How Did You Get Your Guinea Pigs And What Made You Get Them?

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Courtneyyyleex

Courtneyyyleex

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i thought this would be a bit of fun to find out what made everyone get their guinea pigs:)
I got my guinea pigs because I was telling my boyfriend that I had wanted them or years after my guinea pigs had died from old age when I was about 12 but had never got round to getting them again and my boyfriend said he would help pay for some of the things I would need if I got them. We asked my boyfriends mum if we could keep them at their house (as I spend most of my time at my boyfriends and he doesn't have 5 dogs running around like I do at my dads house) and he paid for the hutch and I got my boys and then found two girls that needed a home so adopted them too. How did you get yours?
 
I had wanted guinea pigs all my life, it wasn't until the age of near 40 I got my first. I mentioned to the girls at work (where I was at the time, I have since changed jobs) that I was planning on getting a couple of guinea pigs. The business owner happened to have a neighbour who she felt was neglecting their piggy, so asked them if they would like to re-home her. They jumped at the chance, chore that the little piggy was to them. So shortly afterwards I had Shadow.
Shadow was a lone pig and had been for most of her life, so I sourced a really nice local breeder and got Sunrise, to Shadow's absolute delight. I knew about rescues then, but only the RSPCA, which didn't have any.
Some time later a friend's piggies had a litter, I had the pick, and so I acquired Cloud.
On the very same day I acquired a 4 1/2 year old from another friend who could no longer keep her pets (it really wasn't her fault at all). I took her on the promise that she could take her back if she was in the position to do so, but she stayed. So that's Snowball
Shadow died after a long battle with bladder issues.
Cloud went suddenly from what appeared to be a heart attack.
I then bought Penny, again, a breeder pig but you couldn't wish to meet a nicer and more caring hobby-breeder (I am fussy). This lady is now a friend and we keep in touch regularly.

A while later Snowball fell out with the others and had to be separated, leaving her on her own and Sunrise and Penny together.
Sunrise and Penny were and are a very well bonded and harmonious pair, but Snowball? She seemed to have an issue with sows, so I sourced a neutered boar from a private re-home.
He was a PreLoved piggy, from a lady who needed to downsize. I know that can sometimes ring alarm bells but she seemed very genuine and could tell me plenty of the piggy's personality.
Freddie came all the way from London to Derby via licensed pet courier. It was a leap of faith for both this lady and myself. Can I also just say that a lovely forum member helped me in my search for a friend for Snowball, and is the reason I joined this forum :)
Snowball died after a short respiratory infection. One which seemed to improve after medication, but she suddenly passed after a happy and spritely morning.
Freddie, left on his own, needed another sow, but Sunrise took an instant hatred towards him, I mean full-on attack and I am convinced they would have drawn blood had I not separated them. So after updating Freddie's previous owner about the situation (again this is a lady I now keep in touch with) she offered one of her sows, one that she was very sure would pair up well with Freddie as they had lived with each other during a shuffle-round very well.
So - along came Oreo, again by courier from London. Oreo and Freddie are indeed a loving and harmonious couple.

So I had seven pigs in total, never more than four at a time, from different places and for different reasons. I had sworn a few times that I would source my next piggy from a rescue, but in the last few times the right pig had come along from other places :)

I had also planned on just one happy herd, but now have two happy couples.
 
My husband had a work colleague who had a lone guinea pig called Connie. The kids had got board of her so Connie just lived by herself in a hutch outdoors. My hubby decided to adopt Connie for me. After some research I discovered that Guinea pigs were happier in pairs / groups so two days later I brought Eliza from pets at home as a companion for Connie.

Connie sadly died 18 months later so along came Eleanor from a rescue as a companion for Eliza. They lived happily together for 12 months until I decided that I would like a group so Erin came along from a local rescue. I soon discovered that although Erin was accepted, she was often left out so 3 months later, I had Ena from a rescue.

The four of them lived happily together for almost a year until sadly Eleanor died. Not long after, along came neutered boar Enoch.

Sadly a few months later, Erin and Ena both became poorly and I lost them just 7 days apart. I was conscious that there was a 5 year age gap between Eliza and Enoch so I rescued Emma and Erika.

