Briana D

[Makay772]

Briana D

Thanks for your opinions on neutering. I am not sure I want it done but my husband is pretty much set on not having baby guinea pigs. It is not that he doesn't like them but we really don't have the room for them (we have 4 cats, a St. Bernard and a fish 8o LOL). Yes, we love animals!!! If I had a bigger house I would have more

Anyways, you mentioned that what will I do if the female is pregnant and she has a male in the litter...well, I don't know. I cannot see us giving away any of them, unless of course she has more than 2 or 3 and then we might have to.

That is kind of where I am alittle torn. You see if we get a cage now to put the male in (instead of neutering) then if she is pregnant then the males would already have a cage to go into (or will the father guinea pig fight with the baby...or will they get along since it is family?). But if she had more than 1 male then the cage that we buy will be to small for 3 or more guinea pigs.

AHHHH!!! I am so confused!!! I will tell you what...I think I might call the pet store and let them know they screwed up. Hey, if I put up a large enough fuss maybe they will sell me a large cage for real cheap (oh, shoot, then again where would we put it LOL) I would really love to yell at those people...they really made a mess out of something nice..I just wanted to get my kids 2 female guinea pigs that they would have alot of fun with and now we have all this worry!!!

Sorry, had to vent there.

 

[Briana D]

Re: Briana D

I can understand the room problem. If you can find the room you may want to look into making a C&C cage. You could make a 2x4 cage and put a divider in the middle. This way your male and female will still be able to touch and smell each other but they won't be able to produce any babies.

I think you might want to separate the pigs for now. Typically guinea pigs have 2-4 babies but it is heard of them having up to 8. If I were you I would separate the two pigs and wait until she has her babies if she is indeed pregnant. After she has her babies be sure to separate the males from her at 3 weeks.

I would wait on the neuter because you will probably be able to successfully house the dad pig and a male baby pig with the appropriate room.

I'm kind of just brainstorming with you. Separate the pigs but you can put the two cages near each other so they're not lonely. I'm sure the deed is already done but if she has the babies when you're not there she may become pregnant again. I think the gestation for pigs is 65 days. Usually when you can see the babies moving you have about 1-2 weeks to go. I you feel comfortable that you will be able to separate them then I don't think there is any harm in keeping them together. But like I said if you aren't there she may become pregnant again.

I'd separate and wait for the babies before you make anymore plans. In the mean time find an emergency vet that is knowledgeable in guinea pigs in case your sow has any problems. Also try to find a regular cavy knowledgeable vet for their regular check ups. Also read the pregnancy section on Guinea Lynx ((broken link removed) and watch for any signs of trouble.

Vent away! Your story is a common story. Some pet stores have no business selling live animals.

 

[Makay772]

Re: Briana D

We did come to a decision to not neuter the male. I am going to buy another cage and put him in it. I hate to separate them but I think it is a better idea...not to mention if she is already pregnant than I would need to buy another cage anyways and then we would have that cost on top of the nuetering charge.

I have a question now...We were going to look into trying to put one cage on top of the other (of course making it very safe). But now you just said that about the C&C cage. I will look them up on the internet to see how expensive it is and to look at sizes...I am not really sure I will have the room..but it does sound a little cozier for the two.

Thanks so much for your ideas, opinions and advice and for letting me vent.

 

[Briana D]

Re: Briana D

C&C Cages are very inexpensive - $50 at the most. You can't find a cage that price for that size anywhere! I personally have 5 2x4 c&c cages and I love them. After having my pigs in smaller housing I've seen a big difference in attitude and activity level. I think it's worth it to find room by moving whatever out of the way so you can have one of these cages.

I saw you just posted on Guinea Lynx. You'll be happy you did.