waterbirth for guinea pigs?

Question
Hi, I have two female guinea pigs, given to me as they were unwanted. They are definately pregnant and I am sure they are older than they should be for having a first litter. Is there a way to help if they need it at the time of delivery?

Answer
There are some ways to help if you need to, I just hope you are not afraid of blood, everytime I have come out of a difficult birth with a rescued pig I am usually covered with it. First of all set up a baby kit, I do this with all of my pregnant females. What I include is 6 or more washcloths, these will be used to wipe off the babies, a little container of septic powder, this is used to stop any excessive bleeding of the umbilical cord, if you do not feel like buying it just use flour or baby powder, also a baby nose aspirator, this is to suck out any fluid fron the mouth and nose, 2 grocery bags, one for trash and one for dirty washcloths, some baby wipes to wipe off your hands before the first baby and after each one, and a plastic tub, just a small one to keep the supplies in, also to place the babies in once born. When the babies come out typically you will just see the head and with in about 30 seconds the baby will be out, if the mother seems to be having difficulty pushing the baby out with the head already out just grab the baby and gently pull WITH the contractions, the baby should come out this way, then take it and remove the sac by hand and scrub the baby with the washcloth using the aspirator if necessary, then once the baby is breathing fine tear the umbilical cord with your fingers, you can also cut it but tearing causes less bleeding. Typically a mom in labor will only go less than 10 minutes of continual contractions to deliver the next baby, in general they are 5 minutes apart. If a mom goes into contractions and stays that way for 10 minutes then move onto a waterbirth. Fill up a bathroom sink with warm water, and bring your baby kit in the room. Place the mom in the sink with only her head and upper chest out of the water, let her contract for about 5 minutes in the water if it takes that long, always look out for the baby, it is hard to see them when they are delivered, if she needs more time take her out of the sink for 3 minutes, warm up the water, then place her back in, if she does not deliver within the next 15 minutes then she will need a C-section, but it amazes me how many times this has worked, even with deformed ridged-back babies. Other than that just watch out for when they are going to deliver, typically the babies will start to move 4 weeks before they are due, so start counting from there. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Brittany