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Pregnancy My Boy is Having Babies?! lol Pregnant GP Tips Pleeaasse

Medina

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Obviously I can Google 90% of my questions and I have been going to a vet for this pregnancy, and I'm going again post-pregnancy.
However - I feel like the information and real life experience YOU forum members have had is going to be super important to me right now.
I have literally never done this before.

Please note that I have epilepsy, and it can seriously impair my memory at times... so it'll be much easier for me to have one place (like this forum post) to refer back to.
It'll also be easier for me if you list any steps as 1, 2 3... etc. Thank you so much for your understanding with this request :eek:


Attached are photos and videos of Chocupi (the mom-to-be) along with her X-Ray, which was just captured earlier today. :love:

Video: *Please turn on subtitles in the video to read what I said, it was hard to hear at the vet so I just put music and subtitles lol

https://youtu.be/3n7Y4c9VpSU


Photos: The X-Ray shows her 3 babies - one on the left, two on the right!


IMG_20180207_162530.jpg IMG_20180207_162539.jpg
1.2.410.200028.100.3.20180207.1618190308.256.1.2.jpg


About and Updates:
Chocupi is about 5 months old.
I am not breeding, she came to me this way.
She was given to me as a "boy" and I did put her with my boar.
However, the vet determined she had to have been pregnant for about 2 weeks before I got her. :sad:

Current diet (feel free to critique it and help me do better!):
* Alfalfa Hay (constantly full)
* Timothy Hay (1 handful per day)
* Higgins Sunburst Guinea Pig Food (sparingly, like 1 tbs a day) It's there because it's the only dry food she likes and I want her to have options to make sure she eats well. Vet approved.
* 1-2 pieces of the following veggies, twice a day:
* Red leaf lettuce
* Yellow Bell Pepper
* Slice of Zucchini
* Cilantro
* Parsley


Okay so on to my questions - please feel free to answer any or all of them, I'm taking all of the good advice I can get.
1. Please tell me the diets you have fed or currently feed your pregnant GPs and pups... I want to use your advice and my research to make sure that she and her babies have needs met.
2. When do I separate the baby pigs? I know they take a few weeks to wean, but the responses to this question seem really varied.
3. What are the steps for a rejected baby pup?
4. What are the steps for a stillborn? (remove immediately, wait until she's birthed all of the babies?)
5. When do I clean the cage? Do they need it to remain the same for a period of time?
6. I'm going to take the pups to the vet to have them sexed after they are born. When is the best time (age) in weeks that it will be clearly visible?


I might have more questions later, but these are the things I'm thinking about right now :confused:

Thank you so much!!
 

Medina

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Photos of her right now. :love:

IMG_0570.jpg IMG_0568.jpg IMG_0569.jpg
 

bpatters

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Separate the boy pigs at 21 days. Here's some help with sexing: https://www.cavyspirit.com/sexing.htm. You may or may not need to take them to the vet for sexing. Sometimes it's really apparent, sometimes not.

It's not at all likely that she'll reject the pups. But they're born ready to run, and can eat whatever mom eats.

If she has one that's stillborn, you can remove it as soon as you find it, but do make sure it's in fact not breathing. And you can clean the cage as soon as she cleans the pups up.

I'd switch the hays. Alfalfa isn't a grass hay, and guinea pigs need grass hay. Pregnant/nursing sows need extra calcium, and a handful of alfalfa would give that to them.

If your vet approved those pellets, you should find another vet. Guinea pigs should never have pellets with colored bits and seeds. They need plain pellets, and the only two brands in the U.S. that we recommend are KMS Hayloft (available only online) and Oxbow. And pregnant guinea pigs should have unlimited pellets. Once she's a couple of months past delivery, you can restrict her pellets to 1/8 cup per day.

She should have bell pepper every day -- it's the best source of vitamin C for guinea pigs. Don't overdo the parsley or cilantro. They're probably OK while she's pregnant and nursing, but too high in calcium for regular feeding otherwise. Parsley is good for taking the pups out of the cage for some extra calcium -- that way they can eat the same timothy pellets that the adults do.

Here's some recommended reading for new pig owners:

https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/113176-Information-for-new-guinea-pig-owners
https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/107827-What-NOT-to-do-for-your-guinea-pigs!
 

Medina

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Separate the boy pigs at 21 days. Here's some help with sexing: https://www.cavyspirit.com/sexing.htm. You may or may not need to take them to the vet for sexing. Sometimes it's really apparent, sometimes not.

It's not at all likely that she'll reject the pups. But they're born ready to run, and can eat whatever mom eats.

If she has one that's stillborn, you can remove it as soon as you find it, but do make sure it's in fact not breathing. And you can clean the cage as soon as she cleans the pups up.

I'd switch the hays. Alfalfa isn't a grass hay, and guinea pigs need grass hay. Pregnant/nursing sows need extra calcium, and a handful of alfalfa would give that to them.

