new member who needs some advice

[diane]

Hi I have just joined this forum (the only one I've every joined). I am considering adopting two guinea pigs from a local humane society and was wondering if there is anything I should look for when I go and meet them. All I know is that they were surrendered by a former owner. This humane society has never dealt with guinea pigs. They know the male is unaltered and they think the female might be pregnant. I have checked around and found a vet who is willing to neuter the male. I should probably mention I have owned a guinea pig once when I was a little girl. So I have been reseaching them so I will be doing right by them. Would this be getting in over my head if she is pregnant?

Help I need Advice
Thanks for listening
Diane

[nonamian_girl]

Do as much research as you can about pregnancy before you get into it. Check out www.guinealynx.info . Has the Humane Society separated the two? If not, they need to be separated asap in case she hasn't gotten pregnant yet. After getting the male neutered, you need to keep them separated for a month so all his sperm dies out. Baby males need to be separated from the mother when they are 21 days old.

[PiggieMom]

First of all welcome to the forum! Second: congratulations for considering adoption!

The female is most likely pregnant if she has been kept with an unaltered male. Has the Humane Society separated them yet? If not call and make sure they are separated right away.

Since I don't know you it's hard for me to tell you whether or not you'd be getting in over your head. So instead I'm going to tell you what would be involved in taking these two if the female is pregnant.

First you would need to build a big enough cage. That is easy enough and the home page here explains how to do it. It is cheaper than buying pet store cages that do not give enough room.

Second you would have to learn how to properly care for guinea pigs. This thread is a good place to start: http://www.cavycages.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17032 They need to be free fed hay, quality pellets and fresh veggies and water every day.

Third you will need to have a quality cavy savvy vet on hand if something goes wrong during the birth. As much as I hope it's not the case, birthing complications are a possibility.

Fourth you will need to sex the pups. This page will help: http://cavyspirit.com/sexing.htm It is very important that male pups are separated at three weeks of age. After this they will get their mom or sisters pregnant.

Fifth you will need to either care for or find good home for the pups. She could have a liter anywhere between 1 and 7 (though I think between 2 and 5 is more common).

This is a good site to learn information on the reproduction of guinea pigs:http://www.guinealynx.info/reproduction.html

Read through everything you can on these sites:
http://www.guinealynx.info/index.html
http://cavyspirit.com/

For neutering information read this page: http://cavyspirit.com/neutering.htm

For help finding a cavy savvy vet read this page: http://www.guinealynx.info/vet.html
If you have any questions feel free to ask.

[diane]

Yes the humane society has the two seperated. And I did know about seperating the baby males when they are 21 days old. Thanks for the link

[jdomans]

Diane, Seeing that they are at the local shelter and not a GP rescue, I would set up a well visit with your vet asap. Everyone has given good advice.

[JennG]

I don't have much more to say but welcome. I'm glad to see that you're doing your research. Good luck.