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Pregnancy Is my guinea pig pregnant or is she gaining weight/growing??

bpatters

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You'd do better to substitute red or green leaf lettuce for the celery and parsley. They're both high in calcium, and the young guinea pig food should have all she needs.

You can check the pelvic bones if you want, but don't be obsessive about it. Some owners will feel two or three times a day, and that just bothers the pig. It's not a guarantee of when the pups will come anyway. Some sows will be quite dilated for a few days before they go into labor, other not much at all and will go into labor quickly.

If she's in the cage with another sow, that should be fine as long as they won't be crowded after the pups come. Most sows make great aunties, and will help raise the pigs. However, do keep an eye on them, just in case you've got the one-in-a-thousand sow that hates pups and will chew their ears.
 

peanny77

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I agree with [MENTION=13820]bpatters[/MENTION].I couldn’t feel anything before my sow gave birth,and whenever I tried to feel it,she was very distressed.

Make sure your cage is large enough for all of them,or mom can be stressed and nibble the pup’s ears.She MAY eat the placenta and bedding that has blood on to clear up evidence of her birth.The litter size is 1-8 pups, 2-4 usually. Pups are like mini versions of their mom; they’re born with fur,eyes open and can eat on their own. It’s OK if she doesn’t want to nurse them yet - it may take some time for her to lactate. Pups can be sexed at birth, but sometimes it can be difficult to determine their sex. Pups become sexually mature at 3 weeks old, that’s when you separate males from their mom amd sisters. Feed them all like [MENTION=13820]bpatters[/MENTION] said. Good luck!
 

julifhy

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@bpatters [MENTION=45795]peanny77[/MENTION]
She has the cage all to herself. I currently don’t have any other guinea pigs. I was planning on adopting another, but I realized Coco might be pregnant.
I’ll also get the red and green lettuce today.
I don’t really know how to check the pelvic bones, but I don’t think they are separating yet.
I think that the cage is big enough. It’s a 3x2 C&C cage. I have extra supplies for it, so I can make it bigger.
Ty for all the info!

I also received a message from the person I got her from. She said that she rescued Coco’s mom and there is no way Coco was older than 2 months when I got her. She also said she thought she separated the males and females soon enough.
 

bpatters

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A 3x2 will be ok while the pups are still very small. But keep an eye on their ears -- those are usually the first things that get attacked if the sow is feeling crowded. However, if you keep any of the pups, you'll need to expand.

So you didn't read that thread I gave you that had a link on how to check the pelvic bones?
 

julifhy

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A 3x2 will be ok while the pups are still very small. But keep an eye on their ears -- those are usually the first things that get attacked if the sow is feeling crowded. However, if you keep any of the pups, you'll need to expand.

So you didn't read that thread I gave you that had a link on how to check the pelvic bones?
I did, but I couldn't quite feel the pelvic bones.
Also, I don't always feel the pups. I can only usually feel them or see them moving when Coco is laying down. I just wanted to double check if that is normal?
 

julifhy

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I did, but I couldn't quite feel the pelvic bones.
Also, I don't always feel the pups. I can only usually feel them or see them moving when Coco is laying down. I just wanted to double check if that is normal?
Edit: I’ve found the pelvic bones and they don’t seem to be separating.
 

julifhy

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You'd do better to substitute red or green leaf lettuce for the celery and parsley. They're both high in calcium, and the young guinea pig food should have all she needs.
Will romaine lettuce be okay? Also, I'm curious why would I need to substitute the lettuce for celery and parsley? Can't I feed both?
 

bpatters

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Celery and parsley, especially parsley, are very high in calcium. Too much calcium can contribute to bladder stones, which are painful for your pig AND your pocketbook. Pregnant pigs do need extra calcium, but with the alfalfa pellets, you don't need to add much more at all.

I don't recommend romaine, even though it's not significantly higher in calcium than other lettuces. Some pigs, but not all, excrete excess urinary calcium when they're eating romaine. Same thing with cilantro. Other pigs are not bothered. I just don't think it's worth running the risk of bladder stones when other lettuces are available and don't cause the same problems.
 

julifhy

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Celery and parsley, especially parsley, are very high in calcium. Too much calcium can contribute to bladder stones, which are painful for your pig AND your pocketbook. Pregnant pigs do need extra calcium, but with the alfalfa pellets, you don't need to add much more at all.

I don't recommend romaine, even though it's not significantly higher in calcium than other lettuces. Some pigs, but not all, excrete excess urinary calcium when they're eating romaine. Same thing with cilantro. Other pigs are not bothered. I just don't think it's worth running the risk of bladder stones when other lettuces are available and don't cause the same problems.
Aghh romaine lettuce was all they had. What exactly do you recommend I feed her and how much/how often should I feed her? I’m realizing now that I don’t know much about what a guinea pig’s diet should be :( it’s confusing
 

peanny77

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I think this thread should be renamed, as you have confirmed that Coco’s pregnant.
 

peanny77

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I don't recommend romaine, even though it's not significantly higher in calcium than other lettuces. Some pigs, but not all, excrete excess urinary calcium when they're eating romaine. Same thing with cilantro. Other pigs are not bothered. I just don't think it's worth running the risk of bladder stones when other lettuces are available and don't cause the same problems.
I never knew that! I read some info on other sites and most of them say the best lettuce you can give them is romaine. I use green leaf though, it’s easier to find and is cheaper.
 

julifhy

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bpatters

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You can if you want. The biggest problem will be if she has one large pup that blocks the birth canal and can't be delivered. Any attempt to save her in that situation would require a exotic vet experienced in surgery -- it's a tough operation, and the prognosis is poor.

