Unexpected baby

[JamLee]

I'm a first time guinea pig owner who somewhat recently bought a guinea pig from a pet store (which I've learned not to do since browsing this site). The pigs were mixed together, and it turns out that my female guinea pig, Boo, was pregnant and had a baby on Sunday. The signs were all there, but I guess I didn't really think anything of it. She was eating a lot and gaining weight, but I figured it was just because she is a young pig who's growing. She also only had one baby, so I guess it was less noticeable since there weren't a bunch of babies in her womb? Sunday afternoon I went over near the cage to feed her and was SHOCKED to find a baby. I'm just glad there were no problems with the birth, and I now have two healthy guinea pigs. I had been wanting to get a friend for Boo, and I'm pretty the baby is a girl (I've been checking and double checking, don't want another unexpected pregnancy!) so they'll be able to stay together.

I've gotten a lot of good information so far from some of the research I've done, but I just want to double check and make sure I'm doing everything I can to make sure the baby (who I think I'm going to name Ginger) and Boo are happy and healthy. They're currently in a pet store cage that is way too small for them, but this weekend I should have the materials and time to build a C&C cage. I've been feeding them romaine lettuce and green pepper every day with cucumber occasionally since Boo loves it but there isn't a lot of nutrition value. Ginger is learning how to eat them, but Boo likes veggies A LOT (especially lettuce) so it's kind of difficult to feed the baby with mom around. The baby's been nibbling on the lettuce and pepper some. I hold the veggies in front of her mouth until she starts nibbling and then I let her take control. Usually she gets bored and leaves after a few seconds or Boo sweeps in and gobbles it up. Either way she doesn't get very much. Is there a way I can make sure she's getting the nutrients she needs? She's still getting milk from her mom, of course, but I'm not sure when she'll need to be self sufficient. And I'm also not sure if she's getting necessary nutrients. I've also caught her eating some of the pellets from the food bowl, so she's definitely learning. Not sure if she's learned how to use the water bottle yet as I haven't seen her drink from it.

Overall she seems to be healthy. I've been weighing her, and she's gaining weight. She's up to 148g today, which is a ten gram increase since yesterday. She started popcorning yesterday which was a great surprise. She's also very noisy and runs around the cage a lot. I just want to make sure I'm doing everything I can for her and her mom. So if you guys could share any general care tips or newborn care tips I'd be very grateful. I especially need some help with food and veggies as I'm not exactly sure what they should be getting every day and why, what should be served every now and then, how to add variety, etc.

 

[Starthecavy123]

The signs were all there, but I guess I didn't really think anything of it. She was eating a lot and gaining weight, but I figured it was just because she is a young pig who's growing.

Dont worry your not alone I did the same thing with bella. I guess the signs were there but I didnt see them. Long story short she gave birth to still borns and we had to put her down. You got lucky that you didnt have go through that, I wouldn't wish that on my enemy. She was so young and we only had her 2 months. (But I guess thats what we get for trusting pet stores huh).

 

[Starthecavy123]

Guinea pig under 5 months need as much vitamin c they can get. Make sure she gets alfalfa hay because it has more vitamin c than Timothy hay. Thats really all I know and thats what I learned from here. Someone else maybe able to be specific like @bpatters.

 

[pinky]

They need unlimited grass hay (timothy, orchard grass, brome) to keep their teeth ground down and for good digestion. Nursing mothers and pups up to 6 months of age need extra calcium. You can add alfalfa hay in addition to, not in place of, the grass hay or vegetables that are high in calcium.

 

[Rywen]

When you set up the c&c cage you need to babyproof it since the little ones can get their heads stuck in the grids. If you have extra grids you can overlap them to make the squares smaller, or put up cardboard along the grids.

Congratulations!

 

[JamLee]

Thank you to everyone for the replies. I've been supplying them with timothy hay, but I didn't know to also get alfalfa hay. I'll also make sure to babyproof the cage. If anyone else has anything to share please let me know.

Dont worry your not alone I did the same thing with bella. I guess the signs were there but I didnt see them. Long story short she gave birth to still borns and we had to put her down. You got lucky that you didnt have go through that, I wouldn't wish that on my enemy. She was so young and we only had her 2 months. (But I guess thats what we get for trusting pet stores huh).

Thank you for sharing your story. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who doesn't realize. I'm so sorry that happened to you. I'll never forget how grateful I am that both my guinea pig and her baby are healthy and had no problems, but not every story has that kind of ending. Sending you some love

 

[bpatters]

You don't need to get alfalfa hay unless it's just convenient. You can either supplement their regular hay with alfalfa OR feed them alfalfa pellets OR give them a couple of sprigs of parsley each per day. What they need is the calcium in those things.