Are you wondering if your guinea pig is expecting? Taking care of young guinea pigs involves a lot of considerations.
Young guinea pigs require a warm environment, regular vet check-ups, constant supply of fresh hay, and small portions of pellets and vegetables daily. As long as you provide the essentials, their mothers typically handle the care, but orphaned or neglected babies may need extra attention.
This article will cover how to prepare for a litter of baby guinea pigs and how to care for them after birth.
Preparing for Baby Guinea Pigs
If your guinea pig is pregnant, the first step is to consult a veterinarian. It’s crucial for them to monitor the mother and babies during the pregnancy.
If a guinea pig reaches six months without a pregnancy, her hips may fuse together, making future pregnancies unsafe. If your guinea pig is over six months old and you’re unsure of her pregnancy history, a C-section may be recommended by your vet. Natural birth at this age can be fatal for both the guinea pig and the offspring.
Your veterinarian can address any concerns you have about guinea pig pregnancies. Here are some quick facts in case you’re curious before your appointment:
- Guinea pig pregnancies last 59-72 days, which may seem short to us but is a significant period for rodents of their size.
- Most litters consist of two to four baby guinea pigs.
- If the mother and father are housed together, they should be separated. The male may harm the pregnant female by attempting to mate with her. After birth, the male can impregnate the female again immediately, which is detrimental to her health.
To prepare for your new baby guinea pigs, ensure the cage is in a safe, temperature-controlled area. You might need to expand the cage to accommodate the new arrivals or add cozy fleece items for the mother and babies to snuggle in.
While baby guinea pigs generally don’t require additional heating, they do need warmth to survive. They can achieve this by snuggling with their mother or siblings, sleeping in warm fleece items, and being housed in a warm indoor space.
What Do Baby Guinea Pigs Eat?
Baby guinea pigs can start eating solid foods right away while also nursing from their mother. Ensure constant access to fresh hay and water and provide a small portion of pellets and vegetables daily.
Alfalfa hay is beneficial for baby guinea pigs as it provides essential calcium and protein for their growth. It’s also advantageous for pregnant and nursing guinea pigs.
If you don’t have alfalfa hay or are concerned about other cage mates consuming it, you can opt for timothy hay. Consider supplementing calcium through vegetables like kale or spinach, but in moderation. While baby guinea pigs require more calcium than adults, excessive calcium intake can be harmful.
Lower one water bottle to the height of baby guinea pigs so they can easily drink without stretching, while keeping another bottle at an appropriate height for the mother and other adult guinea pigs in the enclosure.
You shouldn’t need to teach baby guinea pigs how to eat or drink. They learn by observing other guinea pigs and should adapt quickly!
How to Care for Baby Guinea Pigs
Typically, mother guinea pigs take on the primary responsibility of raising their babies. You’ll mainly need to provide food, water, vet care, and a clean, secure enclosure.
Consult your vet on when to schedule the first visit for your guinea pigs. A post-birth check-up is essential to ensure the well-being of the mother pig and her offspring.
Regularly weigh the babies. While weights may vary, consistent growth is key. If the babies aren’t gaining weight steadily, especially if they start losing weight, contact your vet immediately.
Healthy baby guinea pigs are warm to the touch, lively, and have rounded bellies. If they appear cold, lethargic, or have sunken stomachs, you and your vet may need to intervene to hand-raise them.
How to Raise Orphaned Guinea Pigs
If the mother isn’t caring for the baby guinea pigs for any reason, seek advice from your vet. You may need to take over and raise the babies yourself, which involves keeping them warm, feeding them with a bottle or syringe, and assisting them in using the bathroom.
Room temperature is suitable for baby guinea pigs. They will huddle together for warmth and appreciate comfortable fleece items. You can add a hot water bottle as long as they have space to move away from the heat if necessary. Avoid heat lamps and plug-in heating pads, as they can overheat and pose fire hazards.
When it comes to feeding, never force-feed your guinea pigs. Use formula specifically designed for baby guinea pigs in a bottle or syringe, avoiding cow’s milk or human baby formula. Some vets recommend using Critical Care instead of milk, so consult your vet for the best advice in your situation.
Ensure the baby guinea pig is upright with all four paws on the ground. Let them latch onto the bottle or syringe and slowly drip the contents into their mouths to prevent inhalation or choking. Feed them 4-6 times a day.
Lastly, baby guinea pigs cannot eliminate waste on their own. Their mother assists by licking their privates, stimulating them to urinate and defecate. You can mimic this by gently rubbing a damp cotton pad around their genitals for about 15-20 seconds until they go.
Setting Up a Cage for Baby Guinea Pigs
Baby guinea pigs don’t require many special arrangements apart from their diet and a lowered water bottle, as mentioned earlier. Consider expanding the cage to accommodate the new members or adding more tunnels, hides, and enrichment items. Cozy items are beneficial for keeping the babies warm in their early weeks.
Other cage mates don’t need to be removed, but monitor their interactions with the babies. Some adults may display aggressive behavior towards the babies, necessitating separation until the babies are rehomed or mature enough to reintegrate.
Immediately remove all unneutered adult males from the cage to prevent harm to pregnant females or further pregnancies.
Baby Guinea Pig Milestones
Guinea pigs are born with the ability to move around and consume solid food within a few days of birth. While they are not entirely independent, they are more self-sufficient than human babies or even puppies!
Weaning
Young guinea pigs will rely on their mother’s milk until they are weaned at around three to four weeks old. During this period, they will also start eating solid foods like hay, vegetables, and pellets.
Separating From Mama Piggy
At three weeks old, you should sex the baby guinea pigs and remove all males from the cage. While they may seem small, they can already impregnate their mother and sisters at this age!
If you’re unsure about sexing baby guinea pigs, seek assistance from a vet or guinea pig expert. Accidental breeding should be avoided to prevent further litters!
You can house the males together in a separate cage or pair single males with their father for companionship. Keep in mind that long-term bonding with three or more males is usually challenging, though they may coexist well until they mature.
Alternatively, consider neutering the father or one of the males for long-term housing, either individually or with one or more females.
Baby guinea pigs can be adopted into permanent homes at around eight weeks old.
Handling and Socialization
Limit handling of baby guinea pigs to quick weigh-ins and health checks for the first two to three weeks. After three weeks, they can spend short periods away from their mother and siblings and begin forming bonds with their human caregivers.
Handle them briefly a few times a day at this stage. Wash your hands beforehand to prevent spreading germs, as baby guinea pigs are delicate at this age.
Approach them from the side, not from above, and lift them gently, supporting their entire body with your hands.
You can hold them in your lap for a few minutes, stroke their heads, and touch their feet to acclimate them to nail trims. Introduce long-haired guinea pigs to brushing as well.
The more you interact with them after three weeks, the better-socialized they will be as adults. You can sit near or inside the cage, bring the mother and babies out for floor time, and spend time with them outside the enclosure.
Speak to them softly, offer small pieces of vegetables, and allow them to approach you and get used to your presence. Avoid sudden movements and looming over them, as it can be startling.
In conclusion, caring for a litter of baby guinea pigs is relatively straightforward, especially if the mother is providing adequate care. Monitoring their health, maintaining a clean cage, and providing food and water are essential tasks. Remember to socialize the babies with humans as they grow and separate males from females once they reach three weeks old!