A couple of questions..

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BonBon2010

BonBon2010

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Does having litters shorten a sows lifespan?
And is it unusual for a 12 week male guinea pig to already be as big as a 6 month old Piggie?
How many of you have guineas over the age of 3 and a half?
 
BonBon2010 said:
Does having litters shorten a sows lifespan?
And is it unusual for a 12 week male guinea pig to already be as big as a 6 month old Piggie?
How many of you have guineas over the age of 3 and a half?
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There are many risks associated with sows having litters so deaths do occur as a direct result from having them in some cases. As for whether it would reduce their lifespan if they survived the litters and were healthy, I shouldn't think so, but I'm not sure. With this being a rescue friendly forum, we do not encourage (or discuss) intentional breeding, however a lot of people (myself included) have had experiance of piggy litters due to pet shop pregnancies.

Again, I'm unsure about the weight differences between the 12 week old and 6 month old. It could either be a very big 12 week old or a very small 6 month old. Have you weighed them?

Lots of forum members have older piggies, my oldest is about 15 months old. :)p Welcome to the forum!
 
KimberleysWheekers said:
There are many risks associated with sows having litters so deaths do occur as a direct result from having them in some cases. As for whether it would reduce their lifespan if they survived the litters and were healthy, I shouldn't think so, but I'm not sure. With this being a rescue friendly forum, we do not encourage (or discuss) intentional breeding, however a lot of people (myself included) have had experiance of piggy litters due to pet shop pregnancies.

Again, I'm unsure about the weight differences between the 12 week old and 6 month old. It could either be a very big 12 week old or a very small 6 month old. Have you weighed them?

Lots of forum members have older piggies, my oldest is about 15 months old. :)p Welcome to the forum!
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A couple of my females (Chocolate foxes) were in litter when I got them from pet shop.. one lost her litter, the other had 2 girls and a boy.. I re-homed the girls (from the litter) and kept the boy.
I've always wanted to own a Rex, and Peruvian, and yes I own a lovely male who is what I want.. and would dearly love another chocolate fox, but they're so rare.. they're with me for life, and I wouldn't want it any other way :)
 
BonBon2010 said:
A couple of my females (Chocolate foxes) were in litter when I got them from pet shop.. one lost her litter, the other had 2 girls and a boy.. I re-homed the girls (from the litter) and kept the boy.
I've always wanted to own a Rex, and Peruvian, and yes I own a lovely male who is what I want.. and would dearly love another chocolate fox, but they're so rare.. they're with me for life, and I wouldn't want it any other way :)
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I've never heard of a chocolate fox? Am very intrigued though, do you have a photo?

We kept all four of Sasha's babies, they are so cute when they are so small! We had our original boy neutered (we bought him under the impression he was a girl) and the boy from the litter neutered when he was older and had mum, dad and four babies split into two trios, neutered boar and two sows in each.

I also have in mind what types of piggies I would like; I wanted a ginger one and a long haired one, I now have Henry who is a ginger and white Puruvian :(|) I also would like a himi and wanted a DEW. I collected Hermione just over a week ago, she is a DEW. I like skinny pigs too, but that will be in the future I think. Rex's are cute! Well, lets face it, all piggies are aren't they!?
 
I would not encourage anyone to ever breed - this is a very informative site:-
http://www.cavyspirit.com/breeding.htm

As for differing sizes, it all depends on their genetics, just the same as people.

The average lifespen is 5-7 years, my oldest was 9 years though I have known 4 that got to 11 but they weren't my piggies.

HTH

Suzy
 
KimberleysWheekers said:
I've never heard of a chocolate fox? Am very intrigued though, do you have a photo?
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Have you ever seen a silver fox rabbit? they're very striking..they're introduced this colouring into guinea pigs.. you'll not find the chocolate fox in any book, as they're a new breed, which was only recognized in 2000.. I only have a video with Misty and Missy in, and will try to get a couple of stills from it..
They were both very large sows.. have passed away since, one had cancer of the lymnodes, and the other died of a broken heart (they were sisters).. I'm still upset about it now, it happened 3 years ago..
 
Two of my sows had a litter of 4 babies each and are still happy and healthy almost 2 years later, so no as long as nothing went wrong and they are healthy, their life span is not affected. I'm just saying this because I have 2 sows that have been through pregnancy and birth, not because I think it's ok to breed.
I have 1 Guinea Pig coming up to 4 years old and several others over 3 years old now, they are all looking like they could live forever! lol Very sprightly and happy.
 
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I would rather think that a short life span especially in rarer breeds is due to indiscriminate or overbreeding, as most shop piggies are from rodent farms who only care for the money they make and nor for the wellbeing of their animals.

Normally, even sows that have littered should have a normal and full life span.
 
BonBon2010 said:
I only have a video with Misty and Missy in, and will try to get a couple of stills from it..
They were both very large sows.. have passed away since, one had cancer of the lymnodes, and the other died of a broken heart (they were sisters).. I'm still upset about it now, it happened 3 years ago..
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Aww I'm sorry to hear this :( I haven't experianced this yet and tbh I'm dreading it. xx
 
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