To seperate or not to seperate

Question
Hi, I have two Guinea pigs, a girl and a boy, I think the girl is pegnant, do I have to seperate the two of them when she has the babies?

Answer
This is actually a yes and no answer. The boars are wonderful dads. They love their babies and can be compared to a pride of lions, the dads participate in the raising of the babies. They'll even wash and clean them, allow the babies to climb all over them and they won't in any way harm those pups. That's the first part.

The reason you may want to separate them is because mom comes into heat within hours of delivery and he will breed her back again. Although we don't do this 'breed back' intentionally it does happen and it's not harmful to the sow. This is what they do in the wild. That being said, the pigs in the wild have the freedom to run and get much more exercise than we can give them in captivity. So it's best not to allow that breed back to happen.

If you wake up to mom and dad and a new litter it's already too late, so leave him there for a week or so if you like. Baby sows can come into their first heat as young as two weeks and they will become pregnant by the father if he's there. Again, they handle pregnancy extremely well and in fact in most cases do better than older sows. It doesn't stunt their growth or have any residual effect on their development.

You will notice the dad started to follow mom around and purr and rumblestrut as though she's in heat. This happens about 24 to 48 hours before delivery. Her hormones are changing in preparation for delivery and gives off the scent to the dad that she's ready to breed. If you start seeing that then remove him. She will have her pups in the next day or so.

You can also feel the spreading of the pelvic bones that signify delivery in the next couple of days. Don't handle her anymore than absolutely necessary. She's uncomfortable at that stage and just wants to lie around and wait.

To check the pelvic bones put one hand on her back and gently slide either your first or second finger down her backbone to her bottom. You will feel the tips of the bones just as your finger gets almost to the very bottom of her backside right at the genital opening. They are fairly pointed and sharp feeling. Normally they're almost touching, about l/8 " or less apart.

When she's ready for delivery they feel as though you could move them and you can almost get your finger between the two.  Don't press on them, just gently move your finger side to side to feel their position and how almost flexible they seem to be. Usually she litters within a day, maybe two.

You don't need to do anything for her. She will take care of it all. If you see her staying on the other side of the cage and leaving the babies by themselves that usually means she isn't done delivering any placentas, etc.  She will not suckle the babies until she's finished the job. Do not try to bottle feed the babies. They will aspirate and die. Leave mom to take care of them. She knows what she's doing and will jump into her job when the right time comes.

So just keep your camera ready. You're in for a treat. Cavy babies are the cutest things you've ever seen. Good luck to you and mom, and please send pictures.