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Sexing Need Assistance Sexing 4 Week Pup

nightowlmama

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IMG_5419.jpgIMG_5418.jpgI cannot tell what sex this 4 wk old pup is. We are separating the girl and boy pups to go into different cages with Dad and Mom. First of all the three babies are very skittish when we try and do this. We have handled them and they are happy as long as we aren't trying to look at their stomach area. Is this obvious or do I need to try again?
 

bpatters

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What you need to do is separate until you figure it out. At four weeks, a male pup is more than old enough to impregnate a female.

Can you feel a penis bone if you press your index finger down and move it crosswise of the abdomen just above the genitalia? Or can you extrude a penis?

See if https://www.cavyspirit.com/sexing.htm will help.
 

nightowlmama

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I've looked at the pictures but still can't tell. I will try again and see if I feel a bone. I couldn't extrude a penis. Sigh. I don't have enough cages to separate 5 guinea pigs. I have a 2 x 5 for which the fleece flippers still haven't arrived, a midwest and a smaller cage that I don't really want to put any of them in because of how small it is.
 

bpatters

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Better than having a pregnant guinea pig. Put the pup in a laundry basket if you have to.
 

nightowlmama

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IMG_5686.jpg

UPDATE: Our three pups are now 7 wks old and this photo is from today. I'm frustrated. Originally I thought I had separated the girls from the boys but now I don't know. This all started because we thought we had 2 boys but one was a girl. We have decided to rehome 2 of the babies and the mother and keep Dad and the 3rd baby we are sure is a boy. I thought I had correctly sexed the other two babies as girls and also going by their behavior with each other. But now I am unsure of one and I need to list them on guinea pig finder. I'm SO frustrated because we need to find homes soon and I can't do that if I don't even know what they are.
 

nightowlmama

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[video=youtube_share;5fY5XQo9NoA]https://youtu.be/5fY5XQo9NoA[/video]
We just put the guinea pig in question in the males cage to see how they acted with each other. Could this just be male dominance stuff or does it look like two males chasing a female?
 

bpatters

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You can't tell by behavior. Guinea pigs will always chase another to establish dominance when they first meet. And if you're not sure about the sex, get that pig out of the cage before you have a pregnancy.

Can you feel a penis bone in the one you're trying to sex? Or extrude a penis? If you turn them all over and compare them, do they look alike or different?
 

nightowlmama

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But they aren't meeting for the first time. The Dad started harassing the two babies I think are girls when they were all together but left the boy baby alone. We handle the babies and they trust us but they do not like it when we try to check and see what sex they are. So they are very hard to hold and they scramble around like crazy. It has been ridiculously hard to figure this out. When I look at the photos of male and female guinea pig parts there are always the obvious ones and then there are the questionable ones where it's so hard to tell. My two female babies fall into that category. I can't tell if there is a bone and I haven't been able to get a male part to extrude because I can hardly get a good look at them. Also, I do not have the resources to put more guinea pigs in separate cages and pay for even more bedding and buy even more water bottles. I need to figure this out so we can find them a good home. The two female babies don't bother each other or the Mom - they act like females.
 

bpatters

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It doesn't matter if they're meeting for the first time. It's any time they meet that they'll try to establish dominance.

They'll survive a close examination to figure out what they are. Just hold them firmly and turn them on their backs. If it helps, have one person hold and another try to extrude the penis.

The picture above looks like a male.
 

nightowlmama

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Okay, thanks. We'll try again tomorrow.
 

lissie

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Do you have a guinea pig rescue in your area? Can you ask them to help sex the pups?
 

nightowlmama

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I don't know of any physical rescues but I'll check into it. I talked to a vet that came highly recommended for working with guinea pigs and he said he could try and guess. I guess it's hard to tell with young pigs. Sigh. I wish I had more time to find good homes but I don't have very much. We're pretty attached to all of them so whatever I do I need to find out soon so someone good can adopt them.
 

stray hares

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If you part the outer genitals slightly and take a photo it will be more obvious, but I'm pretty sure that piggy is a girl.
 

spy9doc

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The picture above looks like a male.

That certain looks like a penis to me! Don't be afraid to touch genitals!! Try gently massaging that little nub that looks like a penis. If it is one, it shouldn't be too difficult to get him to extrude it.

With regard to not being able to hold him to get a good look........I don't get it. You are probably an adult human who weighs over a hundred pounds and you can hold a 2lb cavy long enough to examine him??
 

nightowlmama

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My 12 year old son has been holding them while I try to inspect them. The guinea pigs are his but I help him a lot with them. He is great with animals and never grows tired of taking care of them but he's afraid of hurting the babies and getting bit. They are little, squirmy and feel really delicate even at 7 weeks old. But we are trying again today... :)
 

Soecara

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I'm not sure if this will help, but here are some photos of mine showing a young sow and boar with their genitals slightly parted.

This is a sow
IMG_3180.jpg

This is a boar
IMG_3182.jpg
 

stray hares

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They're really good, clear photos [MENTION=24757]Soecara[/MENTION]!
 

Soecara

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They're really good, clear photos @Soecara!

Thank you, I took them back in late 2013. I have posted them a few times in the past, and I am more than happy for anyone else to use them if they want to.
 
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