Anyone got Guinea pigs?

[katt]

is there a way you can completely seperate her but still let her see her boy? we don't want to over stress her.

I picked up doves babies the day they were born, but only once and then we left them alone except for a daily checkup, simply because dove was a rescue and still was kinda new to our household and how we worked, she really didn't mind, but i didn't want to over stress her anyway.

i would wait till she is all done, and the babies have dried off (unless you need to jump in and help), then base it on how she is feeling.

 

[Bex&Bun]

Yeah we have a second cage that I could put her in which he could possibly see her. Im gonna see the vet this week and hopefully she can give me an approx due date so I might start seperating her for a little each day and build up to it so I dont stress her, as they have never been apart

 

[luvthempigs]

Baby guinea pigs are amazing little creatures. When they are born they have all their hair, eyes open and they look just like a little adult guinea pig. You can handle them right from the start. Iheld mine right after they were born, I let mom clean them up a bit and then I picked each one up and inspected each one and welcomed them into the world

The thing I would worry about the most is one of the bunnies hurting them by accident. Bunnies have very powerful hind legs and it wouldn't be impossible for them to injure or even kill a guinea pig By accident of course, I can't imagine a rabbit intentionally hurting a guinea pig. Remember new born cavies are very small, they fit in the palm of your hand.

As momma pig gets closer to delivering her babies try not to handle her much at all. She is very large and uncomfortable and she could injure her back. You can pet her and of course clean her cage just try not to lift her if you can avoid it.

Good luck and please keep us updated

Here are a few photos of mine shortly after they were born. They happened to all be boars and I ended up keeping all of them.

 

[Bex&Bun]

Yeah when she has the babies they will be seperated for a while. Your babies are gorgeous! Actually my Anouk is exactly the same as your little white girl! Our other boy is a ginger white crested so im hoping their babies will look a bit multicoloured!

 

[luvthempigs]

Thank you! I can't wait to see your babies :biggrin2:

 

[Bex&Bun]

Me too! Im so excited, but I had a dream last night that she had six babies!! We will be able to keep them all if they are female and only have less than 3 babies. Any males we may have to find new homes for as we cant afford to get all of them desexed at $140 each!

 

[luvthempigs]

Oh my, Six babies! That would be a lot

Any chance of keeping a second cage for any males?That way you wouldn't have to get them neutered. Most of the time if you have them when they are small/young and keep them togetherthey will get along just fine even as they mature. I have even introduced adult males with no problems.

 

[Bex&Bun]

We have a small verandah which all the animals have taken over already! lol. we have a spare cage, but gotta try and talk the bf into it. We have two good loving homes possibly if we get too many men etc. But im hoping she will have 2-3 girls

 

[ZoeyGirl]

I thought I'd add in some advice. Here's a good link about reproduction as well: http://www.guinealynx.info/breeding.html It states that normal pregnancies last between 59-72 days and that a normal litter is usually 1-4 but up to 7. I don't think I've met anyone that had 7 pups. I've only had one piggie pregnant and I didn't know til she was about a week from giving birth. (The humane society didn't realize she was pregnant either.) Unfortunately, the baby didn't make it.

One good thing to remember is to make sure to separate the boy babies from the girls & mom 21days after birth or the boy(s) will impregnate all the females.

And I know that many have told you about the risks involved w/ housing buns & GPs but anywhere I've read, they say the same thing. Even though they may love one another, buns are so much stronger than the piggies & injuries/death can occur. There's also some health issues that the buns carry that can endanger/kill the GPs. That's all I'll say about that.

I've had guinea pigs for almost 5yrs, so if you need any other advice I don't mind helping you out. I remember one thing that is a sign that things are getting closer, you can actually feel the baby(ies) grinding their teeth. Usually that means they're coming due very soon!

Do you know how old mom is? Hopefully she's under a year old because you'll want to really watch her and make sure to have an emergency vet's number available in case she needs an emergency c-section. If a piggie becomes pregannt after age of 1 and has never given birth, their hips tend to fuse together & they're not capable of giving birth. I don't want to scare you but just prepare you.

