New piggie Grandma??

[radical_pigs]

Hello everyone! On May 28th at around 7 am I was surprised to find that my sweet baby girl, Willow, who I had just gotten at the end of March, had given birth to two little babies. I was completely surprised because as far as I knew both pigs I owned were female. Well the surprises kept coming. Turned out my first born, Ouija, was actually male. So I quickly separated him as Willow went full steam ahead into motherhood. Now I have two little babies called Baby A and Baby B (because gender and such are unknown) and I have no idea what to do. I wasn't ready to be a grandma this early and I had never dealt with baby guinea pigs before. So for those of you that have I need all the advice you can give me. Mama Willow is getting tons of hay and veggies and as far as I know the babies are eating and nursing. But I'm worried about Baby B. They struggled a bit after birth at getting going and now I'm extra worried because they've taken to sitting in a corner and digging at the wall. I don't know if something is wrong and if I should bring it to a vet or if it's just being a dork. Please any advice you can give this new piggie grandma would be much appreciated.

 

[Soecara]

I don't have much advice for the behavior of Baby B. Have you been weighing the pups, and if so has Baby B gained weight since it was born? If you haven't been weighing them then you absolutely should start, a kitchen scale that can weigh in grams and pounds is a good for weighing guinea pigs of all ages.

However if your male was in the cage with Willow when she gave birth she is at a very high risk of being pregnant again as female guinea pigs go into heat as soon as they have given birth. Back-to-back pregnancies can take a big toll on a female guinea pig so you will need to keep a close eye on her and give her extra calcium in her diet (for example giving her as many young guinea pig pellets as she wants).

As for sexing the pups, even on new borns you will be able to feel a firm line just under the skin just above the genitals on a boar as they have a bone in their penis. You can check on your adult guinea pigs that you do know the genders of to be able to get an idea of what you are feeling for.