Pregnant piggie

[cavyinhawaii]

1-I have a pregnant pig and I could feel the pup move today. Any guess on how long it will be until she has him/them?
2-I put up a playpen fence (multicolor from walmart) lining the grids so the pups can be safe.
3-I am so worried about my teddy. I really wish she didn't get pregnant*. I love her so much. Is there anything else I can do before she has the pups?
I have been keeping a close eye on her. I have been giving her spinach and alpha alpha along with her veggies.
4-Will she need a nesting area?



*We were sold 2 male guinea pigs. teddy turned out to be a girl. Thank goodness we gave her a name that works for either.

 

[dextersmycutegp]

1. Holly had her babies about 1 week after we felt them move. (isn't it cool how you can feel their whole little bodies?)
2. Good job! I had kind of a haphazard setup with my babies and it was worriesome.
3. Probably just keep her calm and don't hold/move her too much. Have you trimmed her butt hair really short? Holly's got really snarrly and gross because I couldn't get it short enough. She will most likely be fine. Maybe the more you worry, the safer the delivery gets, lol
4. Guinea pigs don't make nests. Holly just went in her pigloo and the next morning two little babies came out with her.
I'm excited for you!

 

[Mummy]

You've already separated the male from the female, right? If not, do it right now. The female can be impregnated by the male immediately after she gives birth.

Be sure to separate any baby males from mom and sisters at 21 days.

In addition to alfalfa, be sure both guinea pigs are getting unlimited timothy hay. Alfalfa is great for pregnant and/or nursing moms and babies up until 6 months old.

 

[cavyinhawaii]

You've already separated the male from the female, right? If not, do it right now. The female can be impregnated by the male immediately after she gives birth.

Be sure to separate any baby males from mom and sisters at 21 days.

In addition to alfalfa, be sure both guinea pigs are getting unlimited timothy hay. Alfalfa is great for pregnant and/or nursing moms and babies up until 6 months old.

Oh yes they are separated. The little baby pen is just on teddys side. They don't really mind being apart. They can still see each other.

They get unlimited timothy hay and pellets everyday. They also get a pretty nice salad.

 

[cavyinhawaii]

1. Holly had her babies about 1 week after we felt them move. (isn't it cool how you can feel their whole little bodies?)
2. Good job! I had kind of a haphazard setup with my babies and it was worriesome.
3. Probably just keep her calm and don't hold/move her too much. Have you trimmed her butt hair really short? Holly's got really snarrly and gross because I couldn't get it short enough. She will most likely be fine. Maybe the more you worry, the safer the delivery gets, lol
4. Guinea pigs don't make nests. Holly just went in her pigloo and the next morning two little babies came out with her.
I'm excited for you!

Great information. I am excited and nervous. I hope she only has one or two so I can keep them. I don't know how you can get a good home for a pig. I would have to get them to bring me a picture infront of the cage and a list of what they would feed them. Oh worry.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

Don't give too much spinach. It's too high in oxalic acid. Give other things instead of spinach for calcium intake like kale, broccoli, collard/turnip/mustard/dandelion greens. They have a much less oxalic acid content than spinach but just as much calcium.

It could be 3-4 weeks still before she delivers. Usually you can start feeling movement around 6 weeks into the pregnancy. Once you start hearing teeth grinding from inside her tummy, delivery will be closer. Normally pups will start grinding their teeth up to two weeks before being born.

 

[NewToPiggies]

I also have a pregnant piggie right now. My sparkle is pregnant and is fully spread,She has been this way for about 3 days now she is so humongous its cute. I am expecting babies anyday now. So dont be surprised if she has them late. I was expecting mine alot sooner then her still being pregnant now.

 

[Texas Rustlers]

Our protocol for pregnant rescue piggies is:

Add 1 teaspoon of Karo syrup to the drinking water (32 oz) bottle 1 week prior to birth and 1 week after birth.

Ensure the momma piggy moves around, so put her veggies away from the pigloo.

Ensure she continues to eat (if she doesn't she will go toxic) so if she quits eating she needs to be syringe fed and she needs to get to the vets

Make sure the temperature is not too hot 65-75 should be the range

Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro, parsley, oranges, sweet corn, baby carrots are all good veggies to try and make sure she gets a vitamin c suppliment such as the GTN 50C tablets from Oxbow Pet Products | Welcome she needs 100mg daily.

In my experience, if you can feel the babies moving they could be up to 3 weeks away

 

[cavyinhawaii]

*I could hear the teeth chatter tonight. It was really weird.
*light or dark karo? does it matter?
*I live in Hawaii with only bedroom window A/C- I hope its cool enough. I am turning on some extra fans. It is usually only 80*outside but we are having a little heat wave.

 

[cavyinhawaii]

I tried to take a picture. she is a silkie (with trimmed hair) so its hard to see her wide back end. It is at least double her rib cage.

