What made you get pigs?

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sport_billy

sport_billy

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Just wondering how people started off getting piggies and why you choose 'Their kind' as the pet to go for...

Rach always wanted piggies and I was unsure ( what a fool :)) ) So we got a hammy when we moved into our house, after Clint left us we decided to get some more pets and Rach persuaded me to look again at getting piggies. We got our first two girls from a colleague of Rach's whose Mom used to show pigs - 'Pitch and Putt'
We quickly became addicted and joined this forum after a health worry when they were 4. We then found out about 'guinea pig rescues' something that to be honest I'd never heard of before I joined the forum and the rest as they say is history...
 
We had hamsters for a few years - got the first ones for my daughter's 7th Birthday present, and had dwarf and syrian ones. All really cute. But then I kept getting allergic reactions, just mildly at first but then I had a severe anaphylaxis and was hospitalised by a bite from a winter white....
So, I had to be really careful not to handle the poor little critters, but we kept them until they went to the rainbow bridge.

My daughter had really wanted guinea pigs for years and so we planned to get them when we moved house - which took months and months, so at least we could read up on how to care for them and which cages/hutches are best. We got them at the end of October and they lived inside until about 6 weeks ago. They seem happy outside and love spending time in their run :)
 
pixachu said:
We had hamsters for a few years - got the first ones for my daughter's 7th Birthday present, and had dwarf and syrian ones. All really cute. But then I kept getting allergic reactions, just mildly at first but then I had a severe anaphylaxis and was hospitalised by a bite from a winter white....
So, I had to be really careful not to handle the poor little critters, but we kept them until they went to the rainbow bridge.
Click to expand...

OMG, that must have been scary. Are you okay with the piggies?
 
My family got piggies after we moved from a flat that allowed no pets to a house with a garden when I was a child, so I grew up with them.

I got piggies again after I married a man with a house and a garden... In parts, it was a practical decision - piggies can easily travel with you and you can just pack them up quickly at any time, as we had regular family commitments and quite a few emergencies over the years. For the same reason, I had to keep to two piggies for several years before I could finally realise my dream of a having a proper group (and then some...).
 
I lost my first pets (as an adult), Waffle and Weetabix the dwarf hamsters. They escaped in the night and I never saw them again. I wanted a pet again but nothing tiny. I could never have hamsters again after Waffle and Weetabix. And I mean, you can't lose a guinea pig. If they escaped, they would come running back at veggie time. Didn't think I would end up with five or all the problems they have had but I love them.
 
No one I knew had piggies and I just loved them. So I begged and pleaded and took care of other pets for friends till my mum gave in and thought it would be a good idea. Dad didn't agree but when he came home to find a 5ft rabbit hutch with two little piggies in it he really didn't have much choice!

I decided on piggies because mainly because hamsters are smaller and I had a nasty bite from one. My friend had rats and while they were sweet the tails scared me for some reason! Another friend had a rabbit but they were always back and forth to the vet with it. Dogs and cats were a no no as we just don't have the space and time. There was always one reason or another. Piggies were the best of everything. Sweet, good with kids, awake when you are, cuddly, friendly, entertaining, and even though we have a vet fund they hardly ever need it.

What more could you want in a pet?! They're pigsonalities soon make them family!

Amy
x
 
sport_billy.... it was a weird experience! I stabbed myself in the leg with my son's epipen as I was about to lose consciousness - the first responder was there in a couple of minutes and I was carted off to hospital in an ambulance!
It is really rare - the allergy is to proteins in the saliva of the dwarf type, and googling brought up a couple of cases.
I thought I was ok with guinea pigs, but I do get a slight rash occasionally if I snuggle them near my neck/face (I get a red blotchy rash) but there is no way we are parting with them. They are really sweet girls x
 
I had rabbits when i was growing up, when my last bunny died when i was 14 my parents said i could have a guinea pig. I was hooked from the moment they arrived. I had a break for 2 years when they died and i got two more a garden centre was giving away who i had for 8 years and then after another 2/3 year break i got 3 boys who are now 14 boys and i love each and every one of them :))
 
After we lost Michael, Kathryn kept asking for a pet, initially a pet dog. With my first marriage my ex-wife was animal mad and at one stage we had three cats, three dogs and fostered dogs, the final straw was fostering 6 puppies. So I was very reluctant to take on a dog as I understood the commitment. A friend of Sue's had piggies and we had a look at what was involved. Now my ex-wife had piggies before we split up and my memories were not brilliant (had no idea about them really). So with trepidation we decided to have two. A factor was having a pet we could take with us in the caravan. Once we had Sunshine and Flower and had them as indoor piggies they changed our life and now the legacy of the caravanning cavies continues. (I must point out I grew up with cats and am very much a cat person.)
 
I was already a member on here as had joined to contact Pollie to ask if she could make hamster versions of her cozies, so had a nose about. Then one day we were in Pets at Home and we spotted Gertie sat on her own in the adoption centre and we brought her home. We soon learnt she needed a much bigger cage and a friend, so we adopted Johnny from Hillsbrooke rescue and set about sorting out a C and C. The herd was formed from there. Then came Buzz and Woody who were on here via a Gumtree ad where they were living in horrid conditions, they lived together in the bedroom until we lost Woody, which led us to adopt Nigel, however, he had bad health issues so lived alongside Buzz and his then new friend Beanbag. I could go on forever until we get to the pigs we have today.
 
