Pregnant Guinea pig!

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kitgal421

Post   » Tue Oct 10, 2017 5:07 pm


The humane society I work for recently got in a family of guinea pigs including a mom, dad, and four 2 month old babies. Of course, we instantly separated everyone by gender, but the damage has been done and momma is definitely pregnant again. I've fostered a ton of piggies before, but never a pregnant one! I've been doing my research on guinea lynx and other websites, but I was hoping people could give me some lesser known advice or "I wish I'd known" advice on fostering a pregnant piggy. Anything is appreciated!

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Tue Oct 10, 2017 5:33 pm


Thanks for taking them in!

Here's a thread I wrote for another forum that might help. It's got some links in it back to articles here on GL: https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/th ... ong-is-she

JX4

Post   » Wed Oct 11, 2017 1:32 pm


Make sure she has extra calcium and vitamin C!

kailaeve1271

Post   » Sat Oct 14, 2017 5:01 pm


I would set make sure that you have at least one area in your cage that has a thick layer paper bedding. Like a corner if you don’t already use paper bedding. There will be some blood and it makes it easier to clean plus it’s a little more comforting for the babies. The bedding is like a soft blanket they can burrow in a little.

There eyes will be open and from when my pig was pregnant the babies will literally look like heads with legs. It’s still adorable though. Make sure she always has water. She will definitely be thirstier. The babies will be born without you knowing. My pig had both of hers within 5 minutes and I had no idea. Just keep a close eye on her, avoid lifting her and decrease any stress. Don’t give her toys that she has to jump on or ramps. These would cause my pig to become very tired so I had to rake them away to conserve her energy.

I hope everything goes well! Good luck!

Phantomhorse

Post   » Mon Oct 16, 2017 2:36 pm


I like to feed small amounts of alfalfa with the timothy hay for the calcium. Make sure there is PLENTY of water, and always make sure she has hay. Do not ever put her on her back (you shouldn't in general, but it is really bad when they are pregnant) As much as you want to, don't stay up all night and watch her, I did this for one of my rescues and it stressed her out. My first rescue gave birth while I was at school, and the other one gave birth in the twenty minutes i stepped away to eat dinner. The babies do well, i weighed mine every day as it got them used to handling and made sure they were ok. They should have big round tummies for the first few days, if their belly is flat and not full, you have a problem. Guinea pigs start nibbling on hay and pellets from two days old, but i never gave my babies access to greens until they were a month old. Make sure to separate any males from their sisters and mothers by the time they reach two weeks old. They are able to be weaned by then and will impregnate their sisters and mother.

Phantomhorse

Post   » Mon Oct 16, 2017 2:39 pm


I wish i had known when to separate, as one of my boys re-impregnated his mother at two weeks old, and i had to get her emergency spayed. I did consult a vet on this, but they did not have the correct answer. Watch the mom for any solid hardened nipples, if no milk is able to come out the babies will get sick and so will the mother. Also, when you wean them the mother is bound to seem disinterested and not very interested in eating for a week or two. Any longer than that is abnormal.

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