cuddles

Question
Hi Lorena,
   Cuddles had the babies!  She has two of them.  I am not sure of the sex yet.  I am so happy everything went ok (for now).  My question is today we usually change her cage (Sunday).  I usually change her cage every 4 days.  Today is the fourth day.  I was going to change it tonight.  But now she gave birth.  How or when can I clean her cage?  Will this harm the babies or her?  Should I try to go around them and clean it up?  I hope to hear from you soon.  I hope you are feeling better.  I want to thank you again for your help.

JoAnn


Answer
JoAnn -

I'm glad you had a successful delivery.  If you need information on sexing, check out www.guinealynx.info.  If you click on the "sexing" link, they have some great information on sexing your animals.

I would recommend cleaning the cage on the 2nd day.  Give her a day or two to adjust and relax and from the birth and then clean it.  You can handle the pups, just be very careful that you hold them firmly (they can be very wiggly).  I would try to clean around them if possible, though.  It might be less stressful, at least this close to birth.  Just shoo them to one end and block it off with cardboard or something while you clean the other end.  Then do the same thing for the other end.

Hope this is helpful, and yes, I'm feeling much better.  Thanks for your concern.  Good luck with your new family.

Lorena