If you’re visiting this page, you may be facing a difficult time where you’re unable to care for a pet you love. Choosing to rehome is a difficult decision and we know you have not come to this decision lightly. Although our rescue is currently full and unable to accept new surrenders, we still want to ensure anyone in a desperate situation is able to get the guidance they need to find the right home for their beloved pet.
In this blog we will go over several important topics:
- Where to go to rehome your guinea pig
- How to make a rehoming post
- Do's & Don'ts to rehoming
- How to make sure your pet is going to a loving home
1. Where to rehome your guinea pig
Before we go any further, have you gone to your most trusted resources first? you should always check with Friends, Family and officially established 501(c)(3) animal rescues before you attempt to rehome a guinea pig online.
If you have exhausted the options above, don't worry! We are here to share with you the other options that may be available to you & your family. So, what are your other options?
- Rehoming Websites: There are many websites that owners looking for a new guinea pig may visit! Look online to see what sites may be available for individual owners to rehome. Guinea Pig Finder may be a great option that works for you! Please DO NOT advertise of craigslist or a similar platform for the safety of your guinea pig
- Rehoming Facebook groups: Facebook may be the safest and most reliable space for you to safely rehome your guinea pig's. There are hundreds of groups with even more potential adopters looking for guinea pigs. You can find these group easily by your cities name followed by "Guinea Pig Rehoming"
- Check in with large shelter's: Often times we see owners who need to rehome their guinea pig's avoid large shelters, and with good reason, they are not as strict with their adoption process. Still, its worth giving a larger shelter a call to see if they can be a good choice for your guinea pig.
2. I want to rehome online, How do I make a rehoming post?
You've decided to rehome your guinea pig online. Here are some tip's to making a rehoming post that will get attention and find your pets a kind and loving home.
- Create clear and attention worthy photos: Good photo's will help you gather attention and get your guinea pig adopted much faster. they do not have to be professional but they do have to be cute and show off all guinea pig's in need of rehoming. Below are some examples of photo's you do & do not want featured in your post (tip: adding a video will get even more attention!)
Good photos ✅
Your guinea pig is clearly pictured with good lighting
Bad Photos ❌
In these photos, your guinea pig is blurry or not visible. You cannot tell who is pictured.
- Make sure to include essential information in their rehoming post. Such as area code (or city) , Rehoming fee, Genders of the guinea pigs and how old they are. People viewing your post's wont know to be interested if they do not have all the information.
- Have a clear and detailed post: We have created a template for you to follow, feel free to add to it as you please!
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[clear photos and a video] We are looking to find a forever home for our precious guinea pig [name]. [Area code/city location] We love this silly pig, but we unfortunately cannot keep them. We hope that someone here can provide them with a loving and warm forever family. About: [statement about your guinea pigs personality, interests, ect. This will help find your pig a home faster if the person reading can connect to your guinea pig and hear how adorable they are!] His/her story: [tell the reader about how you found your guinea pig and what made you fall in love with them, this will make them want them too!] [Age estimate] [rehoming fee: always have a fee of at least $15 to avoid the attention of reptile owners] |
3. Things to watch out for when you are rehoming & how to avoid them.
That's right. There is a lot to watch out for when you are rehoming your pet. That includes snake owner's looking for cheap live feed. So what are all these danger's and how do I avoid them?
- Offer a rehoming fee: Rehoming fee's are a great way to avoid the attention of undesirable owners such as snake owner's, breeder's or bad owner's. We recommend you ask for at least $15 when trying to rehome your pet, but avoid high rehoming fee's of over $50 (unless it's a skinny pig) as a high fee may cause you to loose great potential owner's!
- Check the post history of adopter's who contact you: This tip applies to Facebook only, If someone messages you and is interested in adopting go back to the rehoming page they found your post on, click on their name to see the history of post's and comment's they have had in the group. If they are a breeder you will see them rehoming and adopting guinea pig's frequently.
- Interview your potential adopter's: Interviewing the people intrested in your pet can allow you to get a better idea of the care an owner is willing to provide while simultaneously pushing away snake owners. Only people truly interested will take the time to speak to you about the care they will provide.
To make this process easier we have created a list of interview questions for you to ask your potential adopter's!
4. How to make sure your pet is going to a loving home
Interviewing potential owner's is the best way to ensure your beloved pet is going to a home that will love & cherish them as much as you. Questions will help you know your guinea pig is going to a safe home that will care for them. But what questions should you ask? We have created a template of questions to help you with this process
- Who will be the primary caretaker? ( If a family adopt's ensure that an adult will be the primary caretaker and responsible for the pet's wellbeing in the case a child is unable to care for them)
- Will this be your first guinea pig? If not, could you tell us a little bit about your experience with them?
- (If they currently have a guinea pig) Will this guinea pig become bonded to the guinea pig you have? What do you plan to do with them if the bond doesn't work out?
- Do you already have a cage? ( it's important that any potential family is prepared for a new guinea pig, one of those important preparation's is a cage. ask them what they have. Ensure that its at least 8sqft for a pair + an additional 4sqft for any exta piggies.)
Here's some photos of what a good cage looks like:
- What diet do you intend to feed these guinea pig(s)? ( Food is extremely important to the future wellbeing of your guinea pigs health. Make sure they know a guinea pig should have access to hay 24/7 and at 1/8 cups of pellets a day. Recommend them high quality feed like Oxbow or Sherwood)
- Does your household have any children or other pets? ( it's important to ask if new owner's have proper safety measures in place to prevent tragic accidents. Baby gates, Lids and raised cages are excellent precautions.)
Good examples of raised cages.
- Does anyone in your household smoke, light candles or spray air freshener in the room your guinea pigs will be in?
- Does anyone in your household suffer from guinea pig related allergies ( Rehoming is often due to allergies, request the owners buy a bag of hay to make sure they are not allergic before taking them home!)
These are all essential questions we recommend asking all potential owners! Feel free to ask more to ensure your piggy is going to a safe & loving home.
We hope these questions will help you!
A final note
Although you have already read these steps and are ready to start the rehoming process, We recommend you check back at those first steps and ensuring you have exhausted all your options and resources before you rehome your guinea pig.
Support may be available to you by searching for your city and "helping guinea pigs in need" or "guinea pig support" on Facebook. There are many groups of kind individuals who will be happy to donate supplies while you get back on your feet.
If there’s absolutely nothing else that you can do, then we wish you luck in rehoming your guinea pigs. We hope you are able to find your guinea pig an amazing forever family that cherished them just as much as you do!