Cost Of Guinea Pigs

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BiscuitBeans

BiscuitBeans

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I know that people will give hate on this thread, as I am looking to buy rather than adopt, but I fully support adoption and am only a first-time piggie owner, so would like to buy Guinea pigs. I have looked around before for similar posts, all of which, again, are outdated, on how much a pair of Guinea Pigs are at their local Pets at Home or Dobbies Garden Centre. Can anyone tell me if they know the prices of their local stores, give or take? This would be a great help. Thanks! And again, please don't hate!
 
I don't really know the prices as I don't live there, but can I ask you the reasons for wanting to buy them? If you want babies, rescues also have some every now and then. Have in mind that if you look for piggies in one of the recommended rescues (Guinea Pig Rescue Centre Locator) they will be a lot healthier and well taken care of than piggies on shops (or than in most shops).
 
Nobody should be hating..... We may be a pro-rescue forum but everyone makes their own choice of where to get their piggies from to suit their own circumstances. As long as you understand the potential pitfalls of any choice then that is yours to make :)

Cost wise I have no idea as the last pigs I paid for were some years ago and a bit of a mercy/rescue mission rather than a considered purchase... At that point I paid £25 a pig but they were being sold as pure bred Rex (they aren't pure breed by any stretch of the imagination, or possibly even true Rex .....) Prices are likely to be different these days. I know price does depend on breed in some stores and there are often differences in prices between males and females. Please don't fall for these multi-buy offers that we see from time to time, particularly on males - it's a bad idea! That said, you should always aim to keep guineas with another of their own kind so don't go for a singleton either! If you are going for boys please be aware that picking any two out of a group will not guarantee they will get on in later life...

Sorry I can't be much more help than that. I can understand not everyone wants to or can rescue but please, please, please wherever you choose to go, please make sure you get healthy, happy guineas which are the sex you want and not pregnant. One of the reasons we are pro-rescue is that we see the same issues with ill, fighting, mis-sexed or pregnant guineas from large chain stores like those you mention (Pets at Home particularly) time and time again and it can cause serious heartache not to mention expense.

Good luck in your search for your own pets and we look forward to meeting them when you find them :)
 
... It's not about hate . I simply don't understand why anyone would want to buy from a pet shop. We have had hundreds of threads on here from people who have had mis-sexed pairs , pregnant sows and guinea pigs with health problems from pet shops.

I can understand why people would want baby guinea pigs - or even a certain breed - but , it is possible to get them from rescues...
 
I am mainly looking to get a pair of babies, and all of my shelters/rehoming centres have no young piggies, despite me looking every day, or people looking to find new homes for particularly young piggies. I would adopt any day, especially if I could find any near me! :roll:
 
My 2 boars cost 27.99 each from pets at home then you are looking at another 100 at least for your cage and set up. You also have to factor in hay and bedding so it's definitely a considered purchase. What I will say though is I won't buy babies again because although they are cute they are very squirmy and can be a nightmare in their teenage months. At least from a rescue you generally get tame piggies. Saying that I would never give my boys up for the world even though I have no wallpaper left on the bottom of the walls and a garage full of hay :)
 
Have you tried looking on gumtree or pets4homes because if there aren't any at the rescues, this might be the next best place, I would try to avoid a breeder but there might be some in there that were an accidental pregnancy. I believe every animal deserves a loving home no matter where it came from but I also don't really agree with petshops that much because I have some bad experiences with them and being given false information about them. But like I said every animal deserves a loving home :) I hope you get some lovely piggies soon and post lots of pictures of them :)
 
Stayc1989 said:
Have you tried looking on gumtree or pets4homes because if there aren't any at the rescues, this might be the next best place, I would try to avoid a breeder but there might be some in there that were an accidental pregnancy. I believe every animal deserves a loving home no matter where it came from but I also don't really agree with petshops that much because I have some bad experiences with them and being given false information about them. But like I said every animal deserves a loving home :) I hope you get some lovely piggies soon and post lots of pictures of them :)
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Yeah I have been doing that a lot :agr: I have found a few but this post was just out of curiosity I guess :) I've seen a few adoption ads but they're just too far to go for us. I'm keeping an eye out every day though! :D
 
Stayc1989 said:
Have you tried looking on gumtree or pets4homes because if there aren't any at the rescues, this might be the next best place, I would try to avoid a breeder but there might be some in there that were an accidental pregnancy. I believe every animal deserves a loving home no matter where it came from but I also don't really agree with petshops that much because I have some bad experiences with them and being given false information about them. But like I said every animal deserves a loving home :) I hope you get some lovely piggies soon and post lots of pictures of them :)
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Oh yes, I also agree with the information they give you being false a lot of the time. I like to know what I'm getting into so I go to the experts! It would be unfair on any future piggies I get otherwise. :)
 
I was in my local dobbies yesterday and they were selling them for £29 each , pairs only.
 
