What happens to the ones they don't sell?

[LordOfTheFlies]

DD and I went to a large multi-chain petshop today ( Pets @ Home) to buy some bedding for the GPs. There were probably 15 baby guinea-pigs (between 2 enclosures)
Same with another branch 2 weeks ago when we went to buy their bowls and pellets.

We've got 2 one-year old boars that were from a rabbit rescue.They are lovely,messy, greedy little devils. One is definately alpha male.When we clean the pighouse he strides in, wees in the bed area and wipes his bum on the floor paper (I presume territory marking)

The baby GPs were tiny, very fast and skittish. Luckily DD is so besotted with her boys she wasn't fussed beyond looking.

I am a hard hearted old bat, so wouldn't even entertain buying them. When I got home, DH said "we could easily fit another 2 in our cage" .Not helping there DH!(I have checked, my pighouse is twice the recommended size but I wouldn't put more pigs in)

But what happens when they stop being cute and little.How many people will suddenly want GPs. (Though getting near Christmas they might do )

Not much help here (I suspect what happens is they put them in the 'rehome' section instead) but as an aside, where on earth did you get a cage twice the recommended size? Must be HUGE!

Some go to the rehome section (nearly all the rehome animals in our local P@H are of the "no-one wanted to buy me" variety). I suspect any not sold after that or if there's not enough rehome section space would be PTS :(

This thread is worth a read: right possible inspection regarding pets at home need everyone who....

Particularly: "each store has 10 guinea pigs in per week thats a total of 250 guinea pigs going into all the stores every week any guinea pigs or animals that are not sold are allowed to be taken out back and pts-she said they are allowed to do that= thats why they go in the adoption bit."

So yes, it looks like the rehome section or being put to sleep :(

Lancelottie: for bigger cages its pretty easy to make your own: C&C Cages Can sometimes be tricky to source the materials in the UK, but once you have it's not hard to put together.

I went to a pets@home in the summer and they had sold out of G-pigs, apparenly they sale very fast and sometimes they get them in on a friday and have sold out by sunday, so i don't think many end up without a home.

Ah, thanks, RubberDuck. Ours have a 4 x 2 cage which is ok in summer as they go out most of the time, but a bit minimal in winter. (heads off to measure up space in utility room)

Our piggies are spoilt rotten. In the winter, they have a Ferplast 120 upstairs for night time and a 3x3 C&C for their daytime run, both with fleece linings . In my defence, it does make cleaning out easier as there's somewhere safe to put them while you do it, but dh does grumble occasionally about their luxury living

I got a cute little baby one AND to balance it I brought home an ugly full grown one nobody wanted

From a local breeder. They were free as I know her through a friend and think I was doing her a favour

The ugly one (he's kind of albino with scary pink eyes)is probably the nicest natured ive had

But boy, I wish you could toilet train Gp's like you can rabbits!!!

Just trained my bunny! He has a litter tray and it's so so much easier

Aw, the albino ones always get left don't they, poor little things :( Well done ILoveTIFFANY :)

(I know I'm veering off topic, but I have just put photos up of the pig palaces on my profile )

At Pets@Home, they have one of two options. Either they'll be put in the rehoming section, or they'll be returned to the farm they were brought from. If they are returned then they will be euthanised and used as snake food, as the majority of the business of the farms actually rotate around snake food - the pet business is actually an aside. I would be very suprised if P@H euthanise the animals themselves because most of the farms have an agreement similar to:

'Our policy is to take back any of our animals which have grown too big for sale and exchange them ensuring our customers always have saleable stock.' (taken from www.simonsrodents.co.uk - one of the biggest farms in the country)

by the way RubberDuck - its great to see someone who uses a C&C cage for the GPs - not often I see them :) Any particular reason you only put them in there in the daytime - other pets?

Mainly because I used to swap them from hutch to run in the summer and it seemed a more interesting life for them when inside too! It's also easier to clean them out and it's nice to have them downstairs with us during the day so they get used to us. I'm not sure if they'd trigger the house alarm if they stayed downstairs when we've gone to bed.

