Baby brother & sister Guinea pigs

Question
Hi Laura

I am currently looking after a mummy GP with her 4 offspring - who are 2 girls and 2 boys. They are just short of 3 weeks old.

My first question is when to separate them from their mother (the boys) as I have read that they can mate with her as early as 3 weeks.My concern is whether they will be weaned sufficiently to remove them?

Also I have a large outside hutch and run (4feet x 2 feet and the same again for their run) The mother will go back to her owner in due course - but I'd like to keep all the babies if possible. Could I keep boys separate from the girls until neutering at 5 months (I have an inside cage (to keep the boys in as well) - but do not want to keep them indoors unless weather is poor or GP illness etc) Would it be possible to re-introduce both males to their sisters to co-habit after neutering or would they still fight over the girls? Would 1 boy be OK to let back in after neutering if not both?

I'd really appreciate your help with these questions - as we are all getting rather attached to them - and hate to think of having to only keep 3

Thanks

Answer
Hi Tracey,

3 weeks is the time when the boys do begin to get sexually mature, so yes, it is best to separate the boys from all the girls at that age. They should be eating solids (hay, pellets and veggies) now and able to drink water themselves, so while they will probably whine/squeal for a while after they are separated from their mum, they have each other so will settle down eventually.

It is very possible to keep all four, but it's unlikely all four can co-habit. There is a high chance the boys will fight over the girls. What you could do is build a divided C&C cage (www.guineapigcages.com), and have one neutered boy and one girl together. They should be alright living next to each other.
You could also have one boy with the two girls and leave one boy on his own, living just the other side of a divider for example, but I feel it's worth trying one neutered boy and girl in each cage to see if they can all have company.

Best Wishes,

- Laura
www.cavy-care.com