help my guinea pig had a baby

[weeble1966]

woke up this morning to find a baby in the cage we only got the two guinea pigs on xmas eve and didnt know they were different sexes or that one was pregnant was looking at another dite and it said we should have removed the male before the birth as they can mate striaght away as she gave birth through the night what should we do now( we dont have another cage at the moment but we are looking for one) any ideas

[drchasuble]

It doesn't really matter which adult you remove from the cage as the baby can be cared for by either the mother of the father. Guinea pigs are very good at sharing the job.

[lily-lady]

does the father make milk too?

[drchasuble]

No but baby guinea pigs can eat solids straight away and although it's better for them to have their mother's milk it's not essential.
We had a pair and the female died straight after giving birth and the dad (Barry) looked after the guinea piglets, kept them warm etc.

[drchasuble]

Here's come info for you Weeble http://www.omlet.co.uk/guide/guide.php?view=Gu inea%20Pigs

[emma_26]

I used to breed guinea pigs myself, have had many successful litters, males will care as much as the females and as for the immediate mating it takes about 7-10 days for the mother o be fertile again so dont worry too much let him stay for a couple of days to enjoy his baby then remove him. the best thing to do then is get him neutered, it costs about �20 then he can stay with his family and no need for a new hutch. bear in mind that you may have problems if the baby is a boy though. if so he will also need neutering, or perhaps rehoming away when older or as he matures he will compete with his father for dominance which will result in fighting. if it is a girl no problems!

sexing the guinea pigs =
hold the guinea pig obviously belly up, and press down just above the genital area with your thumb if its a boy a penis will pop out. if nothing pops out then she is a girl. be sure to apply enough pressure though dont be too gentle.
you will not be able to determine the sex untill about 6 weeks of age though. they all look the same until then.

If you do decide to remove one of the parents then remove the dad please dont remove the mum unless you are prepared to express her milk (which is very difficult) as the baby needs this for atleast the first 6 weeks of life to provide all the required nutrients and anti bodies as do human babies!

guinea pigs need company so the most ideal thing would be to neuter the males. you are lucky she only had one. i never had a littler smaller than 3.
Unfortunately if you buy guinea pigs from pet shops it is common you will end up with pregnant ones as they are bread in captivity for that purpose lots of piggies to sell to shops. best place to look for guinea pigs are rescue centres and breeders.


Oh and go ahead handle the little cutie as much as you want the mother will never neglect her young because of human touch unlike many other animals.

23:27 Sat 06th Jan 2007

[weeble1966]

thanks for all the info been looking on some sites and they give conflicting advise ie female could get pregnant straight away and to remove baby at 3-4 weeks etc so was very worried as had only ever had one guinea pig with a rabbit before but we got two this time as they were offered together by a short acquaintance as her kids werent looking after them properly and i knew my kids would love them tyhey are so excited about the baby so think i am going to keep it thanks again all who helped