Guinea Pigs, Pets/pests

Guinea pigs are SO easy and fun to take care of. I love my little pig!! I hope you find a good home for them, somebody that wont resent little animals.

Wow I'm glad you don't want them! Especialy with the comment "found a way to make the rabbits go away" like the others said if you kids like them I would suck it up because it's going to be hard to explain to them, unless you lie to them which is bad in itself. So have fun trying to explain this one.

"We found a way to make the rabbits go away'...

That just sounds awful, really. I hope you didn't do anything stupid.

Donate them 'free to a good home' on craigslist or give them to a non killing shelter. Please don't hurt these animals.

ETA: I've helped others give pets away on craigslist and they've actually gone to loving homes... just do your homework.

What a shame. I've had many pets over the years (including a rabbit) and guinea pigs are by far some of the cheapest and easiest animals to own, outside of a goldfish.
Check at school, sometimes teachers are looking for class pets.

Really? How much time and care are the guinea pigs really taking up? Yes, they need their cage cleaned, and yes they need to be fed and watered, but compared to other pets, they are pretty low-maintenance. If your kids are really attached to them then honestly I don't see any good way to tell them that they are going to live someplace else. And I don't understand how much a dog could be neglected because of a couple of rodents. Sorry, sometimes I can sympathize and understand why a particular dog or cat is not a good fit for a family, but guinea pigs should be easy to manage. I know you didn't want to be saddled with them and it wasn't right of your family member to do that to you, but like I said, they just are not that difficult to care for. Considering how much your kids have enjoyed them, I would think they are worth it.

It does not take a lot of time to care for those animals. Do not take them away from your kids! They big enough to feed them by themselves, you will need just to clean their cages. And Guinea pigs do not live long so you will not be stuck for ever. Their are great pets. enjoy them. And tell your family members and friends that with out your permition will not bring any pets ever or give them back.

Unless you want them to be snake food, put a price on their adoption. cavymadness.com is a good beginner's website. Maybe it will give you ideas on how to keep them or rehome them. Please don't give them to a school unless the teacher is willing to have them as HER pets and not just leave them overnight/over weekends in the classroom.

The real issue seems to be however you acquired them and how you were unable to say no or return them to the person that brought them to you. Since this seems to happen frequently (guinea pigs, rabbits) you need to evaluate how you end up with them in the first place, IMO. If a particular friend or relative is often the culprit, then you need to confront them.

I guinea-pig sat two of the little critters for my godson this summer. I was surprised that they were almost no work at all (I have a rabbit, dogs, cats and a lizard so I am aware of how much time a person can spend on petcare. And somehow we seem to be able to balance it all.)

If your kids enjoy them I don't see what the problem is. And your wording about the rabbits -- and the removal of the guinea pigs -- makes me think you're lying to your children about where they went or are going.

If you really can't handle it be honest with your kids and find the poor animals a good home and tell your kids they went there. How difficult is that?

When our kids were younger we had cats ( outside ), dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs and all were played with. We got a little leash that you just loop over the neck and the kids even walked the Guinea pigs down the driveway and back. One son carried one on his shoulder and the Guinea pig loved it. They even had the most beautiful babies you ever saw and we sold them to a pet shop who said they were so beautiful they would pay for them. I thought they took little care and kids love them. But if you want to get rid of them please find a good home for them and just tell your kids the truth, that you only want one pet and these were not working for you. Also if these are 'new' animals I'm sure they will become not so new soon and the dog will get divided time with them. If I was near I'd take them for my grandchildren.

We adopted our piggies from a woman who fosters and rescues guinea pigs. Frankly, I don't blame you for not wanting them and not wanting to keep them. Guinea pigs are sweet animals, and good first pets WHEN kids are old enough and ready for a pet and WHEN you have the space and time to care for them. We love ours, but I would not have wanted them given to me. We gave a lot of thought and research to getting these for our kids, knowing that we would bear most of the responsibility of caring for them, and knowing that they do live 5 or 6 years so they are a commitment. And our kids were older than yours when we got them.

What a crappy thing for your family member to do to you and your kids. I would hate to have to give away an animal that was a gift and that my kids became attached to. I wish I had advice on what to tell you kids. And I hope you'll kindly tell you family member ( whom I'm sure had good intentions), to have a conversation with you before brining anymore critters to you. Stuffed animals would be a more welcome and adequate surprise for your kids, I bet.

I'd check your area online and see if there's an organization that will take them or you could try Freecycle (if there's one in your area) or Craigslist.

Good luck

Locally, I have seen guinea pigs and rabbits at our local Humane Society to be adpoted.

I really hope you told those people that dumped these animals on you, that they are not to do this again, and now you have to get rid of the animals.

Or put an ad in the paper.

Pets? or Pest?
LOL in Peru they are food! and surprisingly, not bad when roasted.

...just read responces, and wow! i cant believe all the flack you got for this one! yeesh!

First of all, the family member that brought guinea pigs from 1200 miles away would have taken them when they left...how rude... There is just no good way to do this. You can explain to your children, but no guarantees that they will understand. Is there someone that you can give them to that has no pets?

I wish you lived near me, I would take them. I can't imagine how guinea pigs can be difficult pets to own or care for, we had many of them over the years. Contact your animal shelter, put up a flyer in your kids' schools, contact your local 4H group and ask if they know of any rescue groups. I bet if your kid's teacher was willing to send home a notice that a student needed to rehome their guinea pigs, someone would take them.

Try looking for people who rescue guinea pigs. Here's one link, just for Iowa.

http://www.arl-iowa.org/index.php?option=com_content&...

You could try your neighboring states too.

Please, keep handling the guinea pigs. If you don't pick them up and love on them, they will get wild, and no one will want to adopt them.

Dawn

craigs list free cycle or even the local adopt a pet might have some answers for you or help adopt them out. its almost christmas and ppl are wanting pets for gifts. if you can hold on to them until christmas ppl might take them off your hands. or find out how much it would cost to ship them back to the ppl who gave them to you ;D...just kidding.

**** wow these mommas are really crazy about these little critters. you see you can not handle them and dont want them. i see nothing wrong with recognizing that getting rid of them or getting them out of your house. if they are free and you see the ppl are nut jobs then tell them no way. simple. as far as somone using them to feed a snake ... my hubby bought a mouse as snake food then ended up keeping it as a pet! sorry your responces are so judgemental and rude! i do like the idea of giving them to a school.

Just explain to your kids that you dont have the time it takes to take care of them and when they get older if they want another pig they can have one, then run an ad and send them to someone who would like to have them. I never liked rodent type pets either, they are stinky.

I completely understand!!! I bought my son a guinea pig and I thought oh it'd be such a nice pet etc. We are just so busy, gone all day, gone a lot of weekends, etc. The cage had to be cleaned all the time and my apartment stunk. So I understand why you don't want to keep them!

I ended up giving mine to a local pet store. I know I didn't get any money, but I'm sure they cared for her until someone bought her. I wish that we could have kept her, but I do not regret getting rid of her. As for my son, I just explained that we have too many responsibilities and that it wasn't fair to the guinea pig. He is 6 and he does miss her, but he was understanding and I don't think I scarred him for life! :-) I told him when we get a house someday we could get another pet.

Good luck and don't feel bad about not wanting the pigs!