New guinea and old guinea

Question
This past weekend, I purchased a little girl Guinea. I already have a male(I purchased him at an exotic animal auction, but im guessing hes about 1-3)and I'm a little nervous to put them together because he wants to mate with her and I'm positive she's too young(shes about 3-5 weeks).They both have their own cages. Should I not let them run around with each other or should I keep them apart untill shes older?

Answer
I wouldn't put them together or let them "play" together at all unless you neuter the male. Why do you want to breed?

There are inherent risks involved in breeding and there are too many homeless guinea pigs in shelters and rescues. Many are euthanized every year.

Please read these websites and make an informed decision:

http://www.cavyspirit.com/breeding.htm
http://www.cavyspirit.com/responsiblebreeder.htm
http://www.guinealynx.info/reproduction.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/breeding.html

What breed are both guinea pigs? Do you know their histories? Are you sure they are not roans so you won't end up with lethal whites? Are you sure they do not have poor genes and carry things like heart issues, or malocussion? These often don't show up til much later.

Are you prepared to lose your sow and any babies? There is a 20% your sow will die.

Do you have a good cavy vet and an ER vet on hand? Are you prepared to pay $300 for an emergency spay if needed? Can you spot the signs of toxemia? Are you prepared to handfeed your sow and any sick babies if needed for hours on end?

Breeding is more than just tossing two opposite sexed pigs together. Or at least it should be.