If she has normal-sized pups, she'll likely be OK. An x-ray would tell you the size of the pups, and how many there are.
 

julifhy

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Coco gave birth earlier this morning to 2 female pups. Unfortunately, both of them didn’t make it :(
Coco killed both of them. There were bite marks on both of the pups’ paws and mouths. I don’t really think Coco realized she was pregnant :(
 

peanny77

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Coco gave birth earlier this morning to 2 female pups. Unfortunately, both of them didn’t make it :(
Coco killed both of them. There were bite marks on both of the pups’ paws and mouths. I don’t really think Coco realized she was pregnant :(
I’m so happy to hear that Coco gave birth safely, but I’m sorry you lost both of the babies. First time mothers ( like my sows) are sometimes “ scared” of their pups or hate them,which causes stress; and Coco doesn’t have a friend to comfort her, that’s probably why Coco killed her pups.My Peanut (who had her first litter at age 2,which is VERY risky), hated her pups at first, but then she nursed them all . Again, sorry for your loss, [MENTION=45839]julifhy[/MENTION].
 

julifhy

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I can’t really find exact info to why she would do that. Was it because she was malnourished somehow? Or stressed out? I feel so bad :( I checked her pelvic bones yesterday, but they didn’t seem to be separating, so I though she would give birth later in the week. I named the pups Mocha and Mochi. They look adorable :(
 

julifhy

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I’m so happy to hear that Coco gave birth safely, but I’m sorry you lost both of the babies. First time mothers ( like my sows) are sometimes “ scared” of their pups or hate them,which causes stress; and Coco doesn’t have a friend to comfort her, that’s probably why Coco killed her pups.My Peanut (who had her first litter at age 2,which is VERY risky), hated her pups at first, but then she nursed them all . Again, sorry for your loss, @julifhy.
Thank you for all the help. She did seem pretty scared, but she’s okay now. I feel horrible though :( I know there’s probably nothing I could of done, but it’s so sad :(
 

peanny77

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Thank you for all the help. She did seem pretty scared, but she’s okay now. I feel horrible though :( I know there’s probably nothing I could of done, but it’s so sad :(
Please don’t blame yourself, it’s not your fault. The mortality rate of pregnant sows and pups is VERY high, that’s why we should never breed guinea pigs.
My Chocolate gave birth to a litter of 3. At first I thought everything was alright until 3 days after they were born, one of the pups (who I named Durian) became notably weak. I was very, very worried and was syringe feeding him every 1-2 hrs, through the nights. He was improving day by day and I was so relieved. One day, I found him limp in his cage.He didn’t make it. I was devastated and cried so hard, and kept blaming myself for not coming there earlier, not separating him with the rest of the herd, and how I could have prevented all of this from happening by sexing my pigs properly. I understand how you feel, but sometimes things just aren’t the way we wanted. In Durian’s case, he had some kind of defects that are just not compatible with life. Coco was just trying to defend herself because she was scared, without knowing that the pups were harmless. She didn’t mean to do it.
Here was my beautiful little Durian. Although he had stayed with me for only 12 days, I still miss him terribly.
 

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julifhy

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Please don’t blame yourself, it’s not your fault. The mortality rate of pregnant sows and pups is VERY high, that’s why we should never breed guinea pigs.
My Chocolate gave birth to a litter of 3. At first I thought everything was alright until 3 days after they were born, one of the pups (who I named Durian) became notably weak. I was very, very worried and was syringe feeding him every 1-2 hrs, through the nights. He was improving day by day and I was so relieved. One day, I found him limp in his cage.He didn’t make it. I was devastated and cried so hard, and kept blaming myself for not coming there earlier, not separating him with the rest of the herd, and how I could have prevented all of this from happening by sexing my pigs properly. I understand how you feel, but sometimes things just aren’t the way we wanted. In Durian’s case, he had some kind of defects that are just not compatible with life. Coco was just trying to defend herself because she was scared, without knowing that the pups were harmless. She didn’t mean to do it.
Here was my beautiful little Durian. Although he had stayed with me for only 12 days, I still miss him terribly.
It’s hard not to blame myself, but I know there’s nothing I could of done. They were probably born around 5 and my dad found them at around 6. If he hadn’t seen them, I would probably notice a lot later. They were so cute :(
My mom said that she read new guinea pig moms sometimes accidentally bite the baby guinea pigs when they’re cleaning them. Do you think that could of happened? When I first got Coco, she wouldn’t stop licking me lol, but about in the beginning of this week she started biting. I looked it up, but I also can’t really find much info of why she would be biting. It’s definitely not on accident. Maybe it’s her teeth? I got her a chew toy out of willow branches, but she doesn’t seem interested in it. Is there any chew toys you might recommend?
She’s also now 1.31 lbs. Is that a normal weight for a 2.5 month old guinea pig?
 
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