Sadly we lost Eliza 10 months later so I was down to three.

12 months later and I have recently decided to go back up to four so baby Erin joined us back in May.
 
Claire W said:
My husband had a work colleague who had a lone guinea pig called Connie. The kids had got board of her so Connie just lived by herself in a hutch outdoors. My hubby decided to adopt Connie for me. After some research I discovered that Guinea pigs were happier in pairs / groups so two days later I brought Eliza from pets at home as a companion for Connie.

Connie sadly died 18 months later so along came Eleanor from a rescue as a companion for Eliza. They lived happily together for 12 months until I decided that I would like a group so Erin came along from a local rescue. I soon discovered that although Erin was accepted, she was often left out so 3 months later, I had Ena from a rescue.

The four of them lived happily together for almost a year until sadly Eleanor died. Not long after, along came neutered boar Enoch.

Sadly a few months later, Erin and Ena both became poorly and I lost them just 7 days apart. I was conscious that there was a 5 year age gap between Eliza and Enoch so I rescued Emma and Erika.

Sadly we lost Eliza 10 months later so I was down to three.

12 months later and I have recently decided to go back up to four so baby Erin joined us back in May.
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Aw.. Connie was similar to my first in her circumstances, a child's pet where the kids lost interest and the grown-ups couldn't really be bothered. It's lovely that she was rehomed to you and had a new life :) It was also around 18 months later that my first piggy died too!
Like you I planned on a happy herd, and to 'replenish' as any died, but I had to split my piggies up! Long may your happy herd continue x x x
 
Critter said:
Aw.. Connie was similar to my first in her circumstances, a child's pet where the kids lost interest and the grown-ups couldn't really be bothered. It's lovely that she was rehomed to you and had a new life :) It was also around 18 months later that my first piggy died too!
Like you I planned on a happy herd, and to 'replenish' as any died, but I had to split my piggies up! Long may your happy herd continue x x x
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Thank you, that's lovely of you to say :)

I always find it sad when animals are 'given up' due to the kids losing interest and the adults not being bothered. Before Connie came along, I had never really thought about owning a piggy but I felt so sad for her when I heard her story.

Before I had Ena, I did try a neutered boar called Ricky but Eleanor hated him so I had to return him to the rescue after just 24 hours. When she died, I thought I would try a neutered boar again and it worked. I've just been lucky that I've had no further bonding problems since xx
 
My therapist suggested getting something that would encourage me to get out of bed and feel interested in life again. Straight away I said "Guinea pigs!" and so halfway through exams, we brought home Poldark and Sage. (Plus my Dad had guinea pigs as a kid and as much as he pretends they're a pain, he loves them a lot!) My sister and I had spent weeks and weeks researching about how to look after them and furniture and things. We'd already chosen the names. Poldark was my sister's suggestion (her favourite TV show at the time) and Sage was mine after the magic roundabout one.

We chose them in the pet shop because Sage was so sweet and inquisitive when the others were all hiding, and Poldark was obviously left in there from the last litter since he looked nothing like any of the others. They've been best friends to each other and to me ever since :) x
 
:) I was at Gorgie Farm and saw some and told the staff if only I could have one but worried I can't really have two. Also hubby wasn't keen. They introduced me to Digger. Love at first sight! So took him home and hubby fell in love with him as well. He became our little baby! He became very spoiled.
 
I decided out the blue I fancied a guinea pig lol, I now have 4, and they are just so lovely, I had no idea at all what they were really like.
I went to get a cage and then had a look at petsathome on the way home and fell in love with Galaxy and nibbles in the adoption part, needless to say they came home with me Lol
 
I was always adamant against my kids having pets, we had a lovely dog when i was a child and i still remember the day we had to say goodbye... then i became allergic to dogs later in life so dogs were out the question, never keen on cats... so, a gold fish it was ! We had Zoomer for 2 lovely years and i was quite sad when she died.. Day after, my daughter ' can i have a hamster now ? '..... So fickle ...... So i looked at hamsters, decided she would be put off if it bit her, stumbled across guinea pig photos, within 2 weeks we had ours ! I love them..... they brighten up my day and i never realised how bloody cute they are !
 
