pregnat guinea pig

Question
Hi I'm Megan and I think my guinea pig is pregnant and this is my first time and I don't know how to tell or what to do if she has them thanks for your advice Megan

Answer

Teddy babies 1 day old You don't say whether you bred her or did you get her from someone else who may have.  The good news is that guinea pigs are very good parents. They know what to do and generally don't need any help.

You usually feel movement about two weeks before delivery. Most sows take on a typical pear shape when they get late in their pregnancy. You can't always tell just by looking at her size how many babies she may have. When you feel her tummy you the best way is to have her just stand on a table or on your lap.  Put both hands on either side of her belly and just barely press on both sides at once. It doesn't take much pressure. Wait a minute or two and you will feel little kicks.

Once a sow goes into labor they usually deliver their entire litter in 30 to 45 minutes. When the babies are born their eyes are fully open, they have a mouthful of teeth, their hair is all in and they look like little miniatures of their parents. The babies seem to know to stay in one spot, right where they were born, until mother tells them they can move. This is how nature provides for them not to run off and get eaten by a predator.

The mom will take care of whatever needs to be done. It's very common for at least one pup to be born dead. Sometimes there is one very weak one in a litter. The mom knows instinctively when there is something wrong with a baby and she will not make any attempt to do anything special for the sickly one. She knows that it would be a waste of energy and could harm the healthy babies if she spends all her time on one that will not survive.

Don't be upset if this happens. Again that's the way nature assures that only the healthiest survive. You may see the babies sitting in one spot and the mom on the other side of the cage, seemingly ignoring them. If that's the case she is not done delivering. She will not allow her babies to nurse until she has finished the job of either delivering more pups or just cleaning out any placentas, etc that she might still have inside. Leave her alone. Don't try to intervene. She knows what she's doing and when it's okay, she will nurse her new babies.

Each baby will have a placenta. They look like little red/brown pillows about the size of a nickel. You will see mom eat most of them. Although it may seem gross to humans that little package is filled with nutrients that the mother needs to help stimulate her milk to flow and to help her expel anything left inside from the delivery.

You can pick the babies up once she's cleaned them off. A cavy mom doesn't mind you handling the babies.  But be very careful, they are fast and they can jump right out of your hands. So make sure you have them secured when you're holding them.   

The will stay with the mom for about four to five weeks. You will see them try to drink from the water bottle and eat from her food dish within days after they're born. They still needs mom's milk during that time. I leave my babies with the mom for no less than five weeks. They seem to grow faster and healthier when they've stayed longer with mom.  

Should mom begin to look like she's stressed, losing weight etc, you can wean the babies earlier. If for some reason the sow dies the babies can actually survive if they've reached two weeks of age.  

Don't give the babies any lettuce or veggies until they're about three weeks old, and even then only a LITTLE bit. They easily get diarrhea and digestive upsets from fruits and veggies when they're too young. You can always just hold the babies and play with them while mom eats the goodies.  

So enjoy your little ones. They're such a delight to watch and they grow so fast. So make sure your camera is ready and by all means send me some pictures when the big day comes. The picture I attached is a mom with one day old babies. You can see how incredibly well developed they are right from birth.