Pet Stores!

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redred79

redred79

Junior Guinea Pig
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Vesta MN
On Nov. 7th my kids and I went Pet Expo in Mankato MN. We fell in LOVE with the Guinea pigs. My family had a teacher give us some so I knew a little about them and knew they were fun to have. We picked out 2 Males. Had a 2 hour drive home. Set up our cage and little hut for them. By Monday one of them was loosing hair on his nose. I posted here about that and took them to the Vet on Saturday the 14th. There is where I found out I had a Male and Female. WHAT! So on Monday I called the Pet store. Talked to 3 different workers. One told me they should have never sold me 2 males also said it was easy to tell the difference. Oh and they don't guarantee the sex of the animals! STUPID! They would exchange one for me. So I had the hard decision to decide which one we were going to give up. I even looked into getting Muttleg fixed. The kids and I decided we would change out Muttleg he is the one with the missing hair and this way I would have 2 females. So on Tuesday I called the Pet store to tell them What we had decided. The gal said to me yep not a problem. She would write a letter to the evening workers to let them know. We drove 2 hours just to arrive at the pet sore for them to tell me they had NO pig available! What the What! The gal working stated she could keep Muttleg and when pigs were ready we could come down and get a new one. I COULD NOT let Muggles be alone. They cry for each other when you take one out and not the other. So we drove the 2 hours back home. Called the next morning talked to a Manager. He stated he would do everything he could to help me out. I got a call tonight from the manager telling me he had pigs ready for me. I would have to drive 2 hours to pick her out. Now here I sit with 2 pigs that we have fallin in LOVE with trying to decide why I should drive another 2 hours to pick a new one out! The manager told me the piggys go fast and they are the cheapest on price for the pigs. He also stated he would give me store credit for the new piggy. I was confused on this and asked why would I have to pay for the new one I was told I could exchange the one I had. He said no it had been over the 5 days and their is nothing wrong with the pig you have. I said yes there is he is missing hair off his nose. No one told him I took them to the Vet! That's how I found out I had a Female. He didn't know what to say. Well I am feeling very frustrated and confused on what to do. I am not trying to complain but just feeling mentally drained and sad on what else to do. If anyone has any suggestions on how I should handle this Please let me know. Thanks so much! Muggles.webp Muttleg.webp
 
Please whatever you do DO NOT return either of those guinea pigs to the store. The pet store is an awful place and I wouldn't reccomend leaving any animal with them.
As for what you can do I would either go with neutering the boy or put grids down the centre of the cage so they can see one another but not get to one another. What are there ages? There's a very strong chance the female piggie is already pregnant. Are you absolutely sure they are male/female? You can post pictures of their genitals here if you want some second advice on that. There's a chance they might still be same sex.

I will tag more piggy savy people for you on advice. Just please do not return those pigs to that place. If you HAVE to get rid of one of them then I would suggest surrendering them to a rescue with a no kill policy.

@helen105281 @Wiebke

Its 4am in England at the moment where most users are from so you will get some good replies in a few hours. I'm a night owl and up late.
 
lf you havent allready, l would sujest you put them in a devided cage,
a sow come into season every 15 to17 days but she only stays in season for a few hours!

although she may be preganant , there is always the posabilalaty that she is not ,

l agree with Julise, best not give them back to the shop, chances are they would be put down.
 
:agr: Double check the genders, then separate them if they are male and female. If they are then she will most likely be pregnant.
 
I completely agree with everyone else, do not take any back, simply divide them!

I'm not being rude so please don't think I am, but they are lovely living animals not products, so to exchange one in my opinion would be the wrong decision. And also because one has some hair missing on the nose that doesn't mean there is something wrong with him and he can be exchanged, he just needs to see a vet.

I don't want to offend you or anything so I really hope I havent.

I hope you sort something out soon. Personally I would highly recommend keeping them both, having a vet check them over and for the moment divide the cage until you find out they're defently opposite sex and If they are have the male neutured :-)

Good luck and they are both so cute!
X
 
I agree with the other members, please don't return piggie to that awful store. Seperate them and get them vet checked. X
 
I agree, I would not return one of them back to that place as they really don't sound like they know what they are doing and if they have made one sexing mistake already they could do it again. I would divide the cage for now or if possible have 2 cages next to each other and look into getting the boar neutered when he is old enough. There is a risk that your sow could already be pregnant too.
 
