Rehoming a guinea pig

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"OUR EXPECTATIONS ON RE-HOMING"

Most of the guinea pigs that come here are "in a poor state" when they get to us.

After a while and with the correct care they often end up sociable, healthy, well-balanced little pets.

At the point of re-homing we would expect the new owner to maintain their level of care or improve upon it if possible.

The following points on our care will give you some idea of what our expectations are on re-homing.

1)Our animals are kept in a secure brick built building or indoors. Their habitat is draft-proof but lets in daylight.

2)Their "off-the-floor" hutches are cleaned out every other day and disinfected when the hutch is empty.

3)Subject to weather conditions, they go into secure grass runs with floored nest boxes and shade for the day, or for an hour or two. They are brought in well before dark. Or if being kept indoors, an indoor run is used.

4)They enjoy a daily, chemical colourant-free, mixed, colourful diet of fresh vegetables and fruit, which is removed from the hutch/cage after 24 hours if not eaten.

5)Dry feed dregs in heavy ceramic food dishes are tipped out and fresh dry food is put in daily. We do not "top up" dry feed. If there is a lot of wasted dry feed, feed less. When the dish is looking grubby it is replaced with a clean one. (Dried faeces around the edge of the dish indicates a digestive problem).

6) Water bottles are replenished daily and kept clean with a bottle brush. We do not "top up" water bottles. The bottles and screw tops are sometimes left in a mild bleach solution for cleaning in which case a spare bottle is used....Always rinse thoroughly. (Avoid melting your bottle in boiling water or the dishwasher.)

7)Good-quality farm hay is always available for eating in a large hayrack off the floor. Unused rack hay is rotated into the bedding when the hutch is being cleaned.

8)They are health checked monthly. This includes nail clipping, weighing, worming etc. We are also checking for lumps, respiratory problems, eye, genital and skin abnormalities etc. (A free service for all ex-April Lodge rescues.)

9)We handle them when we can. They relish being wrapped up in a towel and fussed over. You will never know if there is anything wrong with your guinea pig if you never pick him up.

10)The Reward = Once he has regained his confidence, there is usually no going back.

Val Savage 02.12.09

We would love to help all guinea pigs and their owners wherever they are based however this is just not possible the following is a website address showing guinea pig rescue centre's throughout the UK

www.guineapigrehome.org.uk

ARE YOU NO LONGER ABLE TO KEEP YOUR GUINEA PIGS?

Occasionally we have people contacting us who through no fault of their own they are unable to keep their guinea pigs any longer. If you are sadly one of those people and have tried every other option the following procedure is usual.

1) Contact April Lodge to discuss the matter.

2) Arrange a suitable date and time to bring them here.

3) Help our charity by bringing any feed, bedding and equipment and/or make a donation to the charity towards the keep of the guinea pigs.

SHOULD I GET A GUINEA PIG FROM A PET SHOP OR APRIL LODGE GUINEA PIG RESCUE?

Here are some points that are worth thinking about.....

Firstly, we would like to make everyone aware that we have seen nearly 900 UNWANTED guinea pigs pass through our premises since January 2004. Unfortunately there is still no legislation on breeding guinea pigs and until then, there will always be a need for sanctuaries and rescue centres.

When a guinea pig is adopted from us, even though they are still young, he/she has usually had at least four previous, different homes. They are, the breeders home, the pet shop home, the new home, and us.

If you have read into our website you will already know that we give new owners full back up which includes free health maintenance for the rest of the guinea pigs life. If things don't work out, you can return your guinea pig to us or we will collect him.

Just one more thing, most of the guinea pigs here, even those that have been dumped or abandoned started their lives in a pet shop.

''A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A SOUTH AMERICAN GUINEA PIG BOAR ''

So what do we do all day in the plains of South America? Well, for sure us fellas spend a lot of time out looking for the girlies and the girlies spend a lot of time thinking about having babies, so I hear. We are also pretty good at sorting out the young bucks who think they know it all. They soon change their tune when we kick them out of the colony and they have to go and find a new one.....well, we can't have all that inbreeding nonsense.

Of course life in the wild is very exciting compared to spending your life in a wooden box. The very thought.

Of course, we are naturally the hunted and have to be very careful about where we go and when. There are even some people out here who want to hunt and kill us which is about the only benefit of living in a hutch in England.

Our diet is fab. There is so much natural vegetation. We hardly ever get ill as everything we need is growing all around us. And we are fit because, we spend all day looking for it. I hear the poor guineas in England get carrots and greens nearly every day.....how boring. I have also heard that they sometimes never even go out into a confined space and that they just sit in a hutch all day. And, can you believe, some are taken away from their colony (in a pet shop) and live on their own! A silent, solitary existence...how sad.

However, our relations living in England have learnt to be a bit more flexible. If their basic needs are met, they will be ok. These are a diet as near to nature as possible, company, exercise and security ....is that too much to ask?

THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT GETTING A GUINEA PIG IS A COMMITMENT OF PERHAPS UP TO 7 OR EIGHT YEARS, MAYBE LONGER.

HERE ARE A FEW THINGS TO THINK ABOUT BEFORE YOU TAKE THE PLUNGE.

A guinea pig is small and often cuddly, if he is handled correctly from an early age.

He is fairly simple to care for if all his needs are met.

You don't have to have him vaccinated at regular intervals.

A guinea pig can become very much part of the family, especially if he is kept indoors.

A guinea pig is an ideal child's pet, as long as there is adult supervision at all times.

DO have serious reservations when your children promise to do all the caring and cleaning. We have more unwanted guinea pigs here because the children have lost interest than any other reason.

DO not adopt a guinea pig if you are going through relationship, financial or housing problems.

YOUR guinea pig will need care 7 days a week, every week.

INCORRECT diet or care could mean costly vet bills.

DO consider that a pair of healthy guinea pigs will probably eat your grass down to the roots on a daily basis as well as turning the grass yellow

DOMESTICATED AND UNWANTED ?

Most of our residents have had a bad start in life, whether they have been neglected, abused, abandoned, dumped or just no longer wanted for whatever reasons. One of our jobs is to protect guinea pigs from the same fate happening again. When admitted to April Lodge, the guinea pigs are documented by means of a health record a copy of which is passed on to the new owner. When you make an appointment to see our animals, you need to remember that 'show material' is not what we are about . If that is important to you, maybe you should be visiting a breeder or a pet shop. We are looking for quality homes where our animals can live a stress free, "happily ever after" life. In return people that adopt or foster from us are held in the highest esteem and we will endeavour to look after your guinea pigs with advice and free health maintenance checks for the rest of their lives. Guinea pigs with 'special needs' could be mobility problems, hearing disabilities, impaired vision etc. These are often permanent disabilities.

A SHORT GUIDE TO THE RE-HOMING PROCEDURE

(A rather sensitive subject but one that needs to be addressed. If you are going through relationship problems i.e. divorce or separation, we would strongly advise you not to apply for adoption).

We send you or you can down load the Adoption / Foster-Care Application/Agreement Form. Below is the Declaration and Re-Homing Policy.
If you still wish to go ahead a home visit will be arranged to make sure that your home is suitable and to discuss any concerns you may have. The home visitor will expect to talk to the main carer who must be over 18 years of age and see secure and protected accommodation and run. Our Charity Shop can supply new and used hutches, new runs, feed dishes, bedding hay, bottles, hayracks as well as houses, beds, accessories and gifts.
Subject to the home visitors decision, you and your family are invited to April Lodge where we hope to find a suitable match. at this stage we must mention that we cannot have noisy children or crying babies on site. We reserve the right to home check after the re-home has taken place.
We provide FREE welfare checks for life for all our ex-rescues, as well as an email helpline aprillodgeguinea@aol.com so unless adopters have made suitable arrangements for regular health checking, nail clipping and routine worming, we would like to see the guinea pigs back here every 3 months.

We send you The guide to Adoption and Care or you can download it at the bottom of this page.

ADOPTION FEES

1	Guinea Pig (Male or Female)	£15.00
1	Pair of male Guinea Pigs	£30.00
1	Pair of female Guinea Pigs	£30.00
1	Castrated Male Guinea Pig	£40.00
1	Castrated Male Guinea Pig paired with a female	£40.00
	All proceeds go direct in to the charity

DECLARATION & RE-HOMING POLICY (Fostering / Adoption Application & Declaration form)

· I am over 18 years of age.

· I will read through the Guide to Adoption & Care.

· I will read through the Fostering / Adoption Application & Declaration form paying special attention to this section.

· I understand that a post-home visit may be made.

· I will not allow my adopted Guinea Pig(s) to be used for breeding purposes.

· I understand the adoption fee is non-refundable.

· I will not let my Guinea Pig(s) co habit with any other species, i.e. Rabbit, chickens etc.

· April Lodge would expect a prospective new owner to have made suitable healthcare arrangements.

· If I am unable to keep my Guinea Pig(s) any longer I will return it / them to April Lodge Guinea Pig Rescue or the aforementioned will collect it / them.

· If in the opinion of April Lodge Guinea Pig Rescue my Guinea Pig(s) are not receiving proper care, I will return it/them to the aforementioned or April Lodge Guinea Pig Rescue have my permission to recover the Guinea Pig(s).

We stock new and used runs and hutches as well as feed, bedding and accessories. Our on-site shop is open 7 days a week from 10am - 12 Noon, the proceeds of which go directly into the charity.

Adoption Enquiries aprillodgeguinea@aol.com

click here to download Guide to Adoption & Care

click here to download Adoption Application Form