Pregnancy Pregnant Guinea Pig Help

[NDarling23]

I want to start off by saying that I am now very aware of how many piggies are waiting for their forever home and rescue is always the way to go. With that being said I adopted what I thought was two males from an individual I found online. I got them on 12/11/2015 and last weekend I started noticing one of them was getting heavier. I tried to check the sex of both of them and I'm almost 100% certain that one is a boy and one is a girl. I am also almost positive that the girl is pregnant. I want everyone to know this was not planned and I know the risks involved with pregnancy. I have removed the boy from the cage and I have been trying to make my girl as comfortable as possible. I was hoping someone would be able to just assist me in making sure she's getting enough nutrients to have the safest most successful pregnancy. She gets fresh water in a glass bottle every day. Oxbow pellets and oxbow Timothy/orchard grass hay and fresh veggies. How much alfalfa should I feed? Do I take out the Timothy or combine it? Any and all help is appreciated. I'm including pics of my piggie to maybe also have someone see if they agree she's pregnant. I held her last night (very carefully) and I'm pretty sure I felt babies kick but I have no idea how far along she may be.

 

[bpatters]

How old is she?

Here's a link that may help you with knowing how far along she is: https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...inea-pig-is-pregnant-And-how-far-along-is-she.

 

[NDarling23]

I was told 7 months. That seems to be right but I wasn't provided a birthday. Hide sight is 20/20 and I now see how unhelpful this person who had them was

 

[bpatters]

Just add a good handful of alfalfa to what she's eating, or temporarily switch her to alfalfa pellets.

 

[NDarling23]

I have more questions. One about feeding momma and one about dad and his new cage set up.

Mom question: she seems to be doing great. Very active still and wheeks constantly for food. Her ceramic dish currently holds roughly 1/8th of a cup of food. I feed her in the morning with Timothy and alfalfa hay, Timothy pellets and an oxbow vitamin c tab. By night when I come to give her the nightly lettuce she wheeks until I give her more pellets. I just want to make sure I'm not over/under feeding her. I know she will probably eat and drink more because the babies but I don't know how much is to much.

Dad question: I'm a planner so I may be getting ahead of myself with asking this question but I like to be prepared. I'm hoping there is a boy baby. I have built a 2x6 c&c cage and I wanted to know if for some reason father and son get to a point where for some reason they ever have a falling out am I able to just put a divider in the middle so they each have a 2x3? I don't want them to be lonely so I figured if I did ever have to separate they could at least still see each other since I know they are social. If there is only girl babies same question applies. Can I have father and daughter live next to each other happily?

Ive been trying to be good about reading threads to find this info because ive noticed a very common habit of the poor admins/mods repeating themselves a million times.

 

[lissie]

The mom can have unlimited pellets. Also make sure both pigs have unlimited hay.

The dad and son can live side by side if they do not get along. 2x3 would be enough for each pig.

I would keep the girl with the mom. If there are no baby males, why not neuter the dad and introduce him back to the mom and baby girl(s)? Dad can be introduced to the girls after 4 weeks after the surgery.

 

[NDarling23]

Thank you so much! Mom will now get unlimited pellets. Both always got unlimited Timothy hay.

My best friend has a single female and she was going to be the one to take the mom. I thought about neutering dad but I was just worried because they are small animals I was afraid the risk may be higher and the thought of anything happening to any of them breaks my heart.

 

[NDarling23]

Sorry I feel like I should mention that I have friends and family that will be taking the babies/mom and either pairing with their own guineas or taking two babies. My husband and I had only planned on keeping two pigs. We feel they will get the amount of attention they deserve.

 

[saresare93]

My two cents is to either keep a son with the dad or desex the dad and keep the mum. If the vet is experienced with guinea pigs there should be minimal risk with castration - obviously if the vet has no idea what they're doing then you're looking at a much higher risk. Depending on where you live you could contact the closest rescue and ask them who their desexing vet is. Otherwise yes I would recommend trying to keep a son in with the dad, then if you rehome the females it all works out well. Are you planning to keep the babies with mama until they're weaned (4-5 weeks I think)?

P.S. She's gorgeous. Make sure to upload photos of the babies so I can shriek incoherently about how adorable they are.

 

[magicpiggie]

Good luck with her! I'm hoping she has an uneventful birth. Make sure to seperate any male babies at 3 weeks. They can get mom pregnant at 3 1/2 weeks! No need to seperate the female babies, mother daughter bonds are very strong.

 

[Shawna Driggers]

We are kind of in the same boat! We just adopted a 'female pair' but one is heavily pregnant and the other a male. We are currently awaiting babies. I hope your delivery is uneventful and everything goes well!

 

[NDarling23]

I have an exotic vet that I used previously when I rescued a neglected rabbit a couple years ago. I contacted them the day I found out Hash Brown (momma) was pregnant. I called them today about seeing about neutering Tater Tot (dad). I'll just have to wait and see what happens with the babies. I'm hoping for a boy so that way no one has to have surgery. I'll keep everyone posted as to momma and babies. I really appreciate everyone's help. My life has consisted of a LOT of research recently. Shawna I hope you pig has a stress free labor! Keep us posted on your girl too

 

[Shawna Driggers]

We are hoping for a baby boar as well. I'd hate to put Magnus through surgery but as the days go by its getting more obvious that he really needs a cagemate. Hopefully we both get boys!! haha

 

[NDarling23]

So before I leave for work and when I come home I just sit and hang out with the Guinea pigs. I don't disturb them I just watch and see what they are up to. It's actually really relaxing. Recently because Hash Brown is getting so big I have been trying to see if I could get the babies kicking on camera. I've gotten two clips but the one I got this morning is my absolute favorite. Momma seems to still be very happy, active and always hungry. When watching the clip it's only a couple seconds in. Watch right behind her right front leg.

[video=youtube_share;nDNdWsSibAE]https://youtu.be/nDNdWsSibAE[/video]

 

[saresare93]

Watch right behind her right front leg.

Oh my god that is AMAZING.

 

[NDarling23]

Oh my god that is AMAZING.

Right?! My husband likes the pigs but he's not excited about the whole situation. That's why I'm so happy I found this forum. You guys understand and share in my love and excitement.

 

[Shawna Driggers]

aww thats too cute!!!

 

[PudgePig]

That is sooooo cool!

 

[Rywen]

I love their names, Hash Brown and Tater Tot! I have to ask, will the babies have potato themed names? I can think of Spud (good for a boy), French Fry, Latke, Twice Baked, Gnocchi, Au Gratin...lol!!

 

[bpatters]

@Rywen, you forgot Mashed and Smashed.