Sexing Could my guinea be pregnant?

Guineapigluv5 · Jul 9, 2019

Hi I’m new to this website. I’ve been reading different threads here for about 2 weeks but I just joined today. A little bit about my guinea pig situation, My daughter fell in love with a boar at her school. The teacher was allergic and I inherited the boar about a year and a half ago. I’m a teacher as well so I kept him in my class. About 6 months later a parent dropped off a “female” guinea pig we named Dulce Leche and asked me if I could please take it in. After having them for about 8 months together, the boar passed away (he was old). My daughter was devastated. Her teacher gave her 2 New female Guinea pigs in March that were donated to the school. I didn’t put them together right away because I had read posts about how to get them used to each other. I would let them play while I cleaned the cages but I was scared to put them together unless I was watching. They had cages right next to each other where they could interact but were not together. Around the end of April I brought them home because of testing and to get ready for Summer vacation from school. Around May/June I finally put them in connecting cages. They seemed to get a long. Dulce kept trying to mount them in the beginning but stopped. They seemed to get a long. I read that girls try to do that sometimes for dominance and it stopped.

For about 2 weeks now one of them started looking a lot like a pear and if I watch them for awhile I think I see kicking. I’ve gently touched her sides as I read on a few forum threads here and I’m pretty convinced she’s pregnant. So I separated the other 2 from Cinnamon. Now I think the other one might be pregnant too! So last night I separated all 3! I tried sexing them in the beginning when I saw the mounting but I’m not really good at it! They all seemed very similar!

I never saw them actually mate so i have NO IDEA how far along they are or if they even are. I started treating them as though they are and following tips I read here. Do you guys think they are? They seemed very happy together and I would hate to have them isolated if they are not. I am attaching 3 pictures. Cinnamon is the one j think is pretty pregnant, it's the picture that you see the whole body and she's white and blonde. Toasty is the Grey one and I think she might be pregnant because of behavior and I think I feel kicking. But she doesn't look it. And the other picture is Dulce whose genitals look different today. Is it safe to say Dulce is a boar?

spy9doc · Jul 9, 2019

I think you already have it figured out. Cinnamon looks as though she is going to pop any minute! Toasty also appears to be pregnant. And, oh yes, Dulce is a boar.

If I'm not badly mistaken, those are definitely testicles with a penis.

Have you tried extruding the penis on Dulce? Try pressing/rubbing just above the nub of the penis......it will feel somewhat rigid and with a bit of coaxing, his penis should come out. That will confirm your suspicions.

Smileandnod · Jul 9, 2019

Yes, it appears to me from the picture that Dulce is a boar (male).

Please keep him separate from the females because he can get them pregnant again right after they give birth.

Do you have an approximate age for the females?

Giving birth can be hard on female guinea pigs, as I found out when two of my adopted girls from a shelter were already pregnant.

There is a lot of great advice here on the forum.

After delivery please separate the boys from the girls by 3 weeks of age.

If you are not sure how to sex the pigs, I would recommend calling a local rescue who has someone knowledgeable about guinea pigs to help you (this is often done for free), or even better take them to a cavy savvy vet (exotics vet who is knowledgeable about guinea pigs). They will sex them for you and show you how. Little ones can be tricky, especially for someone who is new. Trust me, you will learn quickly!

My cavy vet helped me. She just charged me a reduced fee for 1 pig and took a lot of time checking babies and mom out. I took 2 carriers, a blue and a pink as they were divided by gender just before 3 weeks, that way there were no mistakes as I was still learning.

Good luck to you and your piggies...please keep us posted.

Guineapigluv5 · Jul 9, 2019

Thank you @spy9doc ! No I haven’t tried doing that. He squirms a lot and I was scared to hurt him. It’s funny because in person it didn’t look as obvious as it does in the picture LOL

Thank you also @Smileandnod ! I had separated at first only Cinnamon because I wasn’t sure if I was just imagining things. But she got big from one day to the next. I kept seeing posts about weighing them daily so that’s what I started doing. But yesterday I noticed that Toasty was also acting strange even though she doesn’t look pear shaped like the other one. I tried putting the 2 girls together yesterday. But they started trying to get in the same hut and I got scared they would hurt each other. So all 3 are now in their own cage.

The 2 girls are in cages next to each other and they can see each other. Those cages can be connected. Do you guys think if I connect them, so they each have their own space but can go from one to the other that the 2 girls will be ok? I feel bad for the boar but he is in a cage by himself which sits on top of the other cages. So he can’t really see them. It’s a temporary setup while I try to figure out the cage situation. They are normally in my classroom where they have a long counter but at home there is not a lot of space.

