Pregnancy I think my guinea pig might be pregnant

[KimmieS]

Hello, I bought a female guinea pig, JuJu Bean, from a pet store 3 weeks ago. I have recently noticed that within the last week that she is looking very plump and feels noticeably heavier (she is held on a daily basis). I have also noticed that she is drinking 3 times more water than she was last week and she is pooping a lot more as well. Shealso seems to have gotten very sensitive around the sides and under part of her belly (she wasn't before), she also seems to be having a bit more trouble leaning forward to clean herself. I have also noticed that her belly is firmer than it was last week. I took her back to the pet store to see if they could tell me whether she was or not and they said it is very likely that she is. Can anyone tell me their thoughts on this, please?

 

[CavyMama]

Do you still have her housed with the male?

 

[KimmieS]

She hasn't been housed with a male since we have had her

 

[4cavies]

They told you it is very likely that she is? From your post, it sounds as if she is your only pig, so that is kind of telling that either they know she was housed with a male while at the store or that she may have been because they don't bother sexing or quite often missex which is absolutely appalling. I mean, I know pet stores do this but to practically flat out say they do it is kind of disturbing.

But anyway, to answer your question, it is high possibly that she is pregnant almost just because you bought her from a pet store. You wouldn't believe the amount of people who buy pregnant piggies and this is because pet stores are notorious for housing both genders together, whether out of carelessness or missexing - either way, it is a terrible thing to do, which is one reason why most cavy crazed people don't condone purchasing from pet stores. Aside from that, it sounds like she may have the classic symptoms of an expecting pig. By the time she would hit about six weeks it becomes almost obvious that she is pregnant. How old is she, do you know?

 

[KimmieS]

I am unsure of her age, when I had purchased her they said between 4-6 months. I now understand that the pet stores are not the best place, I am pretty new to all this. I do have another but they have always been in separate cages since I got the second which was a week after we got JuJu. They did tell me today that it is very likely that she is pregnant when I took her back to get checked out. I also learned today that they do missex them, but given the fact that I have learned that they have no clue to what they are doing I thought I would ask on here for other opinions

 

[KimmieS]

Here are some photos of her

 

[4cavies]

Here are some photos of her

Honestly, based off these pictures, her body looks like a normal guinea pig body to me... But if she isn't very far along, it'd still be hard to tell. I know it's irritating but the best you can do I think is wait and see.

 

[bpatters]

https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...inea-pig-is-pregnant-And-how-far-along-is-she

 

[CavyMama]

She hasn't been housed with a male since we have had her

According to your last post, https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...nea-pig-owners?p=920483&viewfull=1#post920483 you got Wrangler a week later but you thought he was a girl. Was your plan to house two females separately?

 

[poop_patrol]

I don't know if your guinea pig is pregnant or not, but I always cringe when I see photos of pregnant pigs that appear to be roans.

She is definitely a cute little girl. Since they will have many years together with you, you should look into having your male neutered so they can live together.

 

[KimmieS]

According to your last post, https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...nea-pig-owners?p=920483&viewfull=1#post920483 you got Wrangler a week later but you thought he was a girl. Was your plan to house two females separately?

I have kept wrangler in a seperate cage since the day I have gotten him, I have let the two roam around on the floor together supervised but they have not been in the same cage, I wanted them to get used to each other, I didn't want to just toss another in with JuJu and hope for the best.

 

[KimmieS]

I don't know if your guinea pig is pregnant or not, but I always cringe when I see photos of pregnant pigs that appear to be roans.

She is definitely a cute little girl. Since they will have many years together with you, you should look into having your male neutered so they can live together.

What is a roan?

 

[bpatters]

A roan is a pig with mixed dark and white hairs, like the one in your picture. They're much more likely to produce lethal white offspring, since they carry that gene (allele). Mating of two roans makes it even more likely that one or more of the offspring will be lethal.

 

[poop_patrol]

A roan is an animal that has a coat with different colored hairs interspersed with the main color. In the pictures you included, you can see the 'roaning' in the dark sections of your pigs hair, where there appears to be white hairs interspersed with the main dark brown color.

Why is this important? Guinea pigs that have the roan allele are genetically predisposed to create what are called 'lethal' babies. If a pup inherits the roan allele (gene) from both the father and mother it will be born with severe genetic birth defects. What this means is that if a roan pig is bred with another roan, each pup has a 1 in 4 chance of inheriting the roan allele from both parents and being a lethal.

It is very good that you have kept your pigs in separate cages! I'd suggest not allowing them to have floor time together as it takes only a split second for the male to impregnate the female.

There's tons of information on this forum as well as the Guinea Lynx site on "lethal whites".

Honestly, your pig does not look pregnant to me. But it's great that you are doing the research and asking all the right questions! Not long ago I was new to guinea pigs. There is tons of great information here and plenty of knowledgeable, experienced folks ready to help!

 

[KimmieS]

So I was doing quite a bit of research today trying to learn about roans and I don't think she is a roan. The only white on her is a little bit on her head which from I read makes her a American Crested and from what I can see also a chinchilla guinea pig, the large spots on her are a blonde with the grey peppered with the blonde. Does anyone know more about this type of breed? I can't find much on it. Here of some pictures of her the day I brought wrangler home (when I thought he was female).

 

[bpatters]

The larger one is definitely roan. The other one may be, or may be agouti.

 

[Soecara]

Perhaps the grey peppered with blonde is agouti? Certainly better to err on the side of caution though and be prepared for lethals if she is pregnant.

 

[KimmieS]

They're both roans.

I thought that with roans it was white interspersed with the color. It's difficult to tell from the lighting in the picture but they do not have white anywhere else but that little patch on top of their heads which is a marking of a American Crested Guinea. Sorry if I am not understanding but I am trying to understand.

 

[KimmieS]

I am trying to err on the side of caution which is why I am doing some pretty heavy research to learn about it, I ask because I didn't find anything about the types of babies a chinchilla guinea would have (lethal or whatnot) to help better prepare if she does happen to be pregnant.

 

[AmberCalzone]

Are you certain that you have one female, and one male?

It seems like you planned for these two to eventually be housed together, if I'm understanding this statement correctly.
"I have kept wrangler in a seperate cage since the day I have gotten him, I have let the two roam around on the floor together supervised but they have not been in the same cage, I wanted them to get used to each other, I didn't want to just toss another in with JuJu and hope for the best."
...that seems like you wanted the two pigs, knowing that their opposite sexes, to meet each other supervised during floor time before putting them in the cage with one another.

I ask that you please, from now on, permanently keep the two separated. Even supervised, it is not advisable to let males and females interact. It just takes 3 seconds for the "deed to be done". You can turn your head to look at the window, and wahla, it's too late.

If she is pregnant, hopefully she'll have healthy babies. Pregnancy is very hard on guinea pigs though, and even if her babies aren't lethals, it isn't uncommon for a pup to be still born. It is also a possibility that mom can die from complications of pregnancy. I'm not saying this to scare you, but it's important for you to be educated on the matter so you can fully expect and prepare for all possibilities. If she has at least a girl and a boy, your problem is solved. Keep a girl to pair with mom, and a boy to pair with dad.
If she does not have any boys to pair with dad (or any girls to pair with herself), you'll have to get him neutered so he can be safely kept with the females. Or adopt another guinea pig of the same sex, to be paired with either mom or dad if their are no babies of the needed gender. It's not really fair to keep guinea pigs single, they really do need a friend, but they need a friend of the same sex to prevent unwanted pregnancies ^.^
And if she's not pregnant... I strongly suggest either getting the male neutered so they can be kept together, or adopting another female and male so each of your pigs has a friend.