Guinea Pigs May Lick as a Sign of Affection or Grooming. Watch carefully for signs of stress or discomfort. Sometimes it happens accidentally. So, what is the answer? When baby guinea pigs grow up the males are called boars and the females are called sows. However, you should err on the side of caution. The best items to put on the bottom of a guinea pig cage are absorbent,, Read More 10 Reliable Cage Liners for Guinea Pigs (What You Need to Know)Continue, Pet parents who consider housing their guinea pigs outside often wonder whether or not their pet guinea pigs can hibernate. They are not cannibalistic because they are starving. Its just as important that your baby guinea pig also spends most of their time with other guinea pigs. Im guessing you probably have a lot of questions about guinea pig pregnancies. Having your guinea pig give birth to a litter should be an exciting time. Wanna read something more boring than watching paint dry? Yes, guinea pigs do mourn. All rights reserved. Aggression between two newly introduced guinea pigs is very common and If your guinea pig is finding it hard to deal with the change of a new cage mate, try engaging him in more interaction with you than ever before. In this article, we will focus on some important aspects of caring for guinea pig babies. In almost all species, males are inherently territorial. Be quiet and move slowly around baby guinea pigs. Do Guinea Pigs Recognize Their Name? (How to Teach Them) Even then, they must be handled very gently. Well be discussing more about this in todays article. Housing your guinea pig is not particularly difficult, as there are a large variety of hutches and cages commercially available. Calcium is very important for baby piggies as they are growing and developing. Make sure to feed your guinea pig hay of high quality. Their tiny mouths already manage to contain 20 teeth, which grow continuously. If separated from their parents, they may become anxious and depressed. A human can serve as a surrogate mom if there are no other guinea pigs available, but it is best if the baby can be raised by its kind. When your guinea pig is pregnant they need more food than usual, and its surprisingly easy to give them less than what they need. An adult guinea pig will never deliberately harm or eat a newborn guinea pig. In the meantime, the best thing you can do is provide your guinea pig with plenty of love and attention, so it doesnt feel lonely. Some have lengthy, silky hair, and others have brief, tough coats. If you look after the guinea pig mother regularly, she will allow you to touch her baby guinea pigs. A healthy pup will resist and move away from the mother, alerting her of her mistake. 9. Usually, the mother will eat the baby right after it's born. You have entered an incorrect email address! Paying lots of brief visits to your litter with mother, and getting them used to gentle handling without worrying them are going to be a vital foundation of good socialization. Some say that they do not form the same type of attachment as other animals, while others believe that they do experience a certain level of sadness after their young have been weaned. They also live for several years, longer than most other rodents, so you can enjoy them longer than other pet rodents. Provide a pregnant guinea pig with extra food, water, and nutrients. Just like with taming older guinea pigs be patient and consistent. As herbivores, they dont eat meat at all. Yes, it is okay to touch your new baby guinea pigs. The average guinea pig gestation is 59 72 days. Well chart the milestones of their first days and weeks, and find out what to expect if you discover your female guinea pig is expecting. How To Stop Guinea Pigs Chewing On Cage Bars, Baby Chicken What To Expect From Egg To 8 Weeks Old, Effects of early environment on field CA2 pyramidal neurons in the guinea-pig, Cardiovascular and renal disease in the adolescent guinea pig after chronic placental insufficiency, The effect of maternal undernutrition on the growth and development of the guinea pig placenta, Chronic maternal feed restriction impairs growth but increases adiposity of the fetal guinea pig, Guineapig Vocalizations: Their Structure, Causation and Function, Attachment and Separation Distress in the Infant Guinea Pig, An ecologically relevant guinea pig model of fetal behavior, Auditory spatial responses of young guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) during and after ear blocking, The Effects of Diet on Anatomy, Physiology and Health in the Guinea Pig, Guinea Pig and Chinchilla Care and Husbandry. Pregnancy is very difficult for guinea pigs, with at least 1 out of 5 of the mothers dying during birth. Baby guinea pigs for adoption are usually a little cheaper than guinea pigs for sale, and often come with a clean bill of health from a vet. Baby boars must be separated from mama at three weeks. Commentdocument.getElementById("comment").setAttribute("id","a865a53297bca918d5b51d234266ee3f");document.getElementById("e1b86b387e").setAttribute("id","comment"); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Your Baby Guinea Pig - What To Expect And How To Look After Them But whether youre raising a litter from birth or buying an older baby guinea pig for sale, getting prepared in advance is the best way to make sure you provide them with the best start in life. Mange worms (Trichocross cavia) are a common cause of hair loss, and other symptoms may include excessive scratching, abnormal aggression when being touched, and, in some cases, seizures. The Best Pet Health & Care Advice from Real Vets | PetMD. How do I know when my guinea pig is ready to give birth? Can Rabbits Eat Grapes Pros And Cons of Grapes For Rabbits. Guinea pig babies can walk, see, and hear, as soon as they are born, and most start nibbling on solid foods within a few days. (And Other Key Terms), How Often Should You Clean a Guinea Pigs Cage? So the remaining milestones left to look for relate to