Mis-Sexed Pigs Conundrum

[Cosmictadpole]

I took in two baby guinea pigs that were being given away by a family moving to a no-pets apartment. They assured me that they had checked and made sure that both pigs were girls. After observing some rumblestrutting behavior, I decided to look online at pictures of boys and girls just to be absolutely sure. And sure enough, if you look really close, one has a little tiny penis. So, I panicked and quickly built a second cage and stuck the female in there. As soon as I separated them, they started wheeking loudly and have been very upset ever since. I called an exotics vet near my town, and he said that we would have to wait to neuter my boy until he’s three months old. Now, I’m just not sure what to do with them until then, because they are both very lonely and upset, but I certainly can’t put them back together until after he’s neutered. And then of course there’s the pregnancy issue to deal with as well, if the girl turns out to be pregnant. I don’t want to get them same-sex friends to keep them company, because who knows how many babies the girl could have if she’s pregnant? Two pigs are really all I have space for at the moment. Does anyone have any advice?

[auburnmare5]

You can connect the cages. How big is the original? If it is large enough, you can put a few grids in to divide it. Then they can be together, and stay seperated.

[Cosmictadpole]

Thanks auburnmare5, that's a great idea! Their original cage isn't big enough to separate, but I can connect the new cage with the old one so they can see each other (right now, one is on top of the other, so they can't see each other).

[auburnmare5]

Your Welcome! I am glad I could help!

[clotho]

Just make sure you are very careful to put the cage together VERY sturdy. Also, you should put a top of some sort on the boy's side where the cages connect. Males have been known to climb over grids to get to a female in heat.

Do you know how old these babies are? If the female is 4 weeks old or less, she's probably not pregnant. If she's older, chances are she is pregnant.

Start weighing them now - at least once a week. Get yourself a good digital scale and keep track. A big weight gain will be your first clue if the female turns out to be pregnant.

So, not to sound rude or anything - but you DID get a penis to pop out then? It is easy to missex guinea pigs if you don't have experience. I am never 100% positive a male is a male until I can get a penis to pop out. Females can quite easily be mistaken for a male.

If she is pregnant, in a first litter, odds are she'll have 2 or 3 babies. However, I had a rescue piggie who had 6 babies with her first litter, so it's possible to have more.

[Cosmictadpole]

Good information clotho, thank you. They were four weeks old the day before the rumblestrutting started, so I guess it could go either way. I was not able to get a penis to pop out because the pigs are not used to me yet, and are very squirmy when I try to look at their genital areas. Maybe I can do this with a second person looking while I hold him. What I saw looked like a little bump surrounded by a little doughnut, while the female pig had more of a "y" looking genital area. And I'm not 100% sure that he's a boy, so I will be quadruple-checking for sure!

[clotho]

Ok if they are only 4 weeks old, you are PROBABLY safe from pregnancy!! You should still weigh the babies to make sure they are gaining and doing well. Keep an eye on her but I'd stop worrying too much over her being pregnant at this point. She would have to have been in heat for him to get her pregnant.

Ok the little bump with the doughnut shape does sound like a male. Run your finger over the area just above that bump and see if you feel a hard ridge. If so this is the penis. If you press there - sort of down and out - you should be able to get a penis to pop out.

Another tip is to watch them pee. A boy pees out the front and a girl pees out the back.

[Cosmictadpole]

Whew! Well, I had my Dad hold the male pig still so that I could check his genitals, and I felt the hard ridge above his bump, but before I could press down, he squirmed away. I'm sure at this point that he's a boy. I just spent hours re-arranging their cages so that they are connected and they can see each other. Now, they are obsessively chewing the bars and sticking their heads through so far that I'm afraid they're going to get stuck. I placed a temporary peice of cloroplast between them so that they can't see each other and won't chew the bars. I'm not sure whether it's better to let them chew and see each other, or to keep them from chewing and keep them from seeing each other. I did get them each a stuffed animal, which they have both drug into their hidey houses to cuddle with.

[clotho]

You are best to leave the coroplast barrier - since they are so young, they can fairly easily slip between the grid spaces and could get in together. Always better safe than sorry!!

You should know in 7-8 weeks whether she is pregnant or not (probably not - hopefully not) but I'd wait and see for sure first before you go ahead and neuter or anything. If she did have babies - you just MIGHT decide to keep a male and a female if she had them.

[Cosmictadpole]

Thanks for all your helpful advice clotho! That's a good point about keeping the babies. I have to wait 2 months to neuter him anyway, so I'll be able to know if she's pregnant by then. I plan to start weighing them both so I can monitor changes in their weight. These are my first pigs, and this sure is becoming quite a learning experience! This forum with all of its knowledgeable members has been so helpful.

[fourboys4now]

What are the piggies names going to be? Also, we never see enough piggy pigtures on this site, so feel free to post some for us to look at! I will keep my fingers crossed your girl was too young to be pregnant.

[Cosmictadpole]

Fourboys: I haven't decided on names for them yet, as I had been looking for two girl names! I've got a few in mind, and will post as soon as I decide on them. And as soon as I get a break from chopping veggies, re-arranging cages, and calming piggies, I will take some pictures and post them. Thanks for the good wishes!

[auburnmare5]

I have an idea on how to find names!
There are books like I know one for horses called 1,001 names for horses. They may have other books like that, or even try TV or book characters that you like for inspiration!

[fourboys4now]

It always takes me forever to pick out names for all of my pets. Since they live so long I want to make sure it's a name I'll still like years from now. Sometimes I use people names and sometimes I go for cute names. If you'll do a google search, you'll find websites with tons of names listed.

[Cosmictadpole]

Originally Posted by fourboys4now

It always takes me forever to pick out names for all of my pets. Since they live so long I want to make sure it's a name I'll still like years from now. Sometimes I use people names and sometimes I go for cute names. If you'll do a google search, you'll find websites with tons of names listed.

Thanks for your ideas guys! I'm thinking about calling them Freddie and Ginger. I haven't completely decided yet though. Here are some pictures:

This is them the day after I got them. The one on the left is the boy (Freddie), and the one on the right is the girl (Ginger).


This is Ginger today.


This is Freddie today.


Ginger and Freddie, desparate to get to eachother through the bars!

On a side note, I'm taking them both to the vet tomorrow, because Freddie keeps shaking his head and Ginger's pee looks funny. After reading so much about them, I'm totally paranoid that they are sick or will get sick, so I just want to be sure.

[Cosmictadpole]

I'm not sure if the photos worked or not. Please let me know whether or not you can see them. Thanks!