What age do baby guinea pigs get weaned?

Question
At what age do guinea pigs get weaned from their mom? I have heard many different answers.Also, if I were to have my guinea pig's cage outside, what temperatures can they stand? Thank you so much for your time. It is greatly appreciated.

Answer
Hi Jenn,

Guinea pigs wean from their mothers at between 2 and 3 weeks of age. You may notice them eating more and more solid foods, but they will still drink milk as well until they are 2-3 weeks old. Please be aware that the male babies will become sexually mature at 4 weeks of age, so you need to separate them from the mother (and any female babies) at between 3 and 4 weeks of age. The mother won't be able to handle another pregnancy so soon, and the female babies will be too young to. You should be able to tell which are boys and which are girls by 2 weeks of age - there are many websites to help with this, but I find the x and y method works best although some people believe this is unreliable. As you have their mother, you should be able to compare all their "bits" with hers to work our which are debeloping into boys (the babies all look the same "down below" to start with). If you are not keeping all the babies, please make sure they are at least 5 weeks old (ideally 6) before you rehome them, espcially if they are going to live with a novice guinea pig owner.

I would not recommend keeping your piggies outside. Whilst they are obviously at risk of heat stroke if it's too hot, and of freezing if it's too cold, they are also succeptible to attack from foxes, cats, dogs and birds of prey. I have never kept my piggies outside so I do not know the precise temperatures they can withstand but if you're too hot then they will be, and if you're too cold then they will be too! If you do decide to keep them outside, make sure they are out of direct sunlight in the summer, and in a heated shed or have a weatherproof cover for their hutch and a heatpad during the winter. Guinea pigs are very social animals, and would much prefer to be inside where they can be more a part of family life.

There are many well-designed easy-to-clean cages on the market now - I would recommend the Nero range. Check eBay for a bargain. A pair of fully-grown guinea pigs will need a Nero 3 at the smallest. You can also make your own "c & c" cage from correx and cube grids and there are loads of websites to help with this - I can't advise as I haven't made one before, though I am planning to upgrade my boys' Nero 2 soon and build them a palace as the younger of the two is 5 months now so will soon be too big for the cage. You can of course use a traditional hutch indoors, but you may wish to fit a panel of wood inside the doors to stop their bedding spill all over your floor everytime you open the cage.

I hope this helps and if you have any other questions - just ask!