While the baby boars can be separated in just three weeks once they are fully weaned, the baby sows can remain with the mother for up to 4 weeks from the time of birth. The first twenty four hours are when the babies are at greatest risk for being eaten, so remain close during this period. An indoor cage size of 18" x 24" (45 x 60 cm) should comfortably accommodate a guinea pig. Mange worms (Trichocross cavia) are a common cause of hair loss, and other symptoms may include excessive scratching, abnormal aggression when being touched, and, in some cases, seizures. However, we always recommend having more than one guinea pig because these small animals are social creatures and they need company. Pregnant and lactating guinea pigs also need alfalfa hay to sustain their babies. Put him back with his mother if he becomes vocal or squirmy.
What to Do If Your Guinea Pig Had Babies - YouTube But many experts recommend that pups be weaned as late as 6 weeks. To avoid the risk of your guinea pig, eating her babies, take these safety steps. After three weeks, the baby guinea pig can be separated from its mother and placed with other guinea pigs or its owner. The bond between a mother and her baby is crucial for the babys development. We noticed our guinea pig babies began to eat mamas food within a few days of birth. (Such as blood and remaining body parts). If her diet doesnt contain enough vital vitamins and nutrients, she can still be malnourished whilst receiving enough calories to maintain her body weight. ), Guinea pigs can suffer from running lice. The extra calories should be provided until she stops nursing her newborn babies. If you look after the guinea pig mother regularly, she will allow you to touch her baby guinea pigs. This is a question that has long been debated when it comes to guinea pigs. Approach them face-on, so they can see you coming. At three weeks of age it was still hard for us to tell the difference between the males and females. Do Guinea Pigs Eat Their Babies if You Touch Them? Here you'll find the juicy goods to care for your little friends WITHOUT making your brain short-circuit. Wheek: The shrill noise a guinea pig or other small rodent makes. Neutering is A LOT less risky for males than spaying is for females. In general, most female guinea pigs who survives birth and delivery will and raise her litter without any issues. This can harm the guinea pigs health, as they may become stressed or depressed. mypetguineapig.com may be compensated when users click on links and sign-up with their associated offers located in content or anywhere else on the page. You have to remember that these babies are coming out of the womb ready to run around the cage and have fun very quickly. (2020, May 5). Guinea pig babies are born very quickly. Newborn guinea pigs weigh between 60g and 115g. This usually happens when pups are stillborn, or born to ill to survive. Since males can get any female guinea pig pregnant once they reach maturity - including their mothers - they're weaned and taken from their mother at three weeks old. You might also notice they squeak in distress when you take them away from their mom. It is important to note that guinea pigs can get attached to their owners and may experience signs of separation anxiety when they are not around. Most people find guinea pig babies sweet and beautiful. An average sized pup measures around 3 to 5 inches at birth, and very cylindrical roughly the size of a tangerine in fact! Most people find that, when it comes to guinea pigs at least, babies are the cutest. Yes, guinea pigs sometimes eat their babies. When they grow up, male guinea pigs are called boars, and females are called sows. Giving birth is very stressful for guinea pigs and the mortality rate of pregnant guinea pigs is quite high due to complications that occur during the delivery process. Stop getting dirty looks from your piggies, because you forgot to do something for themAGAIN. The larger the litter, the smaller the pups will likely be. Although they are capable of eating almost immediately, baby guineas do still need to nurse and they will seek milk about every two hours. Cage size Will the baby guinea pigs be able to escape? It can be a little surprising to witness, but its completely normal and nothing to be alarmed about. This often happens when owners of female guinea pigs discover an unplanned pregnancy and arent able to care for all the babies. Certainly not, they only remember their parents for a particular period. On average, baby guinea pigs come in litters of 2-4, and weigh 70-115g.