I bought mine from a local place to me called White Post Farm. They were £50 for 2 girls. I had looked around other places (not pet shops as they were vague on info) and contacted a rescue but my daughter was desperate for babies ...
 
artcasper said:
I bought mine from a local place to me called White Post Farm. They were £50 for 2 girls. I had looked around other places (not pet shops as they were vague on info) and contacted a rescue but my daughter was desperate for babies ...
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I didn't really think of that. :) I don't like places like Pets at Home because of the same vague info factor, but what I like about Dobbie's is that on the animals that have been there longer than others they have a slip of paper with names and ages, and sometimes a backstory which I have seen for guinea pigs and the animals are sometimes for adoption there. This is a nice idea so they can find a new home and a family that is aware of their background. Also I saw 2 pens full of male and female baby rabbits there and they both had a sign saying "not for sale until 5/4/16 which shows at least they are considerate about suitable ages.
 
gogoguineas said:
The thing is with rescuing, you can assured they're health checked and you get lifetime support. Shops do neither.
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Yeah :agr: that's why I like rescues, so don't get me wrong I think the work they do is wonderful, I actually went to an RSPCA centre last week, just no piggies :(
 
Have you checked the rescue locator? I'm sure there is a rescue somewhere near you. Rspca can be hit & miss with small furries in some areas :)
 
Rescues generally have cheaper minimum adoption fees compared to what pet stores sell for with the added advantage of getting healthy correctly sexed guinea pigs. If you get babies at 6 to 8 weeks old they're only going to be babies for another 3 or 4 months x
 
Have you looked on the rehoming section on here there might not be any tiny babies but there might be some younger pigs, or you could put a post in the wanted section if you haven't already :)
 
I was looking today and found a lonely female piggies looking for a home. She's under a year old which is perfect so I'll have to look out for another ♡
 
I have found a pair of 8 week old brothers on the rehoming section, they are in Warrington which is quite far from you but maybe you could ask for help via the piggy train page
 
Stayc1989 said:
I have found a pair of 8 week old brothers on the rehoming section, they are in Warrington which is quite far from you but maybe you could ask for help via the piggy train page
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And I'm not sure if they would be willing to travel that far for home checks ect but you could always ask first X
 
Stayc1989 said:
I have found a pair of 8 week old brothers on the rehoming section, they are in Warrington which is quite far from you but maybe you could ask for help via the piggy train page
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Thanks! I'll probably have a look at them :))
 
Sorry it says they can be re homed up to a 25 min drive sorry I didn't see that part but at least you can keep an eye out for ones closer to you :) X
 
pippanash said:
Have you had any luck finding some piggies?
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I think I've found a pair to rehome. They are both 1 year old females that have been bonded and unfortunately are not getting the attention they deserve in their current home. :) Now deciding on what we'll do.
 
i am pro rescue as well but did buy a pet shop piggy as my first. He was sexed properly despite being extremely young, perfectly healthy, easily tamed, and all round a great little pig except for being picky about his veg! Whatever you decide to do i'm happy to hear you're giving an animal a loving home :) I'm in canada and guinea pigs in stores around here range from 20-25 dollars whereas adoption from the ONLY GP rescue around is $30. I'm starting to think that the UK may have better rescues and vets, but here in Canada, in my area specifically you NEVER hear of pregnant females being sold whether its guinea pigs hamsters gerbils etc, in fact for guinea pigs the shops here only sell 1 sex. So if you want a specific sex you have to call multiple locations to see which one is currently hosting that gender of piggies. I also purchased a dwarf hamster from the local shop (no shelters here seem to house hamsters and I didn't know to check Kijiji back then) and again he was sexed correctly, easy to tame, and in perfect health. The petstores here are guilty however of too small cages and unhealthy treat selling but other than that, in my experience and all of my friends who also have small pets, there has never been an issue. Not even mites or flees or fungal issues from any of the guinea pigs sold there
 
Keiko The Pig said:
i am pro rescue as well but did buy a pet shop piggy as my first. He was sexed properly despite being extremely young, perfectly healthy, easily tamed, and all round a great little pig except for being picky about his veg! Whatever you decide to do i'm happy to hear you're giving an animal a loving home :) I'm in canada and guinea pigs in stores around here range from 20-25 dollars whereas adoption from the ONLY GP rescue around is $30. I'm starting to think that the UK may have better rescues and vets, but here in Canada, in my area specifically you NEVER hear of pregnant females being sold whether its guinea pigs hamsters gerbils etc, in fact for guinea pigs the shops here only sell 1 sex. So if you want a specific sex you have to call multiple locations to see which one is currently hosting that gender of piggies. I also purchased a dwarf hamster from the local shop (no shelters here seem to house hamsters and I didn't know to check Kijiji back then) and again he was sexed correctly, easy to tame, and in perfect health. The petstores here are guilty however of too small cages and unhealthy treat selling but other than that, in my experience and all of my friends who also have small pets, there has never been an issue. Not even mites or flees or fungal issues from any of the guinea pigs sold there
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Thanks for the support I really appreciate it :) In the UK both male and female piggies are sold in one shop (separately obviously) and are on the odd occasion sexed incorrectly due to the pigs being quite young. We have lots of rehoming centres such as the RSPCA and other small home run ones, with around 3 good and trusted websites for advertising.
 
BiscuitBeans said:
I know that people will give hate on this thread, as I am looking to buy rather than adopt, but I fully support adoption and am only a first-time piggie owner, so would like to buy Guinea pigs. I have looked around before for similar posts, all of which, again, are outdated, on how much a pair of Guinea Pigs are at their local Pets at Home or Dobbies Garden Centre. Can anyone tell me if they know the prices of their local stores, give or take? This would be a great help. Thanks! And again, please don't hate!
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The way I see it is you're doing an amazing thing by providing love and a new home for an animal. Whether from a store or rescue agency, I don't judge where anyone gets their animals. People who do judge- well it would be similar to saying why don't you adopt a child (since their are so many around the world that need to be adopted) instead of producing one? I'm not sure what your location is but I live in the United States and I usually see guinea pigs sold at Petsmart for $30, not including the cage.
 
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