Pregnate Guinea pig

Question
QUESTION: hi

i have found out about 4 weeks a go that my guinea pig is pregnant and i need help and information so ill be ready for the babies .
i need help about how to look after babies and how long till they are due .
please help
i don't know when they are due help please

Beth x

ANSWER: The average guinea pig gestation period is 60-70 days.  And although I do know about breeding, you need to do a lot more research than I can tell you in one email.  Please read up on breeding so that you are prepared for the birth.  It really isn't good for a non-experienced breeder to be having babies.  There is a lot that can go wrong, and you need to know how to deal with it.  

Here are a few links that I found helpful when my guinea pig was having babies for the first time...

http://www.petalia.com.au/templates/storytemplate_process.cfm?story_no=246

http://www.aracnet.com/~seagull/Guineas/breeding.html

^^^ that one is very helpful..

You should also look for books on guinea pigs that have a lot in them about breeding, that's also what I did.

Please, and I can't stress this enough, do your research.  Look up everything you can about breeding so that you are prepared.  You should also consult a veterinarian if you have any further questions.

Good luck!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi my guinea pig gave birth to 2 little girls today . i found that my guinea pig who has just given birth (Lucy ) is bleeding down below , is it normal ?
please write back as soon as possible . I'm really worried about her ! what can i do to help the babies ?

thank you

Beth x

Answer
Well, like I told you before, the average guinea pig gestation is about 60 to 70 days.  I cannot tell you exactly how long they are due, because although you found out she was pregnant about four weeks ago, I do not actually know when she got pregnant.  The most I can tell you is how many days an average guinea pig takes to have babies.

As far as looking after the babies, the mom will do most of the work.  You just need to provide some extra food, and extra hay for everybody to share.  Make sure you have a constant supply of timothy hay and alfalfa hay, because the mom will need the alfalfa while she is pregnant and nursing, and the babies will need it until they are six months old.  You should also keep a constant supply of pellets in the cage, and those should also be alfalfa based.  And once again, the mom should go back to timothy based pellets when she is done nursing, and the babies should be on the alfalfa until they are six months old.  

The babies should be with their mother until they are four weeks old.  If you have all females, it will not matter how long they stay with their mom.  But if you have some males, you need to separate the babies at four weeks old, because males can get a female pregnant at that age, and you do not want your guinea pig to get pregnant from her son.  The male babies should also be separated from the female babies at that time.  

Like I said before, you still need to do your research by using internet sources or books.  Good luck.