the same PS today to get fresh bedding and hay, I went over and looked at their offerings. They have furred males and skinny females (separate cages). Not a fan of skinny pigs, so went and looked at the males. And saw one that had the colorings/markings that almost resemble a Rottweiler (lighter tan rings around the eyes contrasted by a darker color and same coloring on feet, etc.) which along with agouti pigs, I've always thought looks really neat. Asked to hold him. He was probably the age of my boar (kinda old for a PS pig if never handled). Right off the bat, he wasn't tame and almost leaped to death had I been slower. I kneeled down and putting him on the top of my leg and tried petting him. He squealed LOUDLY like he was being attacked from another pig or getting injured in a fight, JUST from petting his upper back near the shoulder blades. Then, while observing his nose bridge and eyes, I saw some oddities I couldn't quite put my finger on, like maybe there was an asymmetrical skull and eye sockets? It appeared to have a slight lazy-eye and both eye sockets were more top-mounted vs. side mounted, kinda reminding me of a catfish to a lesser degree. The eyes were not overly "bright" either. On the arbitrary scale that's being influenced on my gut feeling it might have been inbred heavily, I'd say it was a 2, despite having interesting markings. It's older age (for a PS) seemed odd to me, like I hope someone wasn't trying to use him for the coloring or something.
Just my 2 cents here, but IF you are in the market for a GP (regardless of where you get it) always be aware of oddities, deformities, odd temperaments, how it responds to being handled, etc.. That poor little guy wouldn't surprise me if it difficulties down the line. Then again, it might be one of the ones that make it to 9. Just be careful adding to your home!
However, while at the same PS today to get fresh bedding and hay, I went over and looked at their offerings. They have furred males and skinny females (separate cages). Not a fan of skinny pigs, so went and looked at the males. And saw one that had the colorings/markings that almost resemble a Rottweiler (lighter tan rings around the eyes contrasted by a darker color and same coloring on feet, etc.) which along with agouti pigs, I've always thought looks really neat. Asked to hold him. He was probably the age of my boar (kinda old for a PS pig if never handled). Right off the bat, he wasn't tame and almost leaped to death had I been slower. I kneeled down and putting him on the top of my leg and tried petting him. He squealed LOUDLY like he was being attacked from another pig or getting injured in a fight, JUST from petting his upper back near the shoulder blades. Then, while observing his nose bridge and eyes, I saw some oddities I couldn't quite put my finger on, like maybe there was an asymmetrical skull and eye sockets? It appeared to have a slight lazy-eye and both eye sockets were more top-mounted vs. side mounted, kinda reminding me of a catfish to a lesser degree. The eyes were not overly "bright" either. On the arbitrary scale that's being influenced on my gut feeling it might have been inbred heavily, I'd say it was a 2, despite having interesting markings. It's older age (for a PS) seemed odd to me, like I hope someone wasn't trying to use him for the coloring or something.
Just my 2 cents here, but IF you are in the market for a GP (regardless of where you get it) always be aware of oddities, deformities, odd temperaments, how it responds to being handled, etc.. That poor little guy wouldn't surprise me if it difficulties down the line. Then again, it might be one of the ones that make it to 9. Just be careful adding to your home!
