older pig pregnant

Question
QUESTION: Our very healthy pet guinea pig is expecting soon, we can see and feel her babies moving around.  She is eating, drinking and grooming nicely. Our worry is that she can deliver, she has never had babies and is around 3 years old.  What is the best procedure we should follow?   I don't see how bringing her to the vet now would help determine if the canal is wide enough if the birth canal doesn't widen until a day or so before delivery.  We do use a vet that is not far and experienced with guinea pigs.  At what point do we decide a vet is needed?
Thank you for all your help (gforce is a lot of fun for guinea pig lovers)

ANSWER: Three years is an old pig for a first time mom. Are you absolutely sure she's never had a litter before? The problem is not whether the birth canal is wide enough, the concern is whether or not her pelvic ligaments are flexible enough to spread the pelvic bones enough to deliver. They tend to lose their elasticity with age if they've never littered before.

You hear and read about the pelvic bones "fusing" after a year old. That's incorrect. The pelvic bones do not touch one another so they cannot fuse. The bones are not the issue, it's the ligaments that enable those bones to spread wide enough for the baby to pass. If they do not open wide enough an emergency C-section is necessary. Without it you may lose the mom as well as the babies.

You're fortunate to have a cavy knowledgeable vet. Ask his advice as to when to call him. If she starts labor the first baby should pass within one hour. If she can pass the first one she's home free. If not she's in trouble. Given oxytocin (a hormone that causes stronger contractions) is not indicated. If the pelvis won't allow delivery the oxytocin may rupture the uterus.

Why or how did she become pregnant at this age? If you got her from someone else there's a chance she's already had a previous litter. If so she may be just fine.  It's not always an absolute that they cannot deliver at that age, but the odds are against her. Unfortunately there is no way to predict or determine the elasticity of the pelvic ligaments.

Talk to the vet and get his advice and input. He may recommend a C-section before she actually goes into labor. You need to follow his recommendations.

Please keep me posted as to her status. I will keep my fingers crossed for both of you.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your quick response!  While waiting I did contact the vet and will keep you posted.  We did get our girl from another family, she was close to a year then and had not had a litter.  Since then, we took in another young pig from another local family that unfortunately turned out to be a male. This is our only experience with a guinea pig pregnancy although we have had 15 gp over the years.

ANSWER: You've done all the right things.  Now it's up to her.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: We have babies!  Kiwi delivered and cleaned up two of her babies while we were out of the room, they are the cutest little puff balls.  She is doing well, cleaning, nursing, eating drinking.  But...we can see she still has more work to do.  There is another baby in there, taking its time.  It has been about five hours.  She is not in any distress, not many contractions. The baby has shifted down a small distance. Not far enough down to be "stuck".  
Have you ever run into this type of delivery situation and any suggestions on speeding along?

Answer
Congratulations! I'm so glad everything went well.  Yes, I've run into this kind of thing. As long as she's acting okay she may pass what she has left. Are you sure there's actually another baby and that you're not feeling her distended uterus.  Just as with humans that uterus takes time to shrink.

Eating and drinking is a good sing. It's not an uncommon thing to have only two babies. I had a sow recently that had one large baby and I was sure there should have been more based on her enormous size. Almost 24 hours later she passed two dead babies, but she and the living one are just fine.

If you're concerned that there's really another in there a trip to the vet might be indicated. He will give her a shot of pitocin, stimulate the contractions and the fetus will pass. But the fact that she's showing no signs of distress is a good sign.

Send pictures!