pregnant ?

Question
My daughter just got a guinea pig and I think it may be pregnant how can I be sure. What are the sighns that she might be pregnant.

Answer
Hi Erin,

The signs are more or less the same as with humans. Increased appetite and thrist, decreased movement, grumpiness and weight gain. In the later stages of her pregnancy, you will be able to see the babies moving around so if you can, please don't handle her unnecessarily. Look at your guinea pig from above; the babies sit on either side of her belly, rather than underneath it.

Guinea pigs are pregnant for 68-72 days. If she is from a pet shop she is very likely to be pregnant as she will have been looked after by untrained staff. She is likely to be 6-8 weeks old, and will have been at the pet shop from around 5 weeks old - the youngest she could have fallen pregnant is at 3 weeks of age. So she probably a maximum of 5 weeks pregnant.

Hope this helps and if you have any other questions about the pregnancy, birth, or anything else - just ask.

Jenny.