Will Your Guinea Pig Eat Her Babies? (What You Need To Know) Once the pups arrive, monitor them closely to make sure nursing is established within 12 hours. So as long as the enclosure is secure and the bars are tight, you should be fine. [9] They will still need to nurse, though, for three weeks before they are ready to be removed from their mother. I thought they would be born helpless and look like baby rats or hamsters with no fur and their eyes closed. Theres no fixed moment when a guinea pig stops being a pup and becomes an adult. What Should I Do if My Guinea Pig Eats (Or Kills) Her Babies? If that happens in captivity, thats extremely rare. (What You Need To Know), Can Guinea Pigs Eat Clementines? This is one of the biggest reasons why a sow will engage in filial cannibalism. You have entered an incorrect email address! This served a purpose in the wild to prevent predators from finding the newborn baby guinea pigs. The average lifespan of the guinea pig is four or five years, but it can live much longer. The female pups can be weaned the following week at four weeks of age. Guinea pig babies are born quickly. https://kb.rspca.org.au/knowledge-base/i-think-my-guinea-pig-might-be-pregnant-what-should-i-do/, Pregnancy toxemia in Guinea pigs. The larger the litter, the smaller the pups (as a general rule), so ideally you wouldn't want too many pups born at once. This article has been extensively revised for 2019. i am so excited!!! Even then, they must be handled very gently. Guinea pigs are tailless rodents that weigh between 1.5 and 2.5 lbs. They are able to express a wide range of emotions using different sounds and gestures. In this article weve answered some frequently asked questions about newborn baby guinea pigs like: Whether you have a surprise guinea pig pregnancy or a planned one, there are a few things you will want to prepare in advance to make sure you are ready when your newborn baby guinea pigs arrive. Baby guinea pigs are much smaller than their parents, so they can escape from the cage. 11. Begin by holding your guinea pig gently on their back. mypetguineapig.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. When they dont have enough food and are at risk of starvation. That way she doesnt have to deal with the stress of more pregnancies. They use them to form social bonds and initiate mating, attract the attention of herd members over great distances, communicate sadness, and sound the alarm. Baby guinea pigs feed on their mothers milk but soon they will need lots of alfalfa hay thats rich in calcium. So, what do you put on the bottom of a guinea pig cage? At the end of the day we removed the fleece bedding, washed it and replaced it with a fresh fleece liner. Garner-Richardson, V., Guinea Pig Nutrition, The Veterinary Nurse, 2013. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases from Amazon.com and other affiliate links, at no extra cost to you. There is a chance that your sow will only partially eat her offspring, particularly if she killed them by accident. Likely she has forgotten all about them, and is instead planning to to escape and start her next litter. Housing your guinea pig is not particularly difficult, as there are a large variety of hutches and cages commercially available. It's often the result of starvation, stress, inexperience, or trauma. (Find Out Now). This is especially important in guinea pigs, as they are highly social animals. And all the behaviors theyll need to carry out for themselves instead of having performed for them by mom like grooming will be well established. A fully grown guinea pig is between 20 and 25 cm long. Once labor is established, all the pups usually arrive within half an hour. While it is a hard thing to think about, it can happen. But another remarkable thing about baby guinea pigs is just how grown up their appetites are! Having your guinea pig give birth to a litter should be an exciting time. Guinea pig babies can walk, see, and hear, as soon as they are born, and most start nibbling on solid foods within a few days. Caring for baby guinea pigs can be a rewarding experience if you know what to expect. They will begin to wriggle and move about as soon as theyve been licked clean by their mom. They will continue to nurse from mom for somewhere between three and six weeks. Check out these most popular guinea pig products on the market: Last update on 2023-02-21 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API. Or at least make it a less dangerous one, for you, the guinea pig mother, and the baby piggies. It will also well as putting her at risk for developing diseases like toxaemia. Will the baby guinea pigs be able to escape the enclosure? However, dont keep them in the same cage for long. The information on this website should not be take as a substitute for professional advice. Even their own children. What about baby guinea pigs for adoption? (2014, March 28). Guinea pigs are cute and quite intelligent pets. Your guinea pig's individual personality will likely play a big role in this. Some guinea pigs even put up great resistance to this. After birth, Guinea pig sows can become pregnant again within hours. Some say that they do not form the same type of attachment as other animals, while others believe that they do experience a certain level of sadness after their young have been weaned. Your pregnant and lactating guinea pigs should have access to alfalfa hay in the last weeks of their pregnancy. RELATED: CLICK HERE for tips on how to tame your guinea pig (step by step guide). On the other hand, if it turns out that they dont form any attachment to their young, then we can rest assured knowing that there isnt anything we need to worry about. Its unwise to create more. (Find Out Now), Filial Cannibalism (and 7 Reasons Why Some Animal Moms Dine On Their Babies). 5 Common Cat Behaviours And What They Mean. This little interaction will enable him warm to the introduction of a new cage mate better. It is important to make sure that the pups begin nursing within the first few hours of birth. This is especially true for mammalian animals, who often form strong attachments with their young. Just like with taming older guinea pigs be patient and consistent. Well chart the milestones of their first days and weeks, and find out what to expect if you discover your female guinea pig is expecting.
