Corporate Travel Consultants - Pregnant Guinea Pigs

Just a few hours after they have mated, you can look out for a discarded waxy 'copulation plug' that forms to prevent the sperm escaping vagina, to assure their mating. Should be about three to four months of age, and the male guinea pig also called boar, their mating usually occurs within a span of a few hours. And raising the rear end into mating position when touched, growling, you may also observe some behavioral changes in the sow like mounting cage mates, besides this. A swollen vagina with discharge is the common symptom that you may see in a sow during her oestrus. It is recommended that a sow should weigh at least 400gm when she is three months old and mating should preferably be done once she is a little older than this, therefore. Breeding at this age is quite early and can be risky, they can breed at a tender age of five weeks, although. Also known as sows begin having oestrus (the time when they are fertile) every sixteen days within the first three to five weeks of life, female guinea pigs.

Pregnant Guinea Pigs: Signs

Which you can feel by keeping your fingers underneath her belly just a couple of centimeters ahead of the anus, her pelvic bones will be wide and open, and when birth is likely to occur. During last two or three weeks she will become quite plump and when you will touch her stomach you will be able to feel and see the movements of the babies. Towards the end of her pregnancy i.e, both physical or behavioral changes are not visible during the initial four weeks, although. As her weight will considerably increase with each passing week, another method is to weigh the female guinea pig weekly. The best way to determine whether she is pregnant or not is lack of behavioral changes that she exhibited during her oestrus period, however. She will be close to delivering the babies, and by the time you realize she is pregnant, it's not that easy to spot a pregnant guinea pig during the initial stages, well. I am sure you all must be desperate to know. What do pregnant guinea pigs look like?

Pregnant Guinea Pigs: Birth

And the baby will start breathing, this will remove any blockages from its throat. Spin around once, and holding it at arm's length with its head away from you, pick it up, in case a baby is not breathing or moving. She will eat the placenta and other birth fluids or by products, later. She will tear the ambiotic sac with her teeth and clean them off, as the babies appear. Take her to a vet as she can even die of exhaustion, do not intervene unless it is necessary and if in case the labor extends longer than the expected time, during her delivery. Sometimes even one and in rare cases she can have up to 8 babies, a normal female guinea pig can give birth to 2 - 3 babies. The time interval between birth of each guinea babies is somewhere between 3 - 5 minutes. The sow will give a distinctive groan when she is going into labor and the first baby normally appears after 5 minutes of labor. The normal birth process usually takes place in the day time and lasts for 15 - 20 minutes.

Pregnant Guinea Pigs: Care

More on guinea pig diet. As the mother will need more water than normal to produce milk, make sure clean water is always available. They don't require any special food and can eat adult guinea pig food, unlike other babies. Don't delay and take them to the vet, if this doesn't happen, guinea babies are quite furry and are able to open their eyes and walk within an hour. As back breeding can be extremely stressful and could kill her, so during this time keep her away from males, after the delivery the sow is likely to enter heat. As you may end up hurting her and the babies, be careful while holding a pregnant guinea pig and don't squeeze her stomach too hard. Can contribute to prevent hair thickening and toxemia which are quite common to occur in late pregnancy. Etc, cabbage, oranges, broccoli florets, strawberries, cauliflower, broccoli leaves, parsley, brussels sprouts, giving her fiber rich and vitamin C rich foods like kale. Which will give her a bit more protein and calcium, you can feed the female guinea with alfalfa hay, during her gestation period.

Read more on:

* Guinea Pig Facts

* Types of Guinea Pigs

* Guinea Pig Breeds

Just be there for her and make sure she has a comfortable and well ventilated environment during those crucial days. Provided there are no male guinea pigs in it, pregnant guinea pigs doesn't require a separate cage during delivery.