Guineapigluv5 · Jul 9, 2019

Also, @Smileandnod - no I don’t know how old they are. They got donated to my daughter’s teacher (my daughter is 13 in middle school) because they have an agriscience class and a farm. The teacher had them a few months and asked me if I would take them back in February. I’ve had them since March 11. I didn’t put them together until maybe end of May or beginning of June. Every time they would play together Dulce, (which we are changing the name to Duque-it’s Spanish for Duke) he would chase them on not leave them alone. NOW I KNOW WHY!!!! My daughter will ask the teacher tomorrow to see if she has some idea of the age.

Smileandnod · Jul 9, 2019

I had my two pregnant females in the same (large, 2x6) cage. They did just fine together.

I would say that if the females get along (and of course if you definitely know they are females) they should be fine together as long as they already get along and they have enough space.

My large girl, Goldie, who we noticed was pregnant first after adopting her because she got so large and had lots of baby movement, had 3 healthy babies with no complications. But we were told she already had a litter before (in fact the other girl was supposedly her daughter).

Her "daughter", Maisy, on the other hand was smaller with not as much movement of babies inside. She gave birth with much difficulty 3 days later. The first was extremely large and she had a lot of difficulty delivering. The first baby died unfortunately, we werent able to revive it. The next baby came out, but she ran off without caring for it, so I had to gently remove the sac and gently rub it to get it moving/breathing.

Goldie actually nursed and cared for Maisy's surviving baby because Maisy refused to care for her baby and would nip or run away from her the first 4 days. She eventually took to her, but we were glad that Goldie helped out.

I was very grateful that both girls made it through, particularly Maisy who really struggled.

Smileandnod · Jul 9, 2019

Also, @Guineapigluv5, welcome to the forum! I am a teacher as well and I love all the information available on this site!

bpatters · Jul 9, 2019

You probably don't need to separate them. Most sows do just fine with anybody's pups, and the pups will nurse from whichever sow is handy.

Guineapigluv5 · Jul 10, 2019

No babies yet! But Cinnamon is laying in her hut a lot today. She’s been eating. I read here that parsley is good for vitamin C so I’ve been giving them parsley every night. Is that enough or should I give them parsley more? I’ve been giving the boar parsley too just because all 3 of them love it. LOL (they are getting the pellets/Timothy hay/Oxbow alfalfa hay all day. Only the parsley is being given once a day)

When the babies come out at what point is it safe to handle them/carry them?
@Smileandnod thank you! Your guineas are so cute! &#55357;&#56845; I really like this forum. Since I started searching for information I stumbled on a few different sites but this one is my favorite.
@bpatters thank you so much! Tomorrow I am going to be home basically all day so I am going to combine their cages so I can keep an eye on them.

bpatters · Jul 10, 2019

Don't overdo it on the parsley. It's very high in calcium, and you don't want bladder stones. It's better to make supplement them with vitamin C during pregnancy and nursing, and then to feed bell peppers rather than parsley at all other times. Parsley should really just be an occasional treat.

Guineapigluv5 · Jul 15, 2019

Thank you @bpatters thank you so much! I had no idea. They love the bell peppers. I stopped the daily parsley immediately after your message.

Just an update - Cinnamon just had her babies this morning! We were lucky enough to see them right as she was cleaning them. She had 4 beautiful babies! Toasty hasn’t given birth yet. She doesn’t look as big as Cinnamon was.

Guineapigluv5 · Jul 15, 2019

Here are some pictures from this morning!

bpatters · Jul 15, 2019

What cuties!

Guineapigluv5 · Jul 15, 2019

Here is Toasty still waiting to have her babies! And Cinnamon’s babies because they are too cute!

Smileandnod · Jul 15, 2019

Thanks for the update! Glad things worked out for Cinnamon and her babies!

They look so much like their mom. Adorable.

Just remember, you need to have males & females separated at 3 weeks.

Guineapigluv5 · Jul 15, 2019

@bpatters thank you!
@Smileandnod thank you! Yes I even set a calendar reminder so there are no accidents. I’m trying to figure out the cage logistics because I want them to have enough room. And now I’m just worried about Toasty. I hope it goes smooth.

Smileandnod · Jul 15, 2019

Guineapigluv5 said:
@bpatters thank you!
@Smileandnod thank you! Yes I even set a calendar reminder so there are no accidents. I’m trying to figure out the cage logistics because I want them to have enough room. And now I’m just worried about Toasty. I hope it goes smooth.

The nice thing about c&c cages is they are inexpensive, as large as you want (you can even make a double decker cage to save room since the piggie man of the house needs his own space ), you can put them up quick and take them down quick too when school is back in session.

Me and my piggies will send good thoughts your way that Toasty's delivery goes just as well. I know how stressful it can be.

Good luck and keep us updated.

Guinealearner1 · Jul 16, 2019

A adorable!!

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