Guinea Pig Facts | Live Science However, they can seriously injure them when they recognize that the babies are not theirs, also because they are intimidated and territorial. https://www.guinealynx.info/reproduction.html, I think my Guinea pig might be pregnant, what should I do? Do everything you can to fulfill the wants and needs of the pregnant female, to make her feel safe and comfortable. A male guinea pig might seriously injure his babies because he is territorial and feels intimidated. How Few Is Too Few? When they dont respond to her attention, she tries cleaning them more and more vigorously, until eventually she ends up damaging them. Other causes of hair loss due to underlying medical conditions such as ovarian cysts may occur as a result of hormonal distress. If you bring home your baby guinea pig at seven weeks old, youll find all the information you need to raise them in our guide to guinea pigs as pets. Walter or Bob These guinea pigs sound like they should be wearing business suits on Wall Street. I've always been an animal lover, and I've worked in the pet industry. Change the water daily. They are able to see, hear and move around once they are born. We kept a close eye on Theo as her due date approached. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/140328-sloth-bear-zoo-infanticide-chimps-bonobos-animals, Your Guinea Pigs Pregnancy: The Stages of Pregnancy. During our research we learned that there are two possible reasons why: This was one question that had me really worried. Sufficient nutrition, a mixture of alfalfa and timothy grass, keeps female guinea pigs hydrated and can prevent guinea pigs from eating their babies. Guinea pigs diet rests on grasses, herbs, hay, and raw fruits and vegetables. The two main reasons why Guinea pigs may eat their babies is a result of hunger, or insufficient feeding. They have small bodies and big eyes. Stress can cause guinea pigs to eat their babies, and stress-induced cannibalism is also very common in guinea pigs, and unfortunately, quite unavoidable at times.Do your best to keep them well fed and give them plenty of rest so they can stay calm. Donnelly, T. M. and Brown, C. J., Guinea Pig and Chinchilla Care and Husbandry, Veterinary Clinics Exotic Animal Practice, 2004. Make sure to feed your guinea pig hay of high quality. Its natural for you and me to humanize the behavior of animals. Guinea pigs need fresh water daily. Do guinea pigs get attached to their babies? Expect to pay around $10 to $40 on average, though this can vary depending on factors such as age and coloring. Just like big farmyard pigs! If your sow has eaten her own babies, you may want to consider changing her living conditions. Under normal circumstances, the sow will give birth and have a healthy litter of pups. We used fleece bedding which we spot cleaned throughout the day by removing poop and leftover food. This way, your guinea pig will not feel the need for extra nutrition. In the meantime, if you havent seen enough sweet pictures of baby guinea pigs yet, then why not visit our compilation of favorite guinea pig videos.
How to Care for a Pet Guinea Pig - The Spruce Pets