I was given a guinea pig cage that I was gonna adapt for one of my hamsters .Went into the pet shop for supplies and someone had brought in a dozen sows for revoking.I ended up bringing two home.My daughter fell in love with two girls and got them for her birthday then two more from preloved then some from a rescue and couple more from a pet shop that I fell in love with.Had ten at one point, now have three
 
Great thread @Courtneyyyleex Going to move it to Guinea Pig Chat as it will get lots of views there!

Our first two girls were from a colleague of Mrs SB's who used to show piggies. Rach really wanted piggies and I finally gave in ;)) So glad I did. After we joined the forum we found out about rescue piggies and our last four piggies have all been from Walsall RSPCA
 
I used to go as a child to a cafe that also bred guinea pigs - they were literally free range! (It was in the countryside, not in a town!) So we finished up with some and for the next three decades kept a line going from the original group. They were lovely healthy long lived piggies too.

Current ones are the result of trying to get another to keep the very elderly remaining sister company - then losing the old one and finishing up with one again, then being daft enough to get two more, who didn't get one with the original one, so had to get yet another one and have two pairs! I didn't mean to have four! I always forget how long they live and this lot are going to outlive their housing the way it's looking!
 
Not too long ago I was watching a bunch of animal documentaries and then I got a huuuge urge to have a pet again. I'm financially independent now and live alone, so I was excited about the idea of having a pet that I could spoil to my heart's content and take care of in my own way.

After doing lots of research for different pets, I decided guinea pigs were the best choice (as I live in a small apartment in the city and on a student budget). After that, I went to two different pet shops and got my two lovely boars who have definitely brightened up my life for the better :luv:

since they're boars I definitely don't see my herd growing, although I'm extremely happy and satisfied with these two babies :))
 
We got our guineas after our rabbit passed over and a friend was giving 8 week old babies free to good home on Facebook.

I thought my kids would have also been interested but they weren't. This also inspired me to get involved with rescue work and also set up my boarding business x
 
I never liked guinea pigs - they reminded me of old laddies with whiskery chins - my daughter's after school club had two - and she wanted some for her 12th birthday - I said no way - as I knew I would end up looking after them and my daughter would loose interest - so my sister went and bought them instead! - my daughter did loose interest and I fell in love - so we went up to 7 - we are now at 5 with our oldest being Truffles who is nearly 6.
 
I kept other rodents (mainly mice and rats) for most of my childhood, then kept african pygmy hedgehogs for about 12 years when I was a university student and a newlywed. During the time that my husband and I had our three kids, we had a very grumpy rescue hedgehog named Thistle. She had been neglected and never warmed up to people. The kids were fascinated with her, but really couldn't interact with her other than watching her. We decided that it was time for pets that were more likely to be docile/friendly. After Thistle passed, I did some research and decided to get a pair of guinea pigs because they were supposed to be docile, easy to make friends with, and had the potential to live several years (after a lifetime of owning pets with short lives, I am beginning to go through small pet bereavement burnout... I still struggle with this with the guinea pigs, but the 5-7 year expected life for pigs is still better than the 3 or so year span for rats.) We ended up with our initial pair (Linney and Frenzy) and they were great... we've since had Linney and Sundae (after Frenzy passed) and now Sundae and Hadley (after Linney passed) and I expect there will be more in the future!
 
Love this thread - fascinated hearing how peoples herds have grown. :)

I can remember a boy in my class at school when we were about 12 bringing his guinea pig in for show & tell - i thought it was the best thing ever - he was so cuddly and fluffy! I chose to get a rabbit Smudge instead though at the time. She was so lovely but hated being picked up and i always felt sorry for her living outside alone. When she was 10 i brought her to live indoors in my flat despite the no pets rule as she was struggling outdoors & needed some TLC. I thought she would only last a few weeks then but she thrived indoors & lived with us for another year. It was lovely having her hop over to say hello when i came home. (i used to hide her any time the landlord came round!) It was when we brought Smudge to live indoors that i discovered online all about C&C cages and people that had herds of guinea pigs on fleece blankets! I couldn't believe it! I badly wanted to be one of those nutters!

