what to do

Question
I have 3 guinea pigs, that i thought were 3 females. Honey was sold to me as a female, but i have recently discovered she is a he. My other guinea pig, Ruby has gotten bigger and won't let Honey mate with her. Bunny is a lot bigger then Ruby and Honey, but I'm worried she could be pregnant too.
Ruby and Honey spend more time together, as Bunny is very quiet.
I don't want to get rid of Honey, i have grown to love him.
What can I do to make sure Ruby is pregnant and will i have to separate Honey and Ruby after a couple of months?
Thank-you so much.

Answer
Chloe,

I am afraid that Ruby is pregnant, a sure sign of her being so is that she isn't allowing Honey to mate with her and the fact that she has gotten bigger. Here are some other signs of a pregnant Guinea Pig so you can tell if Bunny and Ruby are pregnant for sure.

Drinking lots of water,
Eating more,
Becoming noticeably heavier,
Teats become more prominent and red looking,
By the round belly she'll get further along.

If Ruby and Bunny are showing any of the signs above then your going to need to change their diets to keep them healthy and babies healthy. Their diet is going to need a little change in it. They are going to need extra vitamin C to help keep them and the babies (pups) stay healthy and keep their hormones from going wild. They'll need the extra C until they is done nursing the pups at 3 weeks of age. Best way to provide the C is through fresh foods that contain lots of C. They'll need Alfalfa hay through out the pregnancy and again till done nursing. It has calcium she needs to help in the development of the pups' bones and it is a fatty hay so it will again help in the development of the pups but also provide her the extra fat needed for her to produce milk that contain the fat and calcium need for the pups healthy growth while nursing. Make sure to handle them less as they become more noticeably pregnant, and do not handle them the last month of pregnancy. That way no harm will come to the pups.

Remember that your going to have to sex the pups as 3 weeks of age and separate the male pups from the female pups so the males don't get mom and sisters pregnant again.

Unfortunately your going to have to separate all of them. Bunny and Ruby will need to be separated until after the pups are born if they are both pregnant as if one goes into labor first while they share a cage then they other could also and have the pups to soon. Honey is going to need a cage on the other side of the room or in a different room as he could still get the girls pregnant after they give birth through the bars.

You can look into getting Honey neutered to prevent pregnancy from happening, or even getting the girls spayed. But for now to prevent pregnancy it is best to separate Honey from the girls ASAP and if the girls are both pregnant then to separate them also for the reason above.

I hope this helps,
 Take care,
    Jules