Pregnancy Almost 2 year old guinea pigs may be pregnant! Looking for advice!

[scmtsmomma]

At the end of September I picked up 2 little pigs who I was told were both girls and 1 month old. I was a fairly new pig owner at that point as I had only had 2 pigs before and only had had them for a month. I had an extra cage and room in my heart and budget for two more so I thought why not? After taking the babies home, I took them to a vet who confirmed that they were both little ladies.
To my shock, I picked up my sweet little girl on Christmas Day as she was trying to hump her sister (for dominance I had thought) and I was trying to pet her to calm her. I look down at her privates and theres boar glue. Now, I had never really paid much attention to the genitals as we had gone to a trusted vet who supposedly had experience with guinea pigs and she had sexed them as both female so I figured I was fine. I pressed above little Tootsie's privates and sure enough a little winky popped out. The babies are both around 4 months now and Tootsie has humped all of his sisters at one point or another and i'm terrified. I always just assumed he was a female pig who was weirdly dominant. They have been together in a herd for about 2-2.5 months now and i'm terrified that one of my bigger girls could be pregnant. I'm concerned about any pregnancy but my smaller girl is 4 months old so I feel like she'd be able to handle it but my older girls will be 2 in March and i'm so terrified. I've read all online about how once pigs turn 7 months they shouldn't get pregnant. I never would've had them together if I had known but now i'm terrified.
I'm going to look into exotic vets in my area (because who knows if the one I originally went to had been truthful...) incase of pregnancy complications. I can't tell if my big girls are pregnant and i'm so scared. I don't want to lose them. I've upped their vitamin c and put more calcium in their diet incase. Do you have any suggestions on how to work on making this an easy pregnancy for them if they are?

 

[bpatters]

It is much more dangerous for an older pig to have a first pregnancy, but it doesn't always result in disaster. The pelvic ligaments stiffen, but it doesn't happen overnight, and it takes longer in some pigs than in others. What I'd do is watch them for signs of pregnancy, and when the fetuses are old enough that the bones will show on x-ray (six weeks or so), then get an x-ray to see how many pups there are. Any of the sows will have more problems with delivery if there's a large pup that may block the birth canal. But even the older ones may do ok if they have smaller pups.

However, you do need to find a good exotic vet, and you need to find an emergency vet that knows something about guinea pigs. If an older sow goes into labor over a weekend and needs an emergency spay, you need to know ahead of time who to call.

Here's a thread on knowing how far along they are: https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...inea-pig-is-pregnant-And-how-far-along-is-she

 

[scmtsmomma]

I'm really hoping my girls aren't pregnant They often chased Tootsie off when he'd mount them but i've heard it doesn't take long to happen. I'm going to be calling around to vets tomorrow and take them in to see them in the new year. The only problem with waiting for an xray is I have no idea how far along they'd be. I'm home for the holidays and I don't have their scale with me because I didn't think I would need to weigh them and could weigh them when I returned to school so unfortunately I can't tell if they've put on weight, but they don't look any bigger than usual. I looked at your thread and i'm going to keep an eye out for any signs until i get home next week. Thank you so much for replying!

 

[bpatters]

I wouldn't be in any hurry to take them to the vet. The fetuses have to be several weeks old before the bones mineralize enough to show on x-rays. By that time, you'll be able to see other signs of pregnancy.

 

[scmtsmomma]

Okay! I'll hold off for a bit. Thank you for not judging!

 

[bpatters]

If you haven't separated the male yet, please do so. He could live side by side, and with any male pups if the sows are pregnant. Or he could be neutered and go back in with the females after four weeks.

Nothing to judge, here. Even a vet told you they were all female. It's the people who deliberately breed that ruffle my feathers.

 

[scmtsmomma]

He's been separated from the moment that we discovered his boy parts! He will live side by side for now, with possible neutering in the future!

I seriously appreciate your help!