Should You Give Your Guinea Pig Away?

Guinea pigs are great to have as pets but sometimes there can come a time where you don’t want them anymore for your own personal reasons.

Most of the time this can be a very difficult thing to do, so should you give your guinea pig away?

You know it’s time to give your guinea pig away if you’re unable to care for them properly, if you’re allergic to them, or if you know that they’re just not for you.

This can be a hard decision so it’s always best to think about the actual reason why you want to give them away.

And when the time does come to give them away, you should also know the best way to do it for your guinea pigs.

Reasons To Give Your Guinea Pig Away

One of the first and most important reasons to give your guinea pig away is if you’re unable to look after them properly.

The reason why that’s important is that guinea pigs will usually need special care because they can get sick easily.

So if you can’t give them the time and care that they need especially when it comes to their health then you should try to think about giving them that or start thinking about giving them up for adoption.

The same can be said about if they don’t fit the current lifestyle that you’re living.

So if you’re always on the go and you’re rarely home then you won’t be able to fully give them the proper care that they need.

They also need a lot of love and attention from their owners and if that’s not something that you can provide at the moment then it might be time to give them away.

Give Your Guinea Pig Away If You’re Allergic To Them

Another reason to give your guinea pig away is if you know that you’re allergic to them in any way.

Even if you’re only slightly allergic to them it can still be bad for your health and that can cause you to not be around them as much as you should.

That can lead you to not properly caring for them as much which can then lead to the decline of the health of your little pet.

So if you’re unable to hold, play, or touch them in general then you should give your guinea pig away just to be safe.

One thing to note is that you should make sure that you’re actually allergic to them and not their hay before you start thinking about giving them away.

The reason why is that some people are actually allergic to the hay that they bought for them rather than actually being allergic to their guinea pig.

So if you think that’s the situation that you’re in then you can try getting them some hypoallergenic hay to be sure.

Giving Your Guinea Pig Away Because They’re Unwanted

If you just want to give your guinea pig away because you think that you don’t want them anymore then that’s fine.

Guinea pigs aren’t for everyone sometimes, especially when you underestimate the amount of care that you’ll have to give them on a daily basis.

So if you just don’t want them anymore then take some time to think about it because this is a big decision just like when you first adopted them.

But if you’re already set on giving them up because you don’t want them anymore, and you’re completely sure of that, then it’s time to go ahead and give your guinea pigs away.

What Do You Do With A Guinea Pig You Don’t Want?

If you’ve decided that you want to give them away then naturally the next step is figuring out what to do with a guinea pig that you don’t want.

The best place to take an unwanted guinea pig is to a highly rated rescue center or animal shelter.

You just have to make sure that they actually accept guinea pigs because some centers or shelters don’t sometimes.

The ones that do accept guinea pigs are usually able to give them all of the special care that they need.

They’re able to check on their health and look after them for a while until someone else comes along and adopts them most of the time.

So if you have a guinea pig that you don’t want then it’s best to take them to a good rescue center or animal shelter that way someone else can adopt them and have a chance to raise them.

If you need more information on this process or where to take them, then you can visit Sterling Shelter’s website and you may be able to find out what your options are.

What You Shouldn’t Do With A Guinea Pig You Don’t Want

Now that you know what you should do with a guinea pig that you don’t want, you should also know what you should not do with them.

If you have an unwanted guinea pig you should never try to release it into the wild because that’s something that won’t work out too well.

They won’t really be able to survive for that long out there because they are prey animals with no experience in your local environment.

There’s a high chance that they may quickly be eaten by some of the predators that are always looking for their next meal.

So you should always avoid just letting your guinea pigs go outside to run away because most of the time they won’t last too long out there.

Another thing that you shouldn’t do with a guinea pig that you don’t want anymore is to give them to a general animal shelter.

This is especially the case if you have the option to give them to a rescue center that can specialize in taking guinea pigs in after they’ve already been adopted.

If you have an unwanted guinea pig sometimes you shouldn’t try to take them back to the pet store either.

Some pet stores may label the guinea pig as unadoptable and send them to a general animal shelter.

They can also label them as unable to mix with other guinea pigs which won’t be good for them as well.

Should You Get More After Giving Your Unwanted Guinea Pig Away?

Sometimes when people give something away they will want it back after some time has passed and that definitely applies to guinea pigs too.

So if you now have the time to look after and care for more guinea pigs then that’s something that you can try again.

But this is something that you should only do once you’re completely sure that you’re ready to have them again.

That being said, if guinea pigs aren’t for you because it seems like they’re high maintenance then that’s fine, there are other rodents that you can keep as pets that are a little lower maintenance.

That can be pet rodents like hamsters, gerbils, or any other small pet that you think that you’ll like and be able to properly care for.

They’re also a great option if you’re allergic to guinea pigs because at that point it’s best to stay away from them for your own health.

Conclusion

If you happen to be at a point in your life where you don’t want your guinea pigs anymore then try not to feel too bad about giving them away.

Because if keeping guinea pigs as pets is not for you, then it’s not for you and that’s perfectly okay.

It’s better to give them away to some specialists that can re-home them rather than letting the care that they need to go down.

So if you have an unwanted guinea pig and you decide that you want to give them away then don’t feel too guilty, they will hopefully go to a new home and have some new experiences.