Another Guinea pig thread, URGENT

[Sookeh]

A friend of mine on a whim bought 2 boy guinea pigs who she has now decided she no longer wants. They have not been together long as she has only had them a couple of weeks and has said that she'd be fine seperating them. If they don't get picked up today she will take them to a rescue.

I would quite like to adopt them but am generally clueless. Should I split them up? The cage was bought at pets at home and looks only big enough for 1 but friend said all pets at home guinea cages are suitable for 2 as they usually are bought as a pair?

DP has said he'd prefer to only get 1 to keep costs down, is it really that much more to have a pair?

They are both males, could this cause problems?

Any help would be greatly appreciated as DD and I have sort of fallen in love and need to know what to do ASAP!

A full refund but they were verry arsey about it.

I'll never spend another penny in there that's for sure.

well done insisting on the refund. You have not had a good start, hope it is a bit more plain sailing from now on.

On a bit of a guineapig mission today! Suggest you try FREECYCLE in your area for cages/runs/guinea equipment, we have managed to pass on a lot of stuff this way and there are ALWAYS people getting rid of hutches and runs. Also check out local vets who may advertise equipment.
Contact a local farm ( if you are rural) for HAY - we used to get 2 HUGE bales locally for £6 and they lasted for months. Guineas LOVE dandelion leaves and fresh grass, etc and all this is free, just has to be collected. We used to gather a weeks supply and store it to fee them over the week. Guineas are very 'rangy' creatures, and need lots of room to snuffle about and explore. They are wonderful company as well and as all the posts have said, should never be kept alone, they are too sociable. Not sure if any of you are asthmatic, but they are also very allergenic - this is why we house ours outside in the large shed. Good luck :O

PS. I am new to this thread and dont want to get into trouble. Please try other suppliers other than P at H, I have witnessed some terrible treatment of guineas there - it is basically an industrial pet production line and their care is very questionnable. Try local rescue centres, or Guineapig rescue. I bought a few babies there years ago, and one of them died a day later. I was asked to return the body ( which I had just buried) in order to get a refund.......enough said.

Hi guineapiglet - I agree about rescue. My DD wanted a GP ( so we had to get 2 of course) and she desperately wanted a boy (so that meant a bonded pair of boars, neutered boars being thin on the ground) .

I did some online searches and phoning and we found "our" boars.
DH sorted out their accomodation and we got everything ready for them.

DD missed the cute piglet stage but we also missed the arsey teen age .

I feel really sad when I see the Pet@Home guineas because as soon as they are too old they get put into the Adoption Area, and unfortunately they have to compete with the new batch of piglets.

They are the lovliest little animals imaginable. Such character and so easy to bribe

Hi - thanks for message and nice to meet a like minded person - 'in these parts' I am known as the mad guineapigwoman by neighbours as I am often out picking large bags of grass and other greenery, plus have acted as an emergency rescue centre on several occasions. My daughter did her Yr 10 work placement at a local animal rescue centre and there were lots of unwanted small furry animals there, alot of the problems there now are the COSTS of keeping even the smallest of creatures, as they still require food, bedding, housing etc. The local vets have reported more people coming in with pets because they can no longer afford them, its is very sad. I avoid P@H at all costs, because I think they are expensive, and their advice is not always sound, plus for all the reasons I mentioned before.

Having had a large number of guineas for many years, we sadly lost our last lady a few months ago, we are about to move house, so no replacements yet, but there definitely will be one day - we all really miss them :(

Guinea pigs should never be kept alone, they are very sociable and enjoy the company of another piggie. Two is no more work than one. I would not keep 2 piggies in smaller than a 5ft hutch, unfortunately pet shops will not always give you the best advise.