Frustrated My brother’s friend’s new guinea pigs were pregnant and they have babies!

[Piggly12]

What can I do to help?

They are not in a ‘huge’ (proper sized) cage, but one of the bigger petshop cages. I just heard from my Mum’s friend that they bought 2 guinea pigs, who have now given birth. Is there any way that you think I could help them get a bigger cage; as the grids are soooo expensive here in Aus?

Also, I really want to go around to their place to see if I can determine what gender they are. They are apparently 1 week old, so I probably won’t be able to tell yet, will I? They will hopefully take them to the vet before they are 3 weeks old to do this.

Final question, what can they do about the babies? I really want to take 2 of them, but we are pushing it as we are renting, and are only just allowed to keep them inside.

I may manage to convince my Mum that we can split the cage (once I have finished expanding) if they don’t get along. Do you think that there is any possibility that my 3 piggies would accept 1 or 2 new babies if introduced properly after quarantine, or would I have to separate?

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this; hope you can give me some opinions/ideas!

 

[bpatters]

It's a tough situation. You can point them to this site, and have them read the articles on the main page about the importance of cage size. And while C&Cs are great, and easy to use, there are many other ways to create a cage that's large enough. There are tons of pictures of alternative cages in the photo galleries.

Here are two articles on sexing guinea pigs. As you know, you've got another couple of weeks to figure it out, and it gets easier as they get a little older. See www.cavyspirit.com/sexing.htm and (broken link removed).

Most adult guinea pigs will accept pups, and usually the introductions aren't too hard. But here's the best article on introductions that I've found: https://guinea-pigs.livejournal.com/3002707.html.

Thanks for helping out here. Be sure to keep us posted on the progress.

 

[lissie]

First of all, did both of their pigs give birth, or just one of them? If it's only one, the other could be a male. They'll have to separate them immediately, if the other one is a male.

How many babies do they have?

Are your pigs males or females?

 

[Piggly12]

Thanks for the help @bpatters

Here are the answers to your questions @lissie
1) I have only been told the basic details by my Mum’s friend, but from what I could gather, both were pregnant and gave birth, so they are both definitely female.

2) I think they have around 8 (not sure)

3) I have 3 gorgeous fluffy girls, one of whom is cuddling in my lap as I type ETA: They are sisters, by the way. They more-or-less get along, no full on fighting, they share the (smallish) hayrack, but argue over veggies (completely normal I know) and rumble and do the ‘slug impression’ (as dubbed my my Mum) if one of them is in their way. Hopefully the will not argue as much once I have doubled their cage size and their loft.

I am not sure how much I will be able to achieve in the way of cages, as I am only a minor. I think it is partly my fault that they bought piggies (no idea where from), as when my (younger) brother’s friend came over, he seemed to really like my piggies. They also have a dog (or 2??), so they need quite a strong cage with a strong lid. I really want to go to theirs, as I want to check that they have good food, that they actually have hay etc. Quite a few places that I have seen say that hay is only a treat, and petshops sometimes/often don’t say that hay is their main diet.
I need to be able to say all this tactfully, because if I just come across as a know-all chatterbox, I won’t achieve much... And I have no idea how to suggest expanding the cage - “Did you know that guinea pigs actually need a large running around space, around 8 feet for 1 pig and about 2 feet extra for any other pigs?” might be a start.

Thanks again for your help, and for replying at around 10 pm America time. It’s now 12 noon here, so it must be around midnight in America.

 

[lissie]

Since you have females, it should be easier to introduce babies to them. If yours were 3 males, adding 2 more males will be quite difficult (that's why I asked).

To tactfully give them info about pigs, how about giving them a gift basket that has a small bag of hay, some good quality pellets, and include this care pamphlet in the gift basket. I know you're a minor, you might need to ask your parents to help pay for the gift.

https://www.guinealynx.info/pamphlet-color.pdf

 

[Piggly12]

Thanks so much @lissie!
That’s a great idea!
Sort of like a ‘welcome to the guinea pig world (please provide these products for your pigs)’ gift
ETA: I just looked at the pamphlet and it looks AMAZING! So professional! I will go and read it more thoroughly now.

 

[3littlepigz]

What a fabulous idea @lissie! Piggly12, let us know how it goes. It's wonderful that you are so involved and concerned for the wellfare of these piggies!

 

[AnnikasMommy]

Awe I'm so glad to see you wanting to be so helpful and to make sure the babies and mamas are properly cared for. I am still very new to all this but seems the "seasoned" have you covered in advice. Hope it all works out for them.