My partner and I have only recently decided to keep guinea pigs, partly because we love animals and this is something we haven't had before and partly because our son will be two this week and we'd like to introduce him to a small animal that will be more manageable than our parrots and chickens. 
We saw some baby boars for sale just over a week ago and because I'm terribly impatient, I ended up reserving them straight away. Now having read up on boars a bit more, I've realised that I'd prefer sows, if only because I doubt we'll want to stick to just two and don't want to have different housing for them.
The day after I reserved the boars, we nipped to a local petshop for some odds and sods and noticed they had guinea pigs for sale. In particular, they had a gorgeous silvery grey shorthair. Of course, she was a sow so I knew I couldn't have her. But it broke my heart because the sales lady said she'd been available for ages but nobody was interested because she looked too boring! All but one other of her litter had been sold.
I thought about her all last week and finally came to the decision yesterday that I would cancel my reservation on the boars and go back for the lovely little sow and her sibling. I called the store to see if she was was still there and could I reserve her. After noting down the description, the sales guy went off to check and I was so thrilled when he said she was available! They could only reserve for 24hrs, so even though we were very busy yesterday and the hutch hasn't been fully furnished yet, off we went to get our piggies.
The store is about 15 miles away, so a bit of a trek and not much fun with a whiny toddler in the back of the car who wants to get to the "big shop". As soon as we arrived, I left hubby to get the boy out of his car seat and dashed in to look at the piggies. Our little sow was hiding in a huge bundle of hay and couldn't be seen, but our reservation note was clearly stuck above the door. We waited (I'm)patiently for the sales guy who'd been on the phone to come and let us have a proper look, I was positively beaming lol!
So he opens the cage, pulls away the hay and reveals two guinea pigs. one white/tan/black and the other - BROWN! :o Where was my girlie?
"I'm so sorry" said the sales guy. "I thought she was the one you meant."
But she's BROWN, not silver!
I could have cried right there and then. It would have been bad enough to know that she was gone when I rang, but to make us go all the way up there with false hope......
I'm still so sad today. I just fell in love when I saw her. How bloody typical is it that she was there for a good month or so and then she's gone in a week?
I don't want to buy from a pet shop, but I did ask a couple of other stores. Everybody has boars but no sows! One store had a single sow, but I don't want to have just one by herself, she'd be so lonely until I find another.
I'm definitely going to have sows, but I don't really know where to look. I'm happy to take on a rescue, but there don't seem to be many near me (mid-suffolk / Ipswich). I'd love at least one that looks like her, she had a lovely chunky little body and her colouring was beautiful.
We saw some baby boars for sale just over a week ago and because I'm terribly impatient, I ended up reserving them straight away. Now having read up on boars a bit more, I've realised that I'd prefer sows, if only because I doubt we'll want to stick to just two and don't want to have different housing for them.
The day after I reserved the boars, we nipped to a local petshop for some odds and sods and noticed they had guinea pigs for sale. In particular, they had a gorgeous silvery grey shorthair. Of course, she was a sow so I knew I couldn't have her. But it broke my heart because the sales lady said she'd been available for ages but nobody was interested because she looked too boring! All but one other of her litter had been sold.
I thought about her all last week and finally came to the decision yesterday that I would cancel my reservation on the boars and go back for the lovely little sow and her sibling. I called the store to see if she was was still there and could I reserve her. After noting down the description, the sales guy went off to check and I was so thrilled when he said she was available! They could only reserve for 24hrs, so even though we were very busy yesterday and the hutch hasn't been fully furnished yet, off we went to get our piggies.
The store is about 15 miles away, so a bit of a trek and not much fun with a whiny toddler in the back of the car who wants to get to the "big shop". As soon as we arrived, I left hubby to get the boy out of his car seat and dashed in to look at the piggies. Our little sow was hiding in a huge bundle of hay and couldn't be seen, but our reservation note was clearly stuck above the door. We waited (I'm)patiently for the sales guy who'd been on the phone to come and let us have a proper look, I was positively beaming lol!
So he opens the cage, pulls away the hay and reveals two guinea pigs. one white/tan/black and the other - BROWN! :o Where was my girlie?
"I'm so sorry" said the sales guy. "I thought she was the one you meant."
But she's BROWN, not silver!
I could have cried right there and then. It would have been bad enough to know that she was gone when I rang, but to make us go all the way up there with false hope......
I'm still so sad today. I just fell in love when I saw her. How bloody typical is it that she was there for a good month or so and then she's gone in a week?
I don't want to buy from a pet shop, but I did ask a couple of other stores. Everybody has boars but no sows! One store had a single sow, but I don't want to have just one by herself, she'd be so lonely until I find another.
I'm definitely going to have sows, but I don't really know where to look. I'm happy to take on a rescue, but there don't seem to be many near me (mid-suffolk / Ipswich). I'd love at least one that looks like her, she had a lovely chunky little body and her colouring was beautiful.
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