Pregnancy Does this sow look pregnant? (Pics included)

Just wanted to add that I'll be weighing her daily. She was 971g today.

Hello
Certainly in the second pic she looks as though she may be, do you have any history on her?

No real history, only that she "may be around eighteen months old". Very useful.

No one can give you can exact answer from that picture, but she certainly does not look obviously pregnant. Only a vet can tell you for sure. Otherwise it will become obvious in the weeks that follow. If she was on a sub-optimal diet before, weight gain alone won't tell you much.

If she is pregnant, make sure she has a bit of extra calcium (alfalfa-based pellets work for this) and a good exotics vet lined up (this you should do regardless of pregnancy). Also if she is around 18 months and this is her first pregnancy, it is very likely that there will be complications.

Thanks for your reply, akstrohm.

akstrohm said:

No one can give you can exact answer from that picture, but she certainly does not look obviously pregnant. Only a vet can tell you for sure. Otherwise it will become obvious in the weeks that follow. If she was on a sub-optimal diet before, weight gain alone won't tell you much.

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My vet (who is a cavy and rabbit specialist) will do an ultrasound to confirm pregnancy, but this sow just came in yesterday and I wouldn't call the vet on Christmas Eve for a non-emergency situation. I just wanted to get a few opinions from the members here.

akstrohm said:

If she is pregnant, make sure she has a bit of extra calcium (alfalfa-based pellets work for this) and a good exotics vet lined up (this you should do regardless of pregnancy). Also if she is around 18 months and this is her first pregnancy, it is very likely that there will be complications.

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I am aware of these things already but it is good to have reminders.

In the second photo she does *appear* to be pregnant, though obviously not too far along if she is. You might not need an ultrasound at this point if you're able to feel movement - surely an experienced vet would be able to determine pregnancy at this point if you are feeling (or possibly feeling) movement. At this stage in the game the wisest plan of action is probably to keep a close eye on her and weigh her daily (as you said you are already doing) and go from there.

It's great to hear you've already got a great vet lined up for her. I also wanted to comment, it might be your camera, but it looks like she has specks of white fur throughout the orange in her back - that's so neat! I've never seen anything exactly like that before. She's a beautiful girl and she's lucky to have made her way to you.

Maybe. Her belly is possibly a little smaller than my Cheddar's is and she's not at all pregnant. However, I did suspect it for a while and woke up daily expecting babies. After keeping an eye on her until I counted she had been with me for over 80 days it turned out she's just a tubby little thing. Which is much better then pregnant!

Thanks Paula. I agree she is a beautiful girl, but the parts where it looks like white specs are actually tiny bald spots where the hair has thinned due to mites.

She does have something unusual that I have never seen before - she has one tiny little rosette on her nose, close to her left eye, while the rest if her is entirely smooth. I tried to take a picture of it but I am not sure if you can see it well.

tree_hugger said:

Thanks Paula. I agree she is a beautiful girl, but the parts where it looks like white specs are actually tiny bald spots where the hair has thinned due to mites.

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Oh, well that's just sad. She's beautiful, though, and obviously in far better hands now. Keep us posted.

The 2nd pic looks suspicious but the other ones, she looks normal. You may have to wait and see unless you go for an ultrasound. Good luck.

She is absolutely beautiful and I hope for her sake that she isn't pregnant. And I can see the little rosette in the last picture. I want to give her big fat kisses. On the note about appearances I thought my Lavender looked pregnant and I thought I felt movements aswell, but it just turned out that she's chubby and I was feeling her intestines. I actually sat down and counted down the days because I was worried that she might be. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Oh she's a cutie. I'm a first-time guinea pig owner so no expert, but my piggie looked a lot like that when I got her. Just thought she was a big girl, but as the days went on, she was getting visibly bigger every day and not eating noticeably more. I was in denial since she lived with two other females (supposedly!). I made an appointment with the vet on Tuesday who confirmed pregnancy. She had two adorable babies two days later! The birth was easy because she had been rescued from a shelter and must have had a litter before. Good luck!