If your vet approved those pellets, you should find another vet. Guinea pigs should never have pellets with colored bits and seeds. They need plain pellets, and the only two brands in the U.S. that we recommend are KMS Hayloft (available only online) and Oxbow. And pregnant guinea pigs should have unlimited pellets. Once she's a couple of months past delivery, you can restrict her pellets to 1/8 cup per day.

She should have bell pepper every day -- it's the best source of vitamin C for guinea pigs. Don't overdo the parsley or cilantro. They're probably OK while she's pregnant and nursing, but too high in calcium for regular feeding otherwise. Parsley is good for taking the pups out of the cage for some extra calcium -- that way they can eat the same timothy pellets that the adults do.

Here's some recommended reading for new pig owners:

https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/113176-Information-for-new-guinea-pig-owners
https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/107827-What-NOT-to-do-for-your-guinea-pigs!


This is all really helpful!

It's funny that you said to get another vet, because it crossed my mind... I thought she did seem unsure about diet. There is a better vet - it's just a bit far from home, so maybe I'll try them next.
I DO own the Oxbow pellets, so I'll switch her to that one now and make sure she never runs out. Sometimes she refuses to eat them for days though.
I think the vet was telling me that if she's only eating Higgins, let her have it so that she's at least eating something?

This might be a stupid question, but when you say a bell pepper every day... I'm giving her like 1/4 of a pepper daily. Should I be giving her the whole thing instead?

Chocupi came from a pretty rough situation and is a VERY picky eater. She was raised on the cheapest pellets available, and never offered veggies at all. So, with some healthy pellets (like Oxbow) and vegetables (like peppers, zucchini, cucumber, etc.) that my other guinea pig loves, she refuses to eat.
Sometimes she doesn't touch the bell pepper at all, sometimes she eats it if I'm lucky. :confused:

I didn't understand what you said about the hay. Should I stop giving her Timothy or Alfalfa? Sorry I got confused lol Also, which hay do I start the babies on?

Okay that's all I have for now, thank you again, this means a lot to me.
 

bpatters

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I didn't say A bell pepper every day, just SOME bell pepper every day. See https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/105287-How-to-teach-a-guinea-pig-to-eat-vegetables

Pigs need a long strand grass hay -- timothy, blue, meadow, orchard, brome. It's what keeps their molars ground down and their guts moving properly. Alfalfa doesn't do that. It is higher in calcium, which pregnant/nursing pigs need, but it doesn't really do what timothy does otherwise. I was suggesting giving the timothy all the time, and a daily handful of alfalfa. You can feed the babies timothy, but they do need extra calcium. You can do that with alfalfa pellets, but the adults don't really need those. Some alfalfa hay will help, and you could give each pup a sprig or two of parsley -- it's high in calcium.

Pellets aren't absolutely necessary. They're really just a convenient way to make sure pigs get enough vitamins and minerals. I'd just switch her cold turkey to the better pellets. You might try giving her pellets first thing in the morning before she gets anything else to eat, and give her time enough to eat some before giving additional food.
 

Soecara

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It doesn't matter if she doesn't touch the oxbow pellets everyday, pellets are only a very small part of their diet.

1/4 of a bell pepper every day is a good amount. Keep offering her small amounts of the vegetables she doesn't like, she might decide to try them one day and decide she likes them. If she starts eating the pellets more regularly you could try doing what is described in this thread to try and get her to eat some more vegetables https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/105287-How-to-teach-a-guinea-pig-to-eat-vegetables

For hay, switch what you are doing. Make the timothy hay constantly full, give 1 handful of alfalfa per day.
 

sallyvh

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I wouldn't worry if she isn't enthusiastic about the oxbow pellets. Just offer her those, she will eat them if she wants to.

1/4 of a pepper is a good amount! No need to offer her more.

For hay, you should be offering her an unlimited amount of timothy hay. The alfalfa you can switch to just giving her a handful with her timothy. You can give the same set up to the babies. The reason why is Timothy is a long stranded grass hay and will keep her teeth ground down, while alfalfa is actually a legume and will have minimal effects on the teeth.

I'll end with saying welcome to the forum! Your lady is very cute and it sounds like you doing a great job with her.
 

Medina

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Hahaha okay I see! So I was doing the exact reverse of what I need to do for the hay :eek: lol
That's great though because I have a full bale of Timothy and like 1/4 bale Alfalfa right now.
I'll keep offering her the 1/4 pepper pieces!
I feel better that you guys aren't worried about her not eating much Oxbow. That's really good to know.
I'll also keep up with offering the other veggies as well.
She loves all herbs, and I have access to almost every kind (organic and fresh!)
So, if there are any other kinds I can offer that would be really good for her pregnancy and the babies, let me know.
Her favorite is mint - I hope that's ok? :confused:
 
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