Preg. Guinea Pig?

Question
QUESTION: I bought a Guinea pig about one week ago at a pet store, and shes been losing hair, and making noises when i rub her tummy sometimes. And im very worried that she might be preg.

And i found one site, saying to turn her over and feel for eggs, she scratches me to death when i try to do this.

ANSWER: Hi Ashleigh,

Unfortunately, the staff in pet shops are very rarely experienced in keeping guinea pigs, and as such guinea pigs from pet shops usually come with a whole host of problems. Mites and pregnancy are the most common surprises, and it sounds like your guinea pig could have both!

I am very concerned about the website that says to turn a guinea pig over to look for eggs. Firstly, in general guinea pigs do not like to be put on their backs. And secondly they do not lay eggs; they give birth to live young.

As she is from a pet store and has been losing hair, I'm pretty sure she has mites. Has she been scratching? The most common kind of mites that piggies get do not look the same as the lice that humans and other animals can get, and in fact appear to look more like dust. They are usually dark on pale-coloured guinea pigs, and pale on dark-coloured guinea pigs. It will be best to treat both of your piggies, as if they live together the other one has probably got them too, although they may not be bothering her as much. Mites actually live on a piggy's skin all the time, and you only need to worry about them when an infestation breaks out. Occasional scratching isn't a cause to treat, but regular scratching can be; have a close look at your guinea pigs' coats and you'll probably spot some teeny tiny mites.

The good news is that you can easily treat skin conditions at home. As your guinea pigs are under 12 weeks old, you cannot use Insecticidal Shampoo on them. However, I highly recommend a remedy from www.gorgeousguineas.com called "Lice and Easy"; it's brilliant! It does a much better job of getting rid of mites than the stuff from pet shops, and will leave your guinea pig smelling lovely. Also, because it is a natural treatment, the ingredients will help to treat other skin conditions in case it isn't mites, and will prevent another outbreak.

Here's the instructions for bathing your piggy in Lice n Easy:

Guinea pigs do not like being bathed and it is always a tricky process; you will need someone else to help you.  The best thing to do is to find a large, clean bowl (like the one for washing up) and line it with a flannel. Get someone to hold your piggy in this bowl. Wet her with warm water (test it first) by either pouring it over her gently (not on his face!) or squeezing it over her using another flannel. Rub in the required amount of shampoo being careful not to let your guinea pig lick herself (for this bit, you can take her out of the bowl and get your helper to hold her on a towel on their lap) and then wrap your guinea pig up in a towel (to keep her warm, and stop her licking) for five minutes. Then return her to the bowl and rinse away the shampoo; the mites should fall off too! Dry your guinea pig with a towel, and once she is just damp, you can finish off drying her with a hair dryer if you like (some piggies love this, some hate it). Give her a nice groom with a special brush and pop her back in her cage (but only once she is clean and dry). You will need to clean out the cage (and spray it with a general safe animal cleaning spray) before returning your piggy to it, as some of the mites will be living in there too. The mites should then be gone, but if it's a bad case, your girl may need a second bath.

Have a good examine of your guinea pigs for mites after their baths, and keep an eye on her. Unless you see the mites, and then see that they are gone, you can't be sure that this is the problem. Your itchy piggy could could be allergic to her bedding. Have you changed the brand of stuff you use to line their cage, recently?

If your guinea pig came into contact with male piggie at any point during her stay at the pet shop, she will most likely be pregnant. Guinea pigs are like rabbits in this respect; they mate at the first chance they're given and they don't care if it's with a relative!

The signs of pregnancy are similar as with humans; she'll put on weight, eat more, drink more, and get a bit lazy! So it sounds as though Tiny could well be pregnant, and if she has been sharing a cage with a male, it would be very unusual if she wasn't. The gestation period of guinea pigs is 68-72 days, and if you can feel the babies moving around, she is probably in the later stages of her pregnancy. It is best not to handle her unncessarily during this stage(just when you clean out her cage) as just like a human, she'll be feeling very uncomfortable.

