Oh My...new babies

[karinlm]

Hi Everyone,

This is one of my first times posting here so before I start let me say thank you because I have gotten so much info from this site (including how to build a C&C cage!).

Anyway....

Back on March 7th I bought my youngest son a guinea pig. Two days later I went back to the same place and bought my oldest son one and they told me she was a girl which was what we wanted because the 1st one was a girl. (I didn't realize at the time that there were guinea pig rescue's....now I know better!).

Over the past month or so Bella looked like she was growing by leaps and bounds but it didn't seem odd to me because these are our first gp's and I thought they were both girls.

Fast forward to today when I went to the cage to clean and found TWO babies staring up at me! I'm in shock and I want to make sure things go well so I'm looking for any guidance you can offer. Do I leave them alone for a couple of days, do I put the cage in a quiet room??? Do I offer different foods?

I'm going to check the "sex" of the original two but I have a gut feeling that "Bella" was pregnant when she came to us. We have had them for 50 days together and I think that she had these guys either yesterday or the day before (I have been very sick so cleaning was limited to the main area and adding food yesterday and I didn't get to a full clean until today).

Thanks a ton.........

 

[Guinea_Gal]

First, make sure that the mother has gotten the idea of taking care of her babies. If in a couple days, she hasn't nursed or awcknowledged them, you need to step in. But, if Bella has assumed the motherly role, they should definitly stay together! Also, you have to baby proof the pig cage, by making higher walls, etc . . .
Also, make sure mom and babies are all getting proper nutrition! They should be getting some Alfalfa because it is high in nutrients, and pellets along with veggies as well! The babies will try and eat very young so make sure they have enough food!

You also NEED to sex both babies because if one is male and one female, then they will need to be separated. Also, don't go by your gut feeling. Please separate Bella and the other adult piggy until you know for sure or you may very well have another litter on its way! You can check the sexing page on this site, but should go to a vet as well. Although, it is very hard to sex them until they are about 3 weeks old.

You are going to keep the babies, right? What size cage do you have? Make sure that until you know for sure the sexes of the two you bought from the petstore, keep them in separate cages or divide the cage you already have, but keep mother and babies together!

Good luck with everything, and make sure to DO SOME RESEARCH! Their is so much to know about cavies!

 

[karinlm]

Thanks Guinea Gal

It looks like they are nursing well from Bella. I have turned the hidey house so I can peek inside and they seem to be nursing but I will keep my eye on it.

Right now our cage is 2 grids by 3 grids with a second story that is 2 grids by 2 grids. I don't know if we will keep the babies....I think it will depend on what the sexes are. My sister in law has 1 male and I think she would be happy to take another male (or two) so we might be able to introduce them and see how they do. If both of our original gp's are definitely girls and the babies are both girls than we will probably keep all of them and just build a bigger cage.

I'm going to try and sex the "suspect" gp tonight and bring her to the vet ASAP to verify. Yikes, I didn't know my night was going to be so exciting LOL

 

[Ly&Pigs]

Please sex both the adult pigs and if one is a male, separate him immediately (if you haven't already) as chances are Bella is already pregnant again as sows will go into heat within hours of giving birth. The other possibility is that you do have two female adults, but you bought one that way.

Sex and separate any male pups at 3 weeks of age as boars can become sexually active at this age. Other than that, good luck with your unexpected new additions.

 

[guineagurl]

Um call me stupid, but why would she have to sex the one that just had babies?
Unless it's just to compare bits hehe...

 

[kalrik]

Sexing can be difficult. I think I finally got the hang of it, but young boys can be really tricky. I find that looking for the dot indicative of a male is not sufficient. You need to feel above the area for a ridge. Be certain.

If one of the babies is not as healthy or seems to still need his mom, I would not separate him at three weeks. This is only if he seems to need the extra time. Even in that case, I would not leave him in for more than 3.5 to 4 weeks tops. I hope it works out they are all girls, haha. Or that you only have one male so you can get him neutered and have them all live together. Two or more boars in the presence of females will not get along.

 

[AmiableAnimals]

If you press just above the "privates" kind of at the base of the stomach, you can generally feel the penis and should be able to push it out. I always do a penis check when I sex, to be absolutely sure! Sorry if this doesn't make sense the way I tried to describe it.

 

[Baby Bears]

Oh my! What a surprise that must have been! In a way, I hope at least one of them is a boy so that your sister-in-law's little guy can get a roomate. They are much happier with another of their own kind - being the social animals that they are.

It's nice, though, that no matter the sex, they have somewhere to go. Good luck with the babies (aren't they just the CUTEST things?)