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General Piggy & adoption questions

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Kira

Kira

Adult Guinea Pig
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As some of you may know I've been looking to adopting a piggy and I just had a few questions that I was interested in getting opinions on :)

1)This question may seem naive but - I understand that when you adopt a piggy you agree to not breed them, I'm guessing this is because of the fact that the history is not always known and due to the amount of piggys in rescues...right?

2)Just say you adopt a piggy that has a name you're not too keen on or has a name a previous pet has had and you've told the previous owner you will keep in touch with updates ect would you change the name or would you keep it the same as a curiosity to the previous owner?/If you had to give a piggy up for adoption would it upset you to learn the adopter had changed the name?

3)When adopting a piggy from a centre would you quarantine them before introductions to other piggys if you have any or would this have already been done by the centre?

4)If you are unsure of what the piggy previously ate as a dry food or the hay type it has and you cannot find out, will the guinea pig have any problems going straight onto the food that you use?

5)If a piggy hasn't had vit drops in its water before, can they put a piggy off drinking?

6 - If the age of the guinea is unknown is there a fairly accurate why to estimate?

7)On a piggy with black claws what is the best way to tell where the blood line is?

I'm sure there were more questions but I can't think of them right now mallethead typical lol
 
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oh oh I thought of another one lol

How often do you bathe your piggys at the moment I have self, aby and teddy coated pigs
 
Rawr said:
As some of you may know I've been looking to adopting a piggy and I just had a few questions that I was interested in getting opinions on :)

1)This question may seem naive but - I understand that when you adopt a piggy you agree to not breed them, I'm guessing this is because of the fact that the history is not always known and due to the amount of piggys in rescues...right?

2)Just say you adopt a piggy that has a name you're not too keen on or has a name a previous pet has had and you've told the previous owner you will keep in touch with updates ect would you change the name or would you keep it the same as a curiosity to the previous owner?/If you had to give a piggy up for adoption would it upset you to learn the adopter had changed the name?

3)When adopting a piggy from a centre would you quarantine them before introductions to other piggys if you have any or would this have already been done by the centre?

4)If you are unsure of what the piggy previously ate as a dry food or the hay type it has and you cannot find out, will the guinea pig have any problems going straight onto the food that you use?

5)If a piggy hasn't had vit drops in its water before, can they put a piggy off drinking?

6) If the age of the guinea is unknown is there a fairly accurate why to estimate?

7)On a piggy with black claws what is the best way to tell where the blood line is?

8) How often do you bathe your piggys at the moment I have self, aby and teddy coated pigs
Click to expand...

1. You are right. Rescues don't advocate breeding for the reasons you have given as well as the risk to the female & where do the babies go? They, as well as mum could well end up back in rescue & the cycle continues.

2. If i liked the name i would keep it. However i usually change it. New start, new life. I have adopted from individuals (not a rescue) & kept in touch & have changed names but in emails have used the name the person gave them. I personally wouldn't be bothered if someone wished to change a name i had given.

3. This has usually been done by the rescue, any piggies i've adopted i've not quarantined.

4. I'd say this would depend on the piggy. However, I've never had a problem with any pigs i've adopted. They are fed the same as my piggies eat.

5. Yes & you should never add anything to their water, they get enough vitamin C from the veggies you feed them.

6. Not really. You can guess that they're over say 1yr by their nails as they curl in older piggies but I don't know of any accurate way to estimate age

7. Shine a torch behind the nail - you should see the quick. If you cannot, err on the side of caution & only clip small amounts off.

8. I only bath my piggies when they're dirty. Long-haired piggies need bathing more regularly.
 
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I popped into pets at home today for some more guinea nuggets and they were telling a lady that would not sell her a guinea pig unless they bought vit drops for the water as it would die from lack of vit c and that they used it on all their piggys which is why their water is green..It greatly concerned me as I have never put anything in my piggys water and thought I'd throw the question out here on the forum
x
 
That's a very recent pets at home thing, they have only just made the looking after of the piggies in the pens a priority, in fact whenever I have been there recently they have had green water and so have the rabbits (I thought it was probiotic), they have had clean pens, fresh veggies, loads of hay and pellets whereas compared to a couple of months ago they were lucky to have a dribble of water and some hay. I have asked a few times for the pigs to be sorted out but not lately.

I have wondered about the age thing as the post it with my foster pigs details blew away so I never got to find out how old either were and one of them feels fairly old - but i could be talking rubbish as I really don't know.
 
Niki has answered the questions really well for you. I would reiterate about the vit c drops. If piggies have the correct/good diet, it is unneccessary. A sales ploy from P@H I think, or maybe they are covering themselves in case new owners do not keep up with good diet?
I rarely keep the same names when I take rescues in, and it would not bother me if new owners changed them. Some do, some don't it depends whether you like the name or not.
Your first question about breeding, it really has nothing to do with history. If I had a pig and knew it's history from birth and beyond, there would still be NO breeding from him/her.
Any good rescue will give you information about previous diet, likes, dislikes, history etc. Mine come with an adoption pack with all manner of information in, and we are always available for ongoing advice.
Whether you quarantine or not is up to you. (Although you may wish to do this as a matter of course) Anyone adopting a piggy from us will know of any health issues the piggy may have in advance of making their final decision.

x
 
The other questions have been answered well. The best way is always to contact the rescue and ask for their requirements before buying anything.

The name question:
Llewelyn has kept his name, which he was given at the rescue;
Daisy became Dizzy within a week of having her, as she was a preloved pet and I kept in touch with her previous owner who very much cared;
Nerys and Nia were unloved Dotty and Lottie in their first home, so I had no bad feelings about changing that;
Taffy and Tegan didn't have a name at the rescue due to the big influx (over 70 in one week!), so Hels left that to the new owners. I ran a name poll before they moved to their fosterer.
 
I have just discovered which girls you are going to adopt and I can only say: you LUCKY pig! :)):)):))
 
Wait until you get them and then see whether their rescue names fit them or whether they are something else! Make a short list of what you'd like best and then decide once you get to know them.

Llewelyn fit; Daisy didn't (but at three years old, that feisty person couldn't do with too much of a change, as she was clearly used to her name).

Nerys should have been "Seren", but "star" was a clear misnomer for my big, clumsy pig, so I went with the poll favourite, which means "lady" and named Nia accordingly, as both names fit; Nia (bright) actually even better than Aeron (berry)!
 
that's really great advise! I shall be doing that :))

I love the name Seren - so pretty!
x
 
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