labor of guinea pigs

Question
Me and my sister recently adopted 2 g pigs a male and a female the previous owners told us that the female was pregnant we are wondering what signs to look for when she goes into labor, we do not know the time of conception.  She squeeks real loud like she is in pain now and we wonder if that is a sign or if that is just somthing she does. Should we remove the male from the cage and if so when, and how long for?  If there are complications should we deliver the pups by using gloves or is it best with bare hands?  How long should we wait to handle them after they are born? Thank you!!

Answer
Rebecca,

Sorry for just now getting back to you with an answer, I've been putting in a lot of over time at work and the internet has been down for a few days due to some storms.

You won't really know when she is in labor as she'll most likely have the pups (babies) sometime in the evening or early morning while your asleep. But if your lucky you might be there, the signs are she isn't moving more then she has to. The movement of the pups has increased. Those are the two for sure signs of labor in a Guinea Pig. Her loud squeaking is just something she does as she'll never make sound during the labor.

You should remove the male and place him in a separate cage either in a separate room or on the other side of the room where the female is. If he is in the same cage with her after she gives birth he'll get her pregnant again and back to back pregnancies are dangerous. He'll need to be separate from her for about 6 months or so. If she gets pregnant again to soon it is dangerous and not healthy for her. If you don't plan on her having another litter after this one then look into getting the male neutered as then he can be with her all the time with no fear of her becoming pregnant again.

If there are complications in the delivery of the pups then it is best just to help with bare hands as then your not wasting time by trying to find and put on gloves.

Do not handle the pups until they are about 3 to 5 days old, you want mom to develop a bond with the pups before you start handling them.

Remember that mom will nurse the pups until they are 3 weeks at that time you'll want to sex and separate the male pups from mom. You can place the male pups with dad just make sure to rub them with litter from dad's cage before placing them in with him. You want them to smell like him not like mom. The girls can stay with mom in her cage.

I hope this helps, good luck to you,
      Take care now,
        Jules