I agree !
keep them both and ask the vet to check them over , the vet will ask you if you want one spay or
so they can living together if they are different sexes etc
 
I talked to a Vet highly recommended by 2 Vets in my area. They informed me that I should be ok my piggy are only 2 months old. I have watched them play and run around. I have never seen him try to mount her. I really wish I had the room to have 2 cages.
I really want to say Thanks for all you input on what I should do. No one has offended me in any way. Ideally I would LOVE to get Muttleg fixed and have the pet store pay for it. I feel they owe me that. I could have had it done and paid for in what I spent on gas driving to them. Thanks again for all your help!
 
Sadly at two months theres still a risk that she could be pregnant if they are both different sexes. Females can get pregnant by males as I think 6 weeks? Someone more savy on female piggies correct me please if I'm wrong. I know its very young. So it may be cut close. Keep an eye on her.
It's good that you haven't seen him mount her but it can be done rather quickly.

To make your existing cage as two cages is quite easily. Just get some kind of divider to go in the middle of the cage. =)

I would definitely try and make the pet store pay for either vet treatment for his nose or for the neutering in this cage as they really have messed you around.

I hope you enjoy your new piggies despite the rough start.
 
The Vet showed me Muttleg so I know he is a Male :-) She wasn't 100% sure on Muggles. So my husband & I watched some YouTube videos and checked Muggles & she is a girl. If I can get a picture of her I will post it. Thanks!
 
No problem :)

Girls tend to ahve a Y shape which helps, but sometimes even girls can look male or vice versa. A good technique is to press on your boy and see how his penis comes out. Then try the same thing on your girl. If nothing comes out you know for sure shes a girl.
 
Tried to take a picture. It doesn't work by yourself :-) Muggles seems bigger & feels heavier. I am going to get a weight today & ask the Vet what she was last weekend. Is there any way other way I can tell if she would be pregnant? When we were in the pet store on Tuesday they confirmed she was a girl. I am 99% sure she is a girl.
 
I've only ever had one female guinea pig in my time of piggies - my current guinea pig- and she's never been pregnant so I can't really help with that.

The best way I think is to weigh both daily and compare her weight to his.

Hopefully someone more savy with female or pregnant piggies can help.
 
Girls are a Y shape, boys are an i shape ;)
Babies can be pregnant from four weeks old! I speak from my own experience here.
This is why I don't like pet stores.
 
Weigh your sow daily to see if there's an increase in weight. Guinea pigs are usually ~1.5-2 pounds. Her weight may double close to the birth as piglets can weigh just as much as her when they're in her stomach. But she's also still young and of course she'll weigh less and you have never weighed her before so you can't notice any drastic differences. Female pigs reach sexual maturity at as young as four-five weeks old, sometimes even younger as they start puberty at ~10 weeks. The sow also may be eating/drinking A LOT so watch for that. But be aware as young pigs also may eat more as they're still growing, and the pig may eat more as the weather is getting colder. You can also try gently feeling the womb-area to distinguish any bumps that she may have. Please handle her very gently when you suspect a possible pregnancy. You should always handle your pigs carefully but be extra cautious!

Visit the Pregnancy, Baby Care and Sexing subforum for additional information, plus some more savvy people may hang out there.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/forums/pregnancy-baby-care-and-sexing-no-breeding.11/
 
Oh, and if you do have babies, the males and females HAVE to be separated at three weeks old, do not make the mistake that I did and leave them any longer then this :doh::xd:
Its unbelievable how young they can breed! :love::blink:
 
Your vet is off... pigs at 2 months can quite easily become pregnant. Males can breed at 3 weeks. There is a very strong likelihood that your girl is already pregnant... but in case she has escaped, you should separate them. You can leave them in a way where they can see/hear each other but can't reach one another. Even if you've watched them, if they are housed together they have likely already mated. It only takes a minute. Guinea pigs aren't much on foreplay!

As for what to do, it is a very tough call. If it were me, I would separate them and wait and see if your girl is pregnant. If she is, I would check the gender of the babies and if there is another male, you would have a friend for dad. Any female could be a friend for mom and you could keep them in two enclosures. If she isn't pregnant or there is no male baby, I would save up to have your male neutered.
 
Thanks for all the advice. I found out that my piggys were younger then what they told me. They are only 5-6 weeks old. I found a great new home for them as I didn't want to deal with babies. My kids & I picked out 2 females. (I checked them out myself :-) Lol!) These 2 females are older & are not as skiddish around us. We are extremely happy that Muttleg & Muggles have a new home where someone has the room to split them and take care of them. We are excited to get to know our 2 new piggys. Will post pictures & names soon. Thanks again everyone! You all are soo helpful.
 
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