Or dh's interpretation: they are spoiled and I am too soft for my own good

lol! They are definitely lucky GPs :) If you ever need spare grids let me know, I have a ton of them (in silver rather than white though). I got about 4 boxes of them when Argos used to sell them and then had some kind of clearance thing - less than £10 a box!

Aaah the reason why I've got so much room is they've got a big wooden playhouse [hgrin]
It's slightly raised on a wooden plinth and has a big wooden box inside with a hinged lid which we've carpeted to give extra space and dimension.And a ramp and platform arrangement to get there and give more hidey-spaces.
Can't remember what website I looked on but I did a floor space comparison (didn't include the extra carpeted area in the equation) and it works out "x area recommended.

I've got a big indoor cage for winter nights but I reckon they'll be a bit meh.

But my piggies have f-i-l-l-e-d the space!!

notjustme, if RubberDuck doesn't want them please could you PM me? I have a house rabbit who's been chewing cables and I'm considering my protection options!

Aw, thanks notjustme - I have my own spares, though not gained quite as cheaply as your little stash - great find!

LordOfTheFlies: that sounds an amazing set up - you do know you're going to have to provide pictures now?

Er fleeces? For gp's? Where do I get these and how do they work?Mine are outdoors but come into the garage,just waiting for it to get a bit colder.

Fleeces, oh I love talking fleeces

Fleece bedding for guinea pigs is awesome because it makes far less mess, is less waste, is warmer for the pigs and is better for asthmatics like me who adjusted to guinea pig allergy but couldn't cope with the dust in the wood shavings.

The idea is that it works like a reusable nappy for guinea pigs. The fleece wicks away the moisture and then it stores it in an absorbent core (eg. towelling, wadding, mattress protector, puppy pad or similar). You sweep or hoover off the debris each day as you'd have to anyway (I use a little dust buster ), then when it starts to smell (about 3-4 days ime) you bung the fleece in the washing machine.

This lovely lady will make all sorts of fleece items to order: cavycozies.com and I have a couple of her fleecy tunnels and cuddle sacks. They're ever so well made.

I made my own linings though and if you have a sewing machine it's fairly easy. I can give more detailed directions if you need it, but the general idea is to join two layers of fleece with a mattress protector core. It needs to be measured with some good overlap as it can shrink a bit - better to have it bunched up at the sides, than not cover the entire floor. You'll also need to wash the fleece in detergent without fabric conditioner at least three times before you use, to remove the waterproof coating that gets put on it, otherwise the wee won't wick away and just puddle on the surface. It will also help get most of the shrinkage out of the way before you sew it together.

They sound fab and I think I will invest!!!
The little sack things will be on my list too! Many thanks.

If you want to have a go at making your own sacks and hideys, there's a great site here: Cozy Sewing Instructions - it's a German site run through Google Translate, but easy enough to get the gist and the visual instructions are very clear.

If an animal gets too big to sell they will put the in the rehoming centre. They are not sent back to the breeders to be PTS and used for snake food that is not PAH policy.

Not all P@H have rehoming centres. And there is a limit of the time that old stock will be allowed to sit in the rehoming centre anyway, they are a business, not a rescue, and they are not daft.

I got some of my earlier pigs from Pets at Home, but wouldn't again. I tend to avoid them because yes, their motivation is profit and not welfare of the animals.

It's not a good idea to introduce new boars to an already bonded pair of boars. I've not known anyone who's actually done this successfully, so if you want to take on more piggies, you'll need an extra cage.

I so, so, so wish pet shops weren't allowed to sell livestock at all. If folks had to think more and seek small pets out, I think they'd probably not make so many impulse purchases and there wouldn't be so many animal suffering.

I so, so, so wish pet shops weren't allowed to sell livestock at all. If folks had to think more and seek small pets out, I think they'd probably not make so many impulse purchases and there wouldn't be so many animal suffering.

Amen to that!