Guinea Pig Endangerment

[gwinny_piggies]

Hello, I think this is the right place as this seems like an emergency. I had browsed craigslist and saw a post for two female guinea pigs. The person who posted is anonymous and provided little to no info simply stating "Rehoming 2 Female Guinea Pigs, pick up ASAP" and upon reaching out, have gotten responses stating they are two healthy females, 2 years old, but they are getting rid of them by end of tomorrow because their family does not want them, and as they said, "they were about to give them to an friend who was going to kill them and cook them." This caught me off guard and i would love to save them I just am sick to my stomach about this situation and don't understand how anyone can do this. I recommend giving them to a shelter near them if they can before tomorrow as I am not 100% sure if I can come tomorrow to get them. And if they are also hopefully not doing something as nefarious as tricking people to come, because the area they live in is notoriously unsafe. I would ask to meet up at a park however, I know in my heart I want to save these two guinea pigs (again if the person is not completely lying), but I am also really anxious and uncertain because I've never had a situation like this. Am I doing anything wrong?

[ItsaZoo]

Your personal safety is very important, and I understand completely your urge to get involved. I would not meet in a park, however. I would offer to meet them in the parking lot of a local police station or sheriff’s department. That’s what we have done when we have any interactions with people on Craig’s List or Facebook.

If you think they are pressuring you and you need an extra day, you could them a small rehoming fee as an incentive to have get the guinea pigs to you safely and unharmed.

Good luck with this and stay safe!

[Lynx]

On the theory this may be bogus, I would not offer any money. Ditto on the personal safety, safe location.

There are so many scams these days.

I am moving this to Cavy Chat.

[gwinny_piggies]

I appreciate the advice, I am discussing a meeting location currently with the person and suggest a police station or name brand store etc. I am very new to all this and also a bit frazzled with the stress of it all as I really don't want anything to happen to the animals however I do not want anything to happen to me or my partner either. It's all really nerve wracking and it is scary because so many people do scam, especially on craigslist. Thank you again for advice and the topic placement, I will send an update however it goes, which is 100% well I'd hope. I just can't wrap my head around why someone would do all this for naught.

[gwinny_piggies]

Hello everyone, we moved the day to pick up the guinea pigs to today. I asked them more about the guinea pigs but of course people could lie, but either way I plan on providing them hay and pellets and comfy proper bedding.
One of the things that concerned me was when I asked what food do they eat, they responded with vegetables and fruit, and that they really love lettuce. When asking if they get pellets and hay as well they replied with neither. I asked if they had the guinea pigs since babies and if they are sisters to which they answered yes since they were little but not sure if they are truly sisters or not.
Now the pictures they sent (along with confirmation when I asked for a picture of them holding up 3 fingers in front of the cage) of the guinea pigs show two chonky guineas. I'm wondering how are they so fatty if this person really doesn't feed them hay or pellets ? Is this normal?
And if this is true, will there be any risks giving them hay and/or pellets once they come into my care? I don't know if it'll be a "shock" to their bodies if I give them something they have not been accustomed to, especially if it's been a while for them.

[Lynx]

Sometimes it's hard to sort things out. I suspect you will discover more when you get them.

Introduce new foods slowly. Your other pigs may help show them what foods are good.

Read over the quarantine page, too.
https://www.guinealynx.info/quarantine.html

[gwinny_piggies]

Thank you Lynx, and I just got them and they are BIG guineas. I've never had guinea pigs this large and they are definitely chonky!!!! They seem super sweet though and I only worry that they're not bloated due to gas because in their box is pieces of cabbage which cause gas from what I recall? I am not sure how to post a picture either.

[Lynx]

If you can, get a weight on them. They might be cuy, which are bred to be bigger (primarily in South America, as they are also considered a human food source).

[gwinny_piggies]

Update!! They are now in a temporary cage that looks even smaller with how big they are, especially compared to any past guinea pigs I've had. Their weights are (as named by me and my partner):
1.131 kilograms for Smores
1.116 kilograms for Cookie
I'm not familiar with weight conversions so I'm not sure how much this is compared to the average guinea pig. I was told they are females and I *think* they are, however I am a bit unsure even after looking up pictures. I'm not sure if this matters much in terms of weight difference for female/male.

Also I am happy to say that they have taken to hay very quickly!! I will be providing green/red leaf lettuce as well since i was told that vegetables is all they ever got.

[Lynx]

Everything sounds promising! They are not so big that they might be cuy. Just likely mature. If you've never read this page, it is helpful:
https://www.guinealynx.info/weigh.html

You might want to get a notebook and start weighing your guinea pigs weekly (about the same time of day).

[ItsaZoo]

I’m so glad you got them. A kilogram is about 2.2 pounds, so they’re right around 2.5 pounds, which is larger than the pigs I’ve had, but not by much. My Millie is a pudge and she’s about 2.3 pounds.

They may drop a few ounces now that they’re getting hay which is good fiber. And I’m going to assume you have a larger area for them so they may get a little exercise.

[Renonvsparky]

Glad to hear that you picked them up safely. Sounds like they're in a great situation with you. Now all that remains is to post pictures of them. We must have pictures!