A female guinea pig must be under 6 months old when she has her first litter, otherwise her pelvic bones will have fused together and she will struggle to deliver the litter. If your guinea pig is older than this (and it is her first pregnancy) you will need to take extra precautions and will need to have the vet on the phone during the birth, perhaps even in your house. As youg piggy was from a pet store I'm guessing she's around 8 weeks old now; which is a little young, but she should be fine, depending on when she fell pregnant. There's no such thing as "too young" but an inexperienced young Mum will need you to keep a closer eye on her.

Try not to worry too much. Although, as with any animal, birth can be difficult for guinea pigs, the babies are usually born without any complications, especially if the pregnant sow is happy and healthy. Difficulties in pregnancy and birth are more common in older sows.

Put some extra hay in your piggy's cage so that she has somewhere comfortable to lay when she has her babies. She will probably have the babies at night, or any other time you're not watching, so be prepared to open the cage any day now and see mum and 1-4 tiny piggies looking up at you! If you are around when your guinea pig gives birth, don't disturb her, but stay within earshot so you can hear if she is struggling, and have your nearest vet's phone number at the ready.

When the babies are born, they will look just like mini versions of their mum! Not necessarily the same colour, but they are born with hair unlike many other small mammals as in the wild they need to be ready to run from predators from day one! Avoid touching the babies for the first few days (although this will be tempting, as they are very cute) as if you pass your scent onto them, their mother may reject them, and hand-rearing a guinea pig is not easy! You can and should watch them, though. Make sure she isn't too rough when she is cleaning them, and check that all babies get a more or less equal share of her milk. A female guinea pig has only 2 nipples, so if she has 3 or more babies, they will have to take turns to suckle!

The babies can eat solid food from day one so start putting extra veggies in the cage once they've been born, but they will also drink their mother's milk until they are around 3 weeks old. Once they are weaned, you will need to move any males to a separate cage by the time they are 4 weeks old, as at 4 weeks they reach sexual maturity and will be able to get their mother and sisters pregnant! It can be tricky to tell the gender of baby guinea pigs, but by the age of 2 weeks you will be able to tell for sure. If you cannot keep all the babies and need to rehome some, make sure they go in same-sex pairs, and do not give them away or sell them until they are 6 weeks of age.

I've never knowingly had a pregnant guinea pig (my two gave birth unexpectedly), so I don't know much in terms of special things you should feed her. Just make sure you give her a little extra of everything, and keep a careful eye on her. Guinea Pig guru Peter Gurney has some guinea pig health pages at the following address in case you have any problems: http://www.oginet.com/pgurney/index.html

It would be a good idea to take your guinea pig to a vet to confirm that she is in fact pregnant, and to ensure that she is in good health. If you can find a specialist small animal or exotic pet vet, they may also be able to tell you how far along the pregnancy is, so you'll know when to expect the babies.

If you have any other questions about the pregnancy, the babies, the mites, or guinea pig health/diet in general, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Good luck and best wishes,
Jenny.


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

QUESTION: Im just letting you know, thank your very much for your information it helped me very much, to find a load of mites on her. I am no longer worried about her being pregnate as this could have been the problem.

But, its a holiday today, and i want these little critters gone right away. As my parents are having a fit. And my house is probably filled with them.
Do you have any suggestion on what i can use?

Answer
Hi Ashleigh,

If you read my answer above, I recommend an aromatherapy product called "Lice n Easy" from www.gorgeousguineas.com - their delivery is pretty quick so allowing for the holiday you'll probably get the stuff on Wednesday. Don't worry, the mites won't spread from your piggy to you, or to your carpets or anything like that; they're not like fleas. They will stay on your piggy, though they can also live in hay so there might be some in her cage too.

If you want to try to stop her itching, and wash away a few of the bugs in the mean time, try bathing her (using the method I explained in my previous answer) in a mild and gentle baby shampoo. There's always "Johnson and Johnson No More Tears" and most supermarkets and chemists do their own brand. As she's under 12 weeks of age she's too young for an insecticidal shampoo.

Good luck and best wishes,
Jenny.