We had already had one hamster and six gerbils over the years but the interest for guinea pigs started fron here: My friend had piggies, initially she just had 'Patch' from a friend from church. To put it lightly 'he' was actually a 'she' and ended up having five babies. She kept one 'Zoe' as a friend for Patch I used to be round there quite alot so got lots of cuddles etc I loved them.
We then looked after the two of them when she went on holiday and I fell in love with them, so after much persuasion we got Georgie and Rosie from a pet shop,I picked Georgie out and then my brother picked Rosie who was oh so tiny, adorable and fluffy back then.
When Georgie died we thought about getting her a friend, but not knowing about rescues we didn't want to pick one from a petshop who may not have got along with Rosie. She was on her own for about 2 years until I joined the forum and heard about rescues and that's where the gingers come into it. My almost perfect little piggy family!
 
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I have always been allergic to cats and dogs so assumed I could never have an animal. I felt very lonely and wanted something to love. I started researching into guinea pigs. The more I read the more interested I became in them. I was turned down by the RSPCA as I do not have a garden and never knew about other rescues so I got two from gumtree, Peronel and Amelia Jane. When I first got them I was afraid to hold them. That is laughable now! I quickly fell in love and have been guinea pig crazy ever since.
 
Thanks for replying, it's so interesting to hear how everyone started off and got addicted to pigs
 
From as far back as i can remember as a child i always loved and wanted guinea pigs but was not allowed any until i was 11 when my parents finally relented.

After leaving home i didn't have any more piggies (or other pets) for many years as i was not in a position to commit to their long term care. During this time every so often i would have a dream in which i would return to my childhood home and arriving there be struck with the thought 'OMG i haven't fed the pigs since forever, i can't bare to go and see what i will find!' and be overwhelmed with emotion and fear, at which point i would wake up and remember they had peacfully crossed the bridge many years before and remembered how much i had loved them. So when my life became more settled i got more piggies. That was about 12 years ago and my piggy numbers have slowly increased ever since and i have never had those horrible dreams ever again.
 
I had a guinea pig when I was 10, her name was Sniffy. I was a loner in school and she was the only friend I had to talk to at the time. She was a beautiful creature and when she passed away, I think I cried constantly for nearly 2 weeks. I was never allowed another one while I was growing up, so when I finally got my own place when I was 20, I decided that I wanted nothing more than to get a guinea pig. That's when I met Patch (rest his soul) and since then, my family includes 5 of the wonderful creatures. I love them because they're so friendly, affectionate and no trouble whatsoever.
 
I've always loved animals and as we don't have children pets come a very close second for me. We have a 16 year old cat and have had chickens for the past 2 years and one of our chickens made wheeking sounds which reminded me of when I had a guinea pig as a child. Funnily enough I put an advert on the poultry forum I was on about wanting to rescue some guinea pigs and it just so happened that a guinea pig rescue local to me was on the poultry forum aswell and the rest is history. I will always rescue piggys now
 
I went to a small first school which only had 100 pupils from reception to year 5, they got 2 bunnies & 2 guineas. The guineas where not in with the rabbits. :D
They really caught my attention as I had difficulty concentrating on things but they where it for me.
one of the TA's who was a guinea pig lover did sessions with me to look after them and only 2 pupils max at a time, no screaming, shouting etc
I was even allowed to take the guineas home for the summer break

Then it spiraled from there, I did lots of research on guineas and my mum got me a pair of boys for my 10th birthday and I have loved them since ^_^ and my first piggy "Rex" lived from then until last year where he had to be PTS and I am 20 now.
I still miss him now. I don't know how I will cope when mojo passes or my kitty
 
I'm loving reading all of these!

I first got an interest in guinea pigs about 4 years ago when I was 9 due to my best friend having a pair of piggies. After plenty of persuasion and research I managed to get my first guinea pigs (Bubble and Squeak). I'm hoping and I'm sure there will be lots more piggies to come for me! :)
 
I never liked Guinea pigs growing up - they reminded me of old ladies with whiskery chins! - then my daughter got given Truffs and Noods for her birthday and now we have 7!
 
We never had any animals while I was growing up, my Dad taught the air force pilots and we went from Singapore to Cyprus then back to England. So no pets. When I had ME and I wanted a pet we started off with 2 little mice, Lilith and Pandora. They were utterly adorable, and we continued with mice then branched out into dwarf hamsters once I was better. (Our first pair had 42 babies, all but 2 were rehomed by Paul to his school! We were told they were two girls....oh yes you've all heard that tale. I got so good at sexing hamster babies!)

