How to rehome guinea pigs?

[optimistmum]

DS2 was desperate for a pet and after much discussion we agreed to get 2 lovely girl guinea pigs. Sadly 2 years later DS2 still feeds them, cleans out their hutch and so on but he has stopped playing with them or interacting with them.
We think the kindest option would be to find a new family for them but how? We are happy to give away the hutch, run etc

Why in the name of all that is holy did you get a child a pet?
Local small animal rescue?
And please get no more pets.

Try a local rescue. Do not put them on Gumtree or similar as they can end up as snake food. Please bear in mind that rescues can be full of abandoned and neglected pigs and may not have room for yours but they may be able to help find a new home for them whilst they remain in your care.

Most small animals in rescues are there because the children got bored of them. No one should ever get a pet for a child. Only get a pet if the adults wants it and is prepared to care for it for its lifetime.

There's a website called guineapigrehome. On there it'll give you details on local rescue centres.

Try the Piggy Bank-Facebook page linking various rescues nationwide.

m.facebook.com/piggybank.gpr?refsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpiggybank.gpr

As Fernie says, avoid Gumtree or Preloved or similar like the plague.

And to anyone reading who might be considering getting guinea pigs (or any other pet) 'for the children' - you aren't, you are getting a pet for you. There are thousands of guinea pigs in rescues all over the country and nine of out every ten of those is in a rescue because they were bought for kids who lost interest.

So only get them if you want them and like them and will care for them and interact with them regardless of what the kids do.

Hope you manage to find a nice new home for your guineas OP.

Actually, in my opinion, your average guinea is pretty happy with food and a clean hutch, plus a second guinea pig for company.

God I feel awful now, our 2 guinea pigs get precious little interaction from our DDs, hadn't occurred to me to consider rehoming them on that basis. They are well-fed, watered, cage cleaned, time outside every day etc, but are we supposed to be playing with them as well?

Some guinea pigs seem to like being entertained and played with. Most just potter around being pleasantly dim and eating a lot of hay. I wouldn't worry unless they're kept down the bottom of the garden in a shoebox.

Thanks Lancelottie

Don't get me wrong, I'm very fond of our GPs, but I don't think they would miss interacting with us as long as the supplies kept rolling in.

"Most just potter around being pleasantly dim and eating a lot of hay."

Lancelottie I think you've just summed up the joys of a guinea pig's existence to perfection.

Optimistmum where abouts are you? I would consider taking them on. We have had guinea pigs in the past and have plenty of experience with animals

Hmmm, I'm on the fence here.

I have rehomed GP1 through to GP6 so I know there are homes out there, though there's no way of knowing how long a pig would wait.(Some stay as permenant residents)

But , TBH, unless there are allergies (and my DD is allergic to Rex and Teddy fur) then why not keep them? A Rescue will assess the new owners , unless you know the new owners personally, you won't know for sure.

Ok, they need a daily commitment,, but as the adult, you signed up for them.
When my DD doesn't want to go out to the Pighouse in the rain (I don't blame her) it was ME that signed those papers, I'm over 18 , she isn't. So it's my responsibility. DD is brilliant with them, but I know she's got school and social life.

My pigs have each other, food, space, a cuddle and chat every day,

They do live down the bottom of the garden (well halfway) in an ice-cream tub .
They pretend to be judgey when we cuddle them, it's taking them away from the food.

Thank you for your comments.

We will have a long think about what to do next - the GPs certainly get regular supplies, lots of time in their run and dh does help out when ds2 (nearly 14, not a young child) is not available. I am allergic to them so have minimum contact.

But I am horrified to think they could end up as snake food.

Sadly, they can do (which is why people on rehoming sites ask for money "to ensure a good home" but unfortunately some are greedy sods to aim to profit. If I rehomed a pig from a non Rescue , I'd give the owner zilch but I'd make a donation to an animal charity and send the reciept to the owner)

But your pigs. Between your DH and DS2 they should be able to keep your pigs fed/watered/cuddled?

My DD gets a rash when she cuddles the furrier pigs but thankfully she's ok with hay .
They'll be out more in the summer so (hopefully) easier to keep them tidy .

Then maybe put out some feelers for rehoming (it will be very busy sadly over the summer because owners rehome rather than sort out holiday care for them and fewer want to take on pets with holidays looming)

They do need DS2 to check them daily, they can go downhill very quickly and the signs are there but subtle.
I've just last week found a lump under GP5 armpit so we need to monitor it daily (thankfully it's stable but we don't want to ignore it)

Good Luck