New Guinea Pig Is Buying From A Shop Okay?

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orangeinepig

orangeinepig

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I didn't know where to put this but if it is in the wrong place I'm sorry :bye: Anyway I would love to have a neutered male guinea pig but my dad doesn't want to technically get another guinea pig but even if I don't end up getting another guinea pig I just want to know what is the best option here. As I have already said I would love a neutered male guinea pig but my dad doesn't want to have to drive to a rescue so would getting a baby male guinea pig and getting it neutered be the best option then or not? Just wondering not necessarily going to even happen :).
 
i think an already neutered rescue boy would be best. some rescues will rehome nationally and members on here can sometimes help with transport aswell so the rescue is still a good option :)
 
biscandmatt said:
i think an already neutered rescue boy would be best. some rescues will rehome nationally and members on here can sometimes help with transport aswell so the rescue is still a good option :)
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I thought that would be the best option but my dad isn't really cavy savy or even that keen on them
 
:agr:

I'm afraid I didn't know about this forum when I got my 1st guinea pigs and had a very bad experience when I had my boars neutered. There are so many reasons why this forum is pro rescue and the fact that you could rescue a boar that is already neutered is one of them .
 
biscandmatt said:
that's a shame. how many do you have now? :)
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I have three sows in a 6ft hutch but one is 6, another is 4 with mammary tumors we believe and the other is one so if 2 pass fairly close timings with each other the year old sow will be by herself
PiggyOwner said:
:agr:

I'm afraid I didn't know about this forum when I got my 1st guinea pigs and had a very bad experience when I had my boars neutered. There are so many reasons why this forum is pro rescue and the fact that you could rescue a boar that is already neutered is one of them .
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two of our sows are from pet shops but I also know about how many die in op as we were going to have an op on a 4 year old pig but opted not to have it happen for her safety
 
Strictly speaking, yes it's fine but I don't see why you'd want to. There's some risk with neutering males (not as much as with sows but still, it's a small animal) and it can be pretty pricey I believe. Even if you get a rescue boar there's a chance the rescue might offer you a price deal to neuter when you explain your situation to them. When you buy from a pet store you're also supporting a company that cares more about the money than the animals well-being (not trying to generalize, I believe a lot of pet stores will take a sick animal to the vet) and there's definitely a pig you could rehome to a nice family instead of getting one new. You could also try dating your pigs to a new one to see if the match truly is good, even though sow-boar ones usually are. Plus a lot of the time rescues already go through the seperation process so you wouldn't have to go and use a cage just for that purpose.

You can get someone to help with transportation like a family member/friend. You can also call a bus ahead of time to ask if having a small animal on with you would be fine if you are allowed to bus by yourself. Good luck!
 
Seven said:
You can get someone to help with transportation like a family member/friend. You can also call a bus ahead of time to ask if having a small animal on with you would be fine if you are allowed to bus by yourself. Good luck!
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I went by train when I took my Max dating. I went to Milhaven Rescue (Keighley - West Yorkshire) . With the state of the motorways nowadays, I think it was less stressful than driving !
 
From time to time we have neutered boys at Tees Valley Guinea Pig Rescue near Middlesbrough. Sometimes they come in like that or they may be a solo boar who we think will rehome better with a girl if neutered or a pair of males who have fallen out so again we have them neutered so that they can each go their separate ways & live with females. We ask a minimum adoption fee of £35 for a neutered boy which is a lot cheaper than if you bought a boy & got him neutered. If you were to do the latter then Dominika at Jacqui Patersons Vets in Stockton-on-Tees is definitely worth the trip to get him neutered :) x
 
If it's possible to get an already-neutered boar from a rescue, that's probably the simplest option- plus, you will be giving an animal a second chance. That said, depending on where you are, rescues are not always an option (where I live there are comparatively few guinea pig rescues and the one in my area only deals in bonded pairs, which has never been an option for me as thus far I have always been bonding a new pig with a bereaved pig and do not have room to keep three in an adequate space.) I would say if you are going to go with a pet shop, do your research to get a good one- one that separates animals by gender, where the animals have adequate space, appear healthy/happy, etc. There is only one pet store in my area that I would ever buy a live animal from because at least they meet those standards, and thus far I've never had a problem with adopting a sick animal, etc.
 
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