growth, feeding, behavior and sexual maturity. It is important to note that guinea pigs can get attached to their owners and may experience signs of separation anxiety when they are not around. This can harm the guinea pigs health, as they may become stressed or depressed. Equally, male guinea pigs shouldnt eat their babies because they dont eat meat. Guinea pig babies are born looking like mini versions of their mama. She is also teaching them how to interact with other guinea pigs. She will naturally clean up the area around her: lick the babies clean, bite off the umbilical cord and eat the placenta. Wed love to hear about your experiences in the comment section below! Never again hear the dreaded sounds of your guinea pigs angry squeaks because you forgot to clean out their cage or feed them on timefor the fourth day in a row. Why Do Guinea Pigs Sometimes Kill Their Young? Compared to other rodents, guinea pigs (both in captivity and in the wild) will very rarely choose to eat their offspring. However, there is no definitive answer as to whether or not this is true. (And yes, its one of the more gruesome animal interactions in the wild.). After three weeks, the baby guinea pig can be separated from its mother and placed with other guinea pigs or its owner. It is rare, but it does happen. Do Guinea Pigs Eat Their Babies if You Touch Them? (n.d.). New babies are born with teeth, claws, and fur. See Also: Care Show details Under normal circumstances, the sow will give birth and have a healthy litter of pups. If it has not happened within the first 24 hours, it is very unlikely she will attempt to do it later on. Walter or Bob These guinea pigs sound like they should be wearing business suits on Wall Street. Do not over-handle the mother or you could cause her stress which will lead . https://amzn.to/3iYcPHPAs well as the new Pigg. We hope youve enjoyed this in depth article about cute baby guinea pigs!Guinea pig pups are quite unlike most other baby animals. We used fleece bedding which we spot cleaned throughout the day by removing poop and leftover food. Whats your experience with newborn baby guinea pigs? The female pups can be weaned the following week at four weeks of age. Guinea pig pregnancy seems short to us, but in fact it lasts a remarkably long time for their size. Here are some things we had to think about when we found out our guinea pig was pregnant: We adhered to the following recommended feeding guidelines for pregnant guinea pigs: RELATED: CLICK HERE to read about our unexpected guinea pig pregnancy and how to tell if your guinea pig is pregnant. Even though they share similar names, guinea pigs do not belong to either the dog or pig family. When Do Guinea Pigs Stop Growing and How Big Do They Get? In a pet situation, the male may be in the same guinea pig cage as the female and her newborns, and there is no way for the mother to move the pups away from . Place the cage in a quiet, draft-free area your home that is out of direct sunlight. The more factors that are present, the higher likelihood shell eat her pups. What Should I Do if My Guinea Pig Eats (Or Kills) Her Babies? Thankfully, she had an uneventful pregnancy and birth and did not eat her babies. Baby guinea pigs are called pups. Guinea pigs are different from many other species; they are born with teeth and fur, and almost immediately they can see and walk around. New Plymouth Vet Group. If it is found that they experience sadness after their young have been weaned, it would suggest that we take extra care in handling this process. (Find Out Now), https://www.merckvetmanual.com/all-other-pets/guinea-pigs/breeding-and-reproduction-of-guinea-pigs, https://www.npvet.co.nz/pets/animal-info-pets/bird-rabbit-turtle-articles/care-pregnant-guinea-pigs/, https://www.guinealynx.info/reproduction.html, https://kb.rspca.org.au/knowledge-base/i-think-my-guinea-pig-might-be-pregnant-what-should-i-do/, https://www.petmd.com/exotic/conditions/reproductive/c_ex_gp_pregnancy_toxemia, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/140328-sloth-bear-zoo-infanticide-chimps-bonobos-animals, https://lakeshorepethospital.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Guinea_Pig_Pregnancy.pdf, Removing the male guinea pig(s) will also. Weve already covered the reproductive cycle of guinea pigs and pregnancy and how to tell if a guinea pig is pregnant, so you can learn much more about these topics in our articles. When they dont have enough food and are at risk of starvation. Rather, they belong to a rodent species called cavies. The body temperature of a guinea pig is between 101104 F (3840 C), so its ideal ambient air temperature is similar to that of humans, approximately 6575 F (1824 C). And that means that in a mixed litter of boys and girls, its time for the boys to be relocated to a new home, to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Their paws and head are comically outsized in proportion to their body, and they already have a full coat of fur. They are cheerful and love to run around, squeak, eat, play, and poop. On the other hand if youll be helping a sow to raise a litter of pups from birth, theres rather more to think about. I've always been an animal lover, and I've worked in the pet industry. Calcium can be found in alfalfa hay or alfalfa-based pellets, timothy hay and oranges. Do Guinea Pigs Acknowledge Their Identify? (Easy methods to Train Them) You cannot do any harm by touching your adult guinea pig or its babies. Show some tender feelings towards your guinea pig. (What Owners Need To Know)Continue, If you notice drool on your guinea pigs face it can be a sign that somethings wrong. How To Prevent a New Mother from Eating Her Babies? The larger the litter, the smaller the pups will likely be. When they dont respond to her attention, she tries cleaning them more and more vigorously, until eventually she ends up damaging them. Guinea pigs are cute and quite intelligent pets. Do Guinea Pigs Eat Their Babies? [The Surprising Truth]