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Question
Hey there! In my classroom, our guinea pig recently gave birth to four babies. Our mommy, Rocko, was storem bought, when we bought her she was pregnant, because she gave birth less than a month after entering our class. My teacher has decided to give the guinea pigs to students, under the condition that a parent sign a form with information like what a big commitment they are. I am getting a guinea pig and I am very excited! I do have a couple concerns. When I hold my guinea pig, and she is away from her mother, she squeaks and seems nervous, she wont handfeed, and when i placed food in front of her she didnt eat it even after being left in peace while her mom was being held. We are taking them home tomorrow and I am a bit worried that she will not eat because being separated from her mother would stress her? I was also wondering, because we arent sure how old the mother is/how healthy, we have no guarantee how healthy these will be. I was just wondering if there was any way to easily tell (any signs of unhealthiness) or if I should take her to a vet?
Jacqueline

Answer
Hi Jacqueline

It is perfectly natural for the baby to be nervous being away from her mom. It is important that the baby is at least 6 weeks old before it is separated from her mom.

If the lack of appetite continues for any length of time, this is something that does need to be looked into by a vet.

A healthy pig will have a clean and healthy looking coat, no runny nose, clear eyes and an inquisative temperament. (This means looking around etc when hearing nosies.)

I hope that helps

Andy