Chief Guinea Pig
Senior Guinea Pig
At what age is it until guinea pigs are stopped being classed as "Baby" Guinea pigs?
"Baby" Guinea Pigs?
- Thread starter Chief Guinea Pig
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AbiS
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My two are 8months old now and their weight has been static for 2 weeks. I think that means they are no longer babies and now I am sad :0
klee
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My youngest is still my baby. She is 18months now, she has only recently reached her adult weight x
gus+walter
Adult Guinea Pig
Mine will always be babies. I think once their hormones kick in, they're growing up. Sad sad times!
Technically, pups stop being babies once they are weaned and start being sexually mature between 3-6 weeks old (that is why it is so important to separate baby boys at three weeks old). Once pups are weaned, they lose protected baby status in a piggy society and are firmly relegated to the bottom of the hierarchy.
Until about 4 months, you could class them as the equivalent of children; they are very boisterous and noisy as they have the reach, but not the experience yet and are their most vulnerable to predators and accidents in a roaming piggy group. The group is getting constant updates as to their whereabouts and status through their wheeking.
4 months old is about the time when the teenage hormones start to hit. Boys tend to suffer worse, but some girls also get them, only they don't lead to fights and fall-outs like with some mismatched boys, just the odd rather dramatic season.
During that time, young boars will be pushed to the margins of the group to start their life as bachelors, hanging loosely around the group and waiting for their chance to mate with a young sow, be accepted by the top sows of the group as dominant boar once they reach their prime, or go off with an adventurous young lady to try and found their own group where they can find some unoccupied territory.
Between 12-15 months old, piggies generally stop growing, their hormones settle down and they become calmer, mature adults. They reach the peak of their life at around 2-3 years old. From about 4 years onwards, they are considered older citizens.
The average lifespan of a healthy pet piggy is between 4-7 years old, but the current record holder has just celebrated his 17th birthday and is still going strong; the previous (and still official Guiness Book) record holder made it to 14 years old!
Until about 4 months, you could class them as the equivalent of children; they are very boisterous and noisy as they have the reach, but not the experience yet and are their most vulnerable to predators and accidents in a roaming piggy group. The group is getting constant updates as to their whereabouts and status through their wheeking.
4 months old is about the time when the teenage hormones start to hit. Boys tend to suffer worse, but some girls also get them, only they don't lead to fights and fall-outs like with some mismatched boys, just the odd rather dramatic season.
During that time, young boars will be pushed to the margins of the group to start their life as bachelors, hanging loosely around the group and waiting for their chance to mate with a young sow, be accepted by the top sows of the group as dominant boar once they reach their prime, or go off with an adventurous young lady to try and found their own group where they can find some unoccupied territory.
Between 12-15 months old, piggies generally stop growing, their hormones settle down and they become calmer, mature adults. They reach the peak of their life at around 2-3 years old. From about 4 years onwards, they are considered older citizens.
The average lifespan of a healthy pet piggy is between 4-7 years old, but the current record holder has just celebrated his 17th birthday and is still going strong; the previous (and still official Guiness Book) record holder made it to 14 years old!
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