I didn't think i could get away with having guinea pigs at the no-pets flat though and settled for a hamster Elmo. After the landlord discovered the hamster and didn't mind i felt a bit more relaxed about the pet thing. And one fateful day when i went to the pet shop for more hamster food I met and fell in love with a guinea pig - Otis - and soon after brought him and his buddy Wilbur home. (More about Otis here... Otis - Love At First Squeak Xx) I wasn't prepared for how brilliant guinea pigs are - so much personality in such tiny creatures. :) I was hooked! Three and a half wonderful years later and I recently lost Otis - devastated - i miss him terribly.

So we've been thinking about our guinea pig future long & hard these last few weeks. My boyfriend is allergic to them. We will want a human baby in the next few years. It's not really practical to commit to another piggie. Who am I kidding - what sort of a home would it be without wheeking! We picked up a baby boar last weekend as company for Wilbur with the plan that we will get him castrated when he's old enough. That way if he outlives Wilbur can adopt some sows in the future and our herd can grow...
 
I first got Ginny (couldn't decide on a name so we called him Ginny 1 for the time being until it eventually became his name, minus the 1) a while ago. He came on his own as it seems all the other piggies were sold without him, poor thing). I had been wanting guinea pigs for ages but couldn't as my dad wouldn't allow it, but he had a turn of heart. Ginny lived alone for nearly a year as we tried getting a boar for him. We didn't do the introductions properly without knowing so had to send the boy back unfortunately (he was so soft though, I think he was called Choo Choo, just too dominant for Ginny. I'd probably need at least a 2x8 with those two together).

We (meaning my mum and I) took ages to get him another cagemate since we weren't sure about the risk of neutering. We sent him to Taverham and they did an amazing job with it, he came out great. I can't remember if we got the girls, Minja and Teddy, before or after he was neutered. They were in a cage beside him while making sure they weren't ill and got time to chat. We introduced the three in the garden and they did fine! I still have these three, and hopefully I can get more in the future :D
 
I used to keep gerbils when I was younger and they were fascinating to watch digging tunnels in their peat and sawdust.

My two boys were bored one half term holiday and my wife spotted a meet and greet session at the local pets at home. Thought it would fill in an hour or so so off I went with them. My boys did very well holding dwarf hamsters and both said they would like one for their up and coming birthdays. When I researched it further it didn't seem suitable with their nocturnal nature, so I thought about gerbils again. The local pets at home suggested guinea pigs and the boys had a cuddle session with a couple and loved them.

However when I researched buying them I was totally put off pets at home by all the horror stories. Instead I found a guy that lived locally who had just had a litter of babies. We went to see them and the boys chose the ones they wanted. We came back to pick them up 3 weeks later and the boys loved them. After all the researching I'd done and the time I spent with Ruby and Treacle in that first month, cleaning the cage, getting them used to me, feeding them, I wasn't prepared for how much I loved watching them and looking after them. My boys are not so interested any more except for occasional feeding times, but for me the addiction was begun!

I started making things for them - at first just some cardboard tunnels and boxes with holes in them. I then decided to replace the hidey and ramp that came with the cage and built my own wooden one. With a bit of ramp training the piggies loved it. We had them out in their collapsible wooden run for floor time in the living room and I hit on the idea of putting that run beside their cage so they could have more space during the day. I used to put them in there after breakfast feed time. I then decided to build a ramp system that joined the cage to the run do they could come and go as they pleased. With a further but of ramp training it was a hit.

With now 20ft square cage space in our utility room I realised we had more than enough space for two more piggies. I wanted to adopt from a rescue this time though. Elsewhere on these forums I have documented Ruby and Treacles recent stay in Hazelcroft whilst we were on holiday and their bonding with Bella and Luna. So I now have a mini herd of 4 girls and my addiction to looking after piggies is satiated ... For the moment! Not bad considering I had no piggies before June of this year!
 
I was 14 when we got our first two pigs. My parents would go to this garden centre/pet shop/cafe place for lunch and kept seeing the guinea pigs there and saw how hilarious and lovely they were! And that was that :) We've had 9 in total over the years, we currently have 4.
 
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