Me and My Pig(s): Hi.. I"m new and need some help

[karizma79]

HI everyone, I'm so glad I found this site! I currently run a daycare and thought it would be great to adopt some guinea pigs (as I see them in shelters all of the time and have heard that they are such sweet animals) so three weeks ago I adopted three female piggies. The volunteer at the shelter told me that they are all females and no worries about pregnancy. Since all three of them were caged together I figured it would be better on them if I took them all. We brought them home and my husband started immediately on our piggie fortress. It's a 2 story 8X10 enclosure that the kids can go into and "play" with the piggies so it is quite large. We made it this way so that if we ever had the chance for more adopting in the future we would have enough room. ANYHOW, two days ago I noticed that two guinea pigs were "mating". I called the shelter and read online and some places say it's normal for two females to do mating rituals when they are in heat but either way I decided to take the piggies in and have them sexed by my vet. (admittedly something I should have done from the start) One of the piggies is a male. So, now we have diamond and thunder (females) and chocolate (male) and my worry is that both females could potentially be pregnant. I have removed the male and separated the cage so that he does not have access to the females. Of course I have a load of questions and my vet is not very "cavy savy" IF both of them are pregnant how many pups can I expect? I have read horror stories about the difficulties of birth and I'm stressed about the thought of losing one or both of my females but at this point what are my options? I will do whatever is necessary in the way of vet care to make this as smooth as possible. If both of the females are pregnant is it okay to leave them together? How long after do I need to separate the babies as to not risk getting anyone pregnant? If the cage is big enough I would like to keep them all as I know that this is a good place for them and that they will be taken care of. Do siblings mate? Will the father hurt the male babies if I put them in with him? ACK! So many questions.

Thank you in advance for any advice you can give me. I have read a bit on this forum and understand that you are anti breeding your piggies and I feel the same. Please understand that this is not something that was intentional. i wish I had read up more before hand so that I could have prevented this but now I am just moving forward from here and want to do the best possible for all the piggies.

Sincerely,

Katie, Diamond, Thunder (the girl!) and chocolate

[akstrohm]

Don't worry--you did the right thing by adopting, and this was clearly not intentional.

Leave the male separate. Divide the cage if you can so that he can see/hear the girls but not get to them. A lid is a good idea. Otherwise make sure he gets lots of attention.

Keep the girls together, even if one/both is pregnant. Weigh all your pigs weekly. If they are young or are just now getting a good diet, their weight will increase anyway, but this may help you detect pregnancy. Eventually you will be able to feel any babies moving around. If you really want to know sooner, a vet can tell you for sure (ultrasound).

2-4 babies are common, but more are certainly possible. Male babies should be separated at exactly 21 days. Females can stay with the mom. The males can be put with their dad. The dad will not hurt or eat the babies. Siblings certainly do mate if given the chance. Baby males can get their mothers pregnant as well.

Pregnancy complications are very common especially in older pigs. Make sure you get a competent vet lined up (even if you don't have pregnant pigs) and that you know what to do in an emergency or after hours.

Do you know how old your pigs are? Also remember that if you do have babies you will need to baby proof the cage. Do a forum search if you aren't sure how to do this. Also any pregnant pigs should have extra calcium (alfalfa based pellets, alfalfa hay, or veggies richer in calcium). If your pigs are under 6 months they should be getting one of these options anyway. If you haven't read over the diet & nutrition stickies and charts, definitely do so soon.

I hope this helps! Good luck!