Help! Advice Needed

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kerry944

kerry944

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hi this is my first post and its a major one! I bought 2 female guinea pigs on 29th March. no big deal with that, I got all the necessary equipement and did some research before buying them. Really cute piggies and my children adore them....now for the big one. on the 13th May one of the piggies had a baby! major shock when I opened the hutch that morning...cant you just imagine my reaction! I was told the pig that had the baby would be bigger than the other one so didn't think much of it as it put on weight. Well now I have 3 piggies ( the baby is gorgeous) but i'm pretty sure its a boy. Here is my dilemma. Do I house him separately or get him snipped? I have an appointment with the vets when he is 4 weeks old to make sure he is a he and ask about snipping him so I can house the 3 of them together but have conflicting info from google as what to do....so fellow experienced guinea pig mum's and dad's please help me...advice greatly appreciated thank you
 
As grandma to eight surprise babies, I totally sympathise with your shock! I bought two young sows and they both turned out to be pregnant...

If you plan to keep him I guess the options are to get him neutered, or you could try a local rescue that offer boar dating when he gets old enough to leave mummy?

I'm afraid my experience is rather limited but I'm sure someone with more wisdom will be along soon. In the meantime, good luck - and welcome!
 
thank you...blimey 8 babies! I would love to keep him, but need to work out the best way for this.
 
Hi there :) Are you certain both adults are female? If you can upload pics of all 3 piggies "Bits" down below then we can check what sex they are :) I'll tag @Wiebke as she is our baby expert :)
 
I'm pretty sure they are both girls...the baby I'm about 80% sure he is a boy...I will have to separate him at 3 weeks then try and work out what to do. I'll try and get some photos but the baby is very wriggly when trying to look lol :)
 
The first thing is to make sure of the sexes of the 2 adults otherwise you could have a back to back pregnancy. If the baby is a boy then you're right in moving him out at 3 weeks old but keep him close by his mother. Because this has happened because of a mistake by the pet store, you should contact them regarding a cage & food etc for the baby as they are responsible for this error. You should be able to have the boy neutered at 4 to 5 months & then kept separate from females for 6 weeks. @Wiebke will fill in any gaps that the rest of us maybe have, Good Luck.
 
Hi and welcome!

I am sorry about your surprise. Some sows, especially with a single baby will hardly show. I got caught out with my first adult piggies by the fact that guinea pigs are not separated into genders on the several days transport from rodent farms on the Continent to the shops over here. :(

Please be aware that boars start as early as 3-5 weeks old. That is why we recommend to separate them at 3 weeks old/ ca. 250g of weight, which is the average weight for that age. Separate earlier if he is over 250g well before the cut off date or leave him for a week longer if he is well below. Weaning is well under way by three weeks old, so he is not missing out on much.
You may find this information thread from our Pregnancy, Baby Care and Sexing section helpful: http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/separating-baby-boars-and-rehoming-babies.109391/
The thread also contains a link to the best sexing website, but you are always welcome to post a preferably clear picture of the relevant parts in that section for a second opinion.

If you want to hang onto your boy, you have two choices. You can pair him up with another character compatible boy, preferably at one of our recommended good standard guinea pig rescues (your closest is Wood Green by Godmanchester, which offers boar dating under expert supervision at the rescue) and preferably older so they have a better chance of making it when your little one hits the big teenage hormones. That means that he will never be able to live with mum and auntie, but he will have an uncle pig to take him on and socialise him at a time when he desperately needs company. The boars will need to live out of sight and reach of pheromones from the sows, either at a little distance or above the sows.
The pet shop you have got your piggies from should provide you with an adequate 2x4 ft cage.
http://www.woodgreen.org.uk/about/visit_us/godmanchester
https://www.facebook.com/WoodGreenTheAnimalsCharity

The other option is neutering. However, you have to wait until your boy is physically well developed for an op (about 4-6 months old; his testicles need to have descended). You also need to have a piggy savvy vet with a good track record in piggy neutering, as especially post op complications like abscesses are otherwise quite common. The mortality rate has thankfully come down a lot in the last few years. Here is our piggy savvy vets locator: http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/pages/guinea-pig-vet-locator/
Thirdly, you need to factor in a 6 weeks post op wait until your little boy is 100% safe to join your ladies. I have the baby from a supposedly safe over 5 weeks post op boar living with me, just to make that particular point! During this long wait, your little boy has to live next to mum and auntie, but he will not be allowed to share the same space at the same time. Impregnation only takes seconds, and you will not be quick enough to prevent it even when supervising!

Various members with single boar babies have gone down either way successfully. You have to weigh up the pros and cons for you and your specific situation.
 
they have given me bags of hay, wood chippings and food today and said they will pay for him to be snipped ( if he is definitely a boy). our hutch is 2 tiered, I was going to put the boy at the bottom and leave the girls at the top ( there is a door between them that can be shut). I was also going to put a fleece in with them for the last week before separation and then use this fleece with the boy so he still has the scent of his mum...do you think this would work? is it safe to have them neutered as I would love to house them together, rather than have the boy on his own
 
kerry944 said:
@Wiebke would it be better for me to house the girls in the bottom tier and the boy in the top tier of the hutch?
Click to expand...

Yes. That way, the boys won't be rained on by sow pheromones. How big is your hutch?

It is a good idea to have some fleece and cosy to snuggle into that smells of home and mum.

You cannot have two (neutered) boars living with two sows. They will fight. You can only split them up and pair each boar with one sow if that is what you'd like better in the long term.

That is why you need to think hard about this now. Unfortunately, there is no easy solution for your dilemma. You can either have a long wait and a single group or you can have instant company, but will end up with two permanent pairs.
 
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its two bigger girls (mum and auntie) and possibly a boy baby...have uploaded an image. we have got another hutch now so can keep the boy separate until we see about getting him done, if not the hutches are big enough for them :) have kept a fleece in with them so will have lots of scent on when I have to separate them. and also a little soft toy that he can snuggle with!
 
All the best! We have got a piggy savvy vets locator on the top bar re. neutering. if your little boy is on his own without bein able to se his mum and auntie, you may want to get a cuddly toy for him and consider having him indoors for more company until he is old enough to join his mum and her friend.
 
now I have 2 hutches so I can separate the boy from his mummy and auntie how close should I put the hutches to each other? I want to be able to home them together when the boy is neutered but unsure how he will cope being away from them. should I put them side by side so they can see/smell each other through the wire? will the boy suffer when I first move him from some kind of separation anxiety...I still have another week before he'll be 3 weeks old...is that the cut of date for moving him? or is it when he weighs a particular weight? any advice really appreciated :)
 
I'm no expert but I have 2 girls and a boy waiting to be neutered. I have the cages next to each other. Sometimes I feel sorry for him when he's chewing the bars, he needs some company! But I think it's important they get to know each other a bit now. If he's been away from the girls and I put him back, he so happy, popcorning round his cage!
 
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