PLZZ HELP ME... URGENT

Question
QUESTION: hi i bought a guinea on june 2,08 and i didnt noe tht it was a female...the store ppl told me tht its a male...after a 2 weeks it gave birth to two babies. i was not sure of their sex so i visited a better pet shop and they told me to seperate the babies from the mother within 2 weeks and ive done tht.recently i got the babies' sex checked and turns out tht one is a boy n the othre is a girl. i put the female baby with the mother but the mother is acting wierd. she is chasin the baby and hurting her, she is not letting the baby drink water from the bottle and is not letting it eat the food from the same bowl, and she is not letting the female baby go inside the new shade we have got for them.... PLZZ HELP ME...plzz tell me wht i shuld do... will the mother hurt the baby???i dun want to have three different cages in my house for each of them....PLZZ HELP ME ASAP

ANSWER: Hi Sidra,

First of all ... search the internet for "sexing guinea pigs" and confirm whether they are males or females first. You may have put a male in with the mother, which would explain her behaviour.

Secondly, two weeks was a little early to take the babies away, which may explain the problems. They will have weaned from their mother at two-three weeks, and the male would have reached sexual maturity at four weeks, so it would have been best to take him away at three weeks. The female should have stayed with her mother. Because you took her away (which isn't your fault, as that's what you were told, but pet shops are notoriously rubbish with guinea pigs) the mother probably doesn't recognise her as her baby and has become territorial. This sort of territorial behaviour is more common in males, but can occur in females that have lived alone.

The best thing to do will be to introduce the female baby to the mother in the same way you'd introduce two strangers. The female baby probably smells like the male baby, which is angering the female. Firstly, completely clean out the mother's cage. Then put lots of veggies in (on the floor in there, not in a bowl), then the mother, and then the baby girl. Rub the baby girl with some of the dirty bedding from the mother's cage first, so she smells like her. They should sniff, chase, and maybe even mount each other. But then they should settle down and eat. You will know within two-five minutes whether they're going to get on. If they start to fight, separate them.

If it doesn't work, wait 24 hours and try the whole process again - but bath them both first. Ask me how to do this if you haven't done it before, as it can be tricky. Guinea pigs can't swim so it's more of a wash than a bath. If it still doesn't work, try it all again put put Vicks on the guinea pigs' noses and grease glands.

The male baby will probably be happiest if you get him a cagemate. Either another young boar, or an older male (who has never been bred from). Introduce them in the same way as the females.

Good luck and if you have any other questions - just ask!

Jenny.

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QUESTION: Hi again... thank u for ur reply. I followed wht u said but the mother started to hurt the baby not even 2 mions after i put them together. i did exactly wht u said but i don't noe wht to do now. i don't want to have the mother kill the baby so is ther any other safer way for me to get them together... PLZZZ HELP

ANSWER: Hi,

It's very unusual for your older female to be behaving like this. Usually you can just pop new females in together and they don't need the bathing etc as males do. Have you tried introducing them after bathing them and putting Vicks rubs on their noses and grease glands?

Are you sure she's hurting her? Unless teeth chatter or blood is drawn, you don't need to worry. They may nip each other gently and mount each other whilst working out who's boss. Though again, this is unsual behaviour for a female to express.

Jenny.

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QUESTION: Hi just wanted to Thank You for ur help. it worked... they are both ok with each other now. i m goin out of town for a month... n i m leaving my guinea pigs at home... one of my friend will be coming in to chek up on them regularly. i m just wondering if there is anything i shuld do for them before i leave. Thanx again for ur help... i really appreciate it.

Answer
I don't know where you live, but in the UK it is illegal to leave a small pet at home alone - even just for one night. As you know, guinea pigs need feeding regularly and are very social creatures, so will quickly suffer if they are left on their own. They also go downhill very quickly when they are poorly, so someone needs to be at hand to take them to a vet if need be.

It will be a much better idea to have your friend live at your house while you're away, or send your piggies to live with her. If that's not possible, you should consider putting them into small animal boarding (like kennels for dogs, but on a smaller scale).

Guinea pigs like routine and they will become distressed if things are not the same as when you're there. They need fresh veggies, clean water, their dried mix and plenty of hay every day. And they will need to be handled and got out of the cage as often as usual. If you're not 100 per cent sure they're going to get on it's even more important that someone keeps a close eye on them.