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h252/tarajeff1/animals003.jpg

 

[cavyinhawaii]

Don't give too much spinach. It's too high in oxalic acid. Give other things instead of spinach for calcium intake like kale, broccoli, collard/turnip/mustard/dandelion greens. They have a much less oxalic acid content than spinach but just as much calcium.

It could be 3-4 weeks still before she delivers. Usually you can start feeling movement around 6 weeks into the pregnancy. Once you start hearing teeth grinding from inside her tummy, delivery will be closer. Normally pups will start grinding their teeth up to two weeks before being born.

I got her some kale. She laid on it while she ate it. Crazy pig

 

[Mummy]

Add 1 teaspoon of Karo syrup to the drinking water (32 oz) bottle 1 week prior to birth and 1 week after birth.

This is pretty much pure sugar - not recommended for guinea pigs.

Pregnant mothers will do fine with extra alfalfa and vitamin C if necessary. Providing they have a good diet, including high quality grass hay and pellets, and fresh leafy green veggies, along with other veggies, I would add nothing else.

 

[Texas Rustlers]

This is pretty much pure sugar - not recommended for guinea pigs

What scientific evidence do you have to make a statement for not giving pregnant guinea pigs sugar during the last week of prenancy and 1st week post partum?

During the most ciritical stage of pregnancy you want to prevent pregnancy toxaemia - this is a condition where the mother is not able to supply enough glucose to her babies from her food intake and therefore uses her own body stores by breaking down the fats in her liver (ketosis), hence adding the clear karo syrup to the water helps prevent this if the piggy were predisposed to this condition (Treatment for toxaemia is to give a piggy glucose)

We are talking from our experience and we religiously follow this protocol with success, we have had approximately 61 litters born at the rescue and all mums have been given karo and all have survived, none going into ketosis.

Increased calcium intake during that time is also recommended

 

[Wheek Weak]

Make sure you keep the vet's phone number right beside the phone in case of emergency.

We felt Ruby's pup moving about 3 weeks before the birth. We also heard the baby "chutting" inside Momma! She's still a talker!

Something that helped us take Ruby out for cage cleaning and/or weighing, when she got too big to pick up safely, was to use an "elevator" that we made for her.

We cut off the top and one side of a small cardboard box and put a soft hand-towel on the bottom. We then weighed the box and wrote it down.

We would set the box down in the cage and entice her into it with a treat (if she didn't go in on her own). Then we would, very carefully, lift the box straight up and out and set her on the scale (or our lap, etc., depending on the circumstance).

When we set it on the scale we would deduct the weight of the box from what the scale read with her in it.

 

[VoodooJoint]

During the most ciritical stage of pregnancy you want to prevent pregnancy toxaemia - this is a condition where the mother is not able to supply enough glucose to her babies from her food intake and therefore uses her own body stores by breaking down the fats in her liver (ketosis), hence adding the clear karo syrup to the water helps prevent this if the piggy were predisposed to this condition (Treatment for toxaemia is to give a piggy glucose)

I would really like to hear more about this. I have never heard of this preventative measure and if it really works it's something I would like to know more about.

Did you come up with it on your own? Did your vet recommend it? Are there any articles on it?

 

[Texas Rustlers]

Did you come up with it on your own? Did your vet recommend it? Are there any articles on it?

It was recommended in either a book or an article or may actually have come directly from John Harkness, with whom I had some communication when we 1st started the rescue, regarding ketosis. I will have to start digging through my literature. I know I can't take credit for it!

 

[Mummy]

Texas Rustlers, sorry, my comment wasn't meant to offend. As you know we spend some time over on GL warning people against sugar since it can cause diarreah. While I absolutely defer to your success with 61 litters, I worry about inexperienced people taking the information about the karo syrup and not using it correctly.

I'd also be very interested in knowing the sources, since anything we can do to help pregnant mothers is useful - particularly since most of them come in with a history of poor nutrition and care.

 

[NewToPiggies]

I also read somewhere about giving them some sugar everday during the last few weeks of pregnancy to help with not getting toxemia. I really wish I could remeber where I read it. I gave my girl one fruit loop a day. I know its nuts but she loves it and it has some other nutrients in there to. Cavyinhawaii I am also wandering if you have notice that your piggie grooms you more often now ? Mine loves to try and lick my neck hands and my face. So I am assuming its her motherly instincts.

 

[Mummy]

I gave my girl one fruit loop a day.

This is exactly what I was worried about.

Please don't feed these to your guinea pig - they're not meant for animals and can cause diarreah.

This is entirely different from the tiny amount of karo syrup that TX Rustlers puts in the water bottle.

Sugar can cause diarreah, diabetes, and is absolutely NOT recommended for guinea pigs except in very rare cases in certain forms - which would not be fruit loops!