Separation during pregnacy

Question
Hi there

We just got my daughter two female guinea pigs from the local pet shop.  Now it turns out that one is pregnant!

I know that you can't keep males and females together but can you keep two females together for pregnacy and delivery?  I don't know if the two we have are sisters or if that makes a difference.  Is it safe to keep the two girls in the cage together with the babies?

Thanks so much for your response.

Eric

Answer
Hello Eric and thanks for the question,

Two female GPs make ideal companions...usually. What I would suggest from past experience is to leave them together during the term of the pregnancy but watch them closely. If either of them becomes overly agressive, it is time to seperate. They should still be able to see and smell each other though or putting them back together after some time will be dificult. I would also seperate them with one week left till birth. This helps make sure that all is well.

GPs will set up a pecking order in every case that there is more than one present. This is good and normal. If the pregnant female is low on the social ranking, she my be bullied too much and caused undue stress. If she is the dominant, she may annoy or hurt the other female.

The mother and babies should be kept seperate from their sister/aunt untill they are at least 4 weeks old. Keep MALES seperate from females at this time as well for obvious reasons.

Good lucka dn I hope this helps,
Ryan
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