General new owner in desperate need of info

[xaniandra]

hello , i am a new owner of 2 baby guinea pigs, and i am sorry to say i was lied to at the pet store, before you all stone me for this, let me explain what the problem is. i was told i can only keep a male and a female togheter if i want them to get along, so that is what i did, of course now i know this is not true, but i have 1 very large cage and i do not want to risk my female's life, she had 1 heat and yes they were togheter BUT now that i know how bad that is i separate them for about 3 days when she is about to enter heats again (they are separated right now) so i want to know. how can i tell if she is pregnant, are heats really every 16 days and do they last 2 days? i know many will be angry that they mated (probably) already but i want to make it ok, i will do what i have to to keep her from having litters but i also dont want to keep them apart always for they really like each other. btw they boh are about 8 weeks old

 

[grace&piggies]

I would keep them apart until you can get the male neutered. What about putting a divider down their cage until then? So they can still see and talk to one another?

 

[xaniandra]

that is what i did, but they ferociously attack the divider, they seem to miss each other a lot, as for neutering, i called all the local vets and none can neuter guinea pigs

 

[betty]

Piggies can get pregnant at any point in their cycle, not just when they are in heat, so they will need to be seperated until you can get the boy neutered. Putting a divider in their cage to keep them apart for now is a great way for them to still have each other as company.

I am not an expert in pregnant guinea pigs, but hopefully someone else can give you more information.

Good luck with your babies!

EDIT: sorry I see that you have tried the divider already. Can you please let us know which city/town you live in and I'm sure we can help you find a vet. You can also try to contact any rescue organizations who may be able to refer a vet.

 

[bpatters]

They need to be separated until the male is neutered. Or you can separate them and wait to see if the sow is pregnant, and possibly there will be a male pup that can live with his dad and a female who can live with mom.

You're playing with fire to put them together -- if she's not already pregnant, she will be soon. There's no way for you to tell when she's coming into heat, and it only take seconds for the male to impregnate her. And 8 weeks old is way too young for her to be having pups -- it will likely stunt her growth for the rest of her life, to say nothing of the strain it puts on her body.

If you "want to make it ok," and to "do what you have to to keep her from having litters," then get them into separate cages ASAP.

 

[RodentsRus]

i called all the local vets and none can neuter guinea pigs

May I ask where u are located?

 

[xaniandra]

im from a subburb town called st-eustache in quebec, Canada

 

[RodentsRus]

im from a subburb town called st-eustache in quebec, Canada

I know of a great vet in Montreal...Did you get my private message not sure if I can just post the info here..

 

[bpatters]

Rodentsrus, I appreciate your giving advice, but this isn't a chat room. We have a lot of members from other countries, and English isn't their first language. Please don't use chat speak. Thanks!

And yes, you can post the vet's name here. Also, if you're really happy with him/her and have had good experience with treating exotics there, please go to Guinea Pig Cages, Care, Shelters, Veterinarians - Guinea Pig Zone and post the information there too, so other people can find that clinic using the search function.

 

[RodentsRus]

Rodentsrus, I appreciate your giving advice, but this isn't a chat room. We have a lot of members from other countries, and English isn't their first language. Please don't use chat speak. Thanks!

Not sure what you mean by "Chat speak" What is that.

 

[zaylea]

Not sure what you mean by "Chat speak" What is that.

Chat speak is when you abbreviate words like "u" instead of "you", "ur" instead of your/you're, etc.

 

[RodentsRus]

And yes, you can post the vet's name here. Also, if you're really happy with him/her and have had good experience with treating exotics there, please go to Guinea Pig Cages, Care, Shelters, Veterinarians - Guinea Pig Zone and post the information there too, so other people can find that clinic using the search function.

There is excotic vet in Montreal that is great. I talk my hamsters, guinea pigs, rat , and hedgehog there.. Here is there web site..

(broken link removed)

Our address: 6090 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, QC H4A 1Y1
(514) 486-5258

 

[xaniandra]

There is excotic vet in Montreal that is great. I talk my hamsters, guinea pigs, rat , and hedgehog there.. Here is there web site..

(broken link removed)

Our address: 6090 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, QC H4A 1Y1
(514) 486-5258

thanks i will check with them, as a update, she is definately pregnant, so i will keep the babies, but separate males and females, from what i understand i can keep daddy and his boys togheter without them killing each other. lets hope for the best

 

[sillylittle]

Male GPs will not kill their offspring, or other males, which means you should be able to keep daddy and boys together. However, whether or not they will all decide to be friendly with each other is a different story . I'm sure you've already learned this, but housing multiple males together requires a lot of space (not that one male doesn't) so you should be prepared to have the biggest cage possible for both of your herds (if you have male and female babies, you should make a male herd and female herd, assuming mama and daughters and daddy and sons all get along of course). You may want to start preparing now, as you said they could have been....... together... as many as 3 weeks ago (or more, because they could have mated the first day you put them together) and GP pregnancies usually last around 59-73 days (https://www.guinealynx.info/reproduction.html) (which is 8-10 weeks) so you may have a month or more to prepare for them. I would suggest building two C&C cages, and go as big as you can, even if it means you have to re-arrange some human furniture. We can hope that she only has two or three pigs, but some litters can be in excess of 6, so you want to have as much room as possible for all the little ones. Check out the home screen of this website for ideas of how to maximize your space (maybe with two cages, one for each herd, you can get creative and stack them)

I'm sure you'll do fine, you seem very capable and willing to educate yourself in order to do the right things for your piggies. Just take everything the pet store said with a grain of salt, and research, research, RESEARCH :crazy: and, good luck!

 

[RodentsRus]

thanks i will check with them.

Just wondering did you check them out / call the vet?

 

[xaniandra]

ok, update, my 2 piggies now each have their cage(2x3 C&C) each, the female seems pregnant, prob 7 weeks if i count well, my question is, how active should she be? because she runs around a lot, and seems very active.(but she whines for food all the time!) she is well fed, fresh pellets as much as she wants, same with timothy hay, and about a cup of fresh veggies every day, yes the veggies are only the kinds good for piggies, i checked already. what else should i be doing to make my girl happy? oh yes, i also found homes for up to 3 babies, so i will only keep 1 male and 1 female so the parents dont get lonely on their own i will have 1 cage for my boys and one for my girls