If you have any other questions, this forum (Guinea Lynx: http://www.guinealynx.info/forums/ ) specializes in helping out w/ piggies. Just be forewarned that they'll tell you the same thing about the buns & GPs living together.

Good luck and I hope everything goes well!

 

[Bex&Bun]

Anouk is probably about... 5 months old? maybe older.. We got her in January.. and she was very little! Shes not given birth before and we definately didnt want/don't want any pregnancies! Question, how come I need to seperate the boar Barnaby before the pregnancy? He's been de-sexed (more than 6 weeks ago) so im just curious..
We are going away for the weekend and im wondering whether to put her in her own seperate cage or whether I can put her with Barnaby.

 

[Bex&Bun]

Also I have just seen the babies moving, roughly what time span do I have?

 

[Happi Bun]

Happi Bun wrote:

During the last two weeks of pregnancy you should be able to see and feel the babies moving inside mom's stomach.

Also, the reason you need to separate the male is less stress on momma when she is in labor and there wont be the risk of him possibly attacking the babies. Even though he is neutered, with Guinea Pigs it really doesn't do anything for their dominance behavior. For example, if you have two males fighting neutering them will not help like it does with other animals. So I would be concerned leaving them together might make him territorial and he could attack the babies. It's just better to be safe than sorry!

 

[ZoeyGirl]

Happi Bun wrote:

Happi Bun wrote:

During the last two weeks of pregnancy you should be able to see and feel the babies moving inside mom's stomach.

Also, the reason you need to separate the male is less stress on momma when she is in labor and there wont be the risk of him possibly attacking the babies. Even though he is neutered, with Guinea Pigs it really doesn't do anything for their dominance behavior. For example, if you have two males fighting neutering them will not help like it does with other animals. So I would be concerned leaving them together might make him territorial and he could attack the babies. It's just better to be safe than sorry!

Exactly what Happi Bunn said! If you're going away for the weekend, please separate her into her own cage especially if you're definitely feeling movement now. It could be any day that they're delivered and it's better to be safe than sorry.

 

[Bex&Bun]

Ok i'll definately do that. IM gonna get my dad to come and check on them and hopefully he can have a little chat with Anouk to keep her company!

 

[Anaira]

Good luck with the babies! Hope everything goes well with Anouk, and that she has only girls. I'm curious though, why did you ask for advice on a rabbit forum, instead of on Wheekers? I know a few people on there have had experience with litters, and are very cavy-knowledgable.

 

[Bex&Bun]

Mmm I didnt really feel very accepted at wheekers.. I try really hard with the animals but I was getting more negative comments than help. Just thought i'd have a look out here and see if anyone was helpful and they were

Im still nervous about leaving Anouk in her own cage by herself over the weekend. My bf is trying to tell me it will be good for her but im just a worrier! lol.

 

[ZoeyGirl]

Well obviously you love her very much because you're a worrier. I'm the same way! If you think she's going to be lonely, you could put a small stuffed animal in there w/ her. I have one piggie that lives alone because she prefers it that way. I have a doggie beanie baby that 'lives' w/ her to keep her company. She will actually sleep by it. She's not a chewer, so I don't have to worry about her tearing it up like a bun would do.

 

[Sabine]

At least she won't be lonely for long. She'll have the babies soon and it won't be long that you can bond her back to the boy if he's neutered

 

[Bex&Bun]

Yeah, I just gotta stop worrying lol. I've got a bear for them.. hes well love (aka a few bites missing lol). and i'll try and make her cage a bit more interesting for her! Plus a few treats. We are only away for two nights so it wont be that bad.. it will probably be worse for me being away from them for so long!

 

[bengal77]

I think it is usually a given that the father has to be removed just before birth. I don't know with guinea pigs specifically but with most species the daddy can be aggressive and a danger to the babies, and with small animals he can breed her again. Since he's been de-sexed that probably won't be an issue, but the territoriality/aggression might. Its better safe than sorry.