Our first mortgage came with a pair of piggies as we now had a proper garden. Paul made the hutch and they lived inside the rather rotten wooden conservatory (3 kinds of mushroom). I loved them so much. I still miss them both and I probably always will. We added to the pair when we thought we would lose a piggy, to never have a single and lonely piggy. Now they have a fair portion of the completely rebuilt conservatory and there are five. I came on this site with a question about ovarian cysts a few years ago, and I learnt here about rescue piggies. We still have two shop bought piggies, one runt who was kept back off the shop floor but was shown to me by a girl I used to teach at a garden centre so I had to have her, and two rescue piggies. Rescue all the way from now on for me!
 
We always had a lot of pets as kids growing up and I've always been a cat/dog lover so preferred them.
Our caravan site was close to a lovely quaint village and my OH spotted two baby piggies in a shop window and dragged me in so we had them.
After a few weeks, we looked into having two more and discovered rescues...the piggy clan has just got bigger and bigger over the past 3 years and we are smitten with our fur babies.
My nursing career and young family prevented me really from having pets for many years so when I gave my job up, the kids were young adults and found I had a huge void in my life. Think I really missed the caring/fussing I lavished on my kids and ached for grandchildren but have given up on that so the piggies are now my babies again :(|)
 
Aw I love reading these!
Well, for my 3rd birthday my nan bought me two girl piggies from a local pet shop. They were lovely and plump....and two quickly became eight, three babies each. They all lived long lives in a specially adapted hutch made by my dad, the last two passing on around eight years of age.
By now I was obsessed with animals and we'd had the piggies, plus several gerbils, birds and we had a dog who was a bit too interested in the pigs so after the last one I took s break and kept rats and gerbils for a couple of years. But I always wanted something you could cuddle better so I went back to piggies over and over

When Charles passed 4 years ago I nearly didn't get more. Charles died of a URI that we couldn't shift at the age of six and as some of you will relate to, when you've had long periods intense care, you really bond on another level so when he passed he really broke my heart. But three weeks later I missed him so bad I found myself in pets at home with two new bundles of fluff in my arms. I should actually add id rang two local rescues but they didn't have any pigs and I was turned down by the rspca for not having a proper garden. We lost Fuzzys cage mate just over two years ago andtthat was when I discovered guinea pig rescues, I wanted to get fuzzy a friend and knew you could date your pig so I googled it and found the forum. Now all my piggies are from rescues (except Fuzzy) and its the only route for me now. I'm now nearly 30 and have no intention of stopping!
 
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These are all great to read :)

I lived with all sorts of different pets big & small growing up but never had guinea pigs as I had the impression they were a bit boring...

My daughter got into guinea pigs as her best friend had some & when they had babies arrive rolleyes we had a pair of boys come to live with us. Well, I very soon discovered that guineas are anything but boring & can't imagine being without them now.

The original boys both died last year but their successors & a few extras that may have sneaked in :)) are all in residence now & somehow seem to rule the house... We do love our guineas x)
 
I got a guinea pig as a replacement pet for a much loved rabbit that had passed away when I was 9 and I remember being so sad over his death and my parents whisked me off to the pet shop and MADE me pick a guinea pig (Not a rabbit because it would remind me of him) so I did but I was not happy about it at all I was so sad about the loss of my rabbit...but then eventually after a week of being mad and perhaps hating the little piggie because she wasn't my rabbit I just found her so addictive and I named her Angel after Angelmouse a character in a cartoon my younger sister used to watch.
But she passed away after a small bout of ringworm which she got better from and then she became sick again with a respiratory infection. She was only six months.
So I got a hamster after that who lived for 3 years and then after his death I really wanted guinea pigs again so I got two. Now I've owned piggies for about 8 years constantly. And I love everyday with it even though there can be so much drama, not knowing them frightens me to the core.

(Sorry for this long story)
 
I had two guinea pigs sisters Honey and Rosie when I was twelve. My mum made me read every book in the library before letting me get guinea pigs to make sure I really wanted them! Don't know what made me want guinea pigs in the first place, I can't remember. Just as well my mum loves them as well because Honey was still with us when I left home and went to university.
I got guinea pigs again as an adult as a deal with my then boyfriend. He really wanted fish, I don't really like fish, they make me panic, I know it's daft but they look like they're gasping for air to me. The deal was he could have fish if I could have a couple of guinea pigs.

The guinea pigs lasted a lot longer than the fish and the boyfriend!
 
I had hamsters for years and years and then one day at our local vets they had baby guinea pigs needing homes. My sister and I begged my parents for a pair of boars and it went from there really :)
 
I got my fist piggy when i was about 7 i think. I wanted rabbits, my brother wanted gerbils (we had fish, a cat, some cockatiels, and a hamster) Then we looked after the school piggy and my MUM liked her and pretty much said "Rabbits are rubbish, were getting a pig instead, your brother can hold it and i wont be scared of it." For about 4 years we had a single pig and then a teacher of mine talked us into getting a piggy friend for piggy (he had always been neighbor to the rabbit, and when she died he bacme very depressed) so 1 became 2, and then ... it's continued. Now that the pigs are MINE and i can pay for/care for and not ask my parents if i can have another piggy ... my numbers have inflated from 2 to 8. But i love them to bits, i always have since out first piggy 17 years ago :)
 
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