Help caring for a baby guinea pig?

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goldencolouredskies

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I’ve messed up here. I know I have, so please be kind to me.

I got a 20 day old Guinea pig today. I didn’t know how young she was: I was told she was 4 weeks, not almost 3.

She’s apparently weaned, and definitely has the y shaped genitals of a girl, though there’s a tiny nub nothing pops out if pressed. There’s definitely no penis, not as far as I can tell.

But I did NOT know she wasn’t even 3 weeks old. She’s so tiny, weighing 123g, but it’s been almost 7 years since I got my last baby Guinea pig. (She’s still alive, she’s 7 now). I didn’t realise that she was too small.

Her name is Penelope, and I’m really worried about her. Right now she’s separated from my other two girls, Popcorn and Luna, but shares a cage wall with them so they can sniff and see each other.

Penelope and Popcorn have had a little sniff and lick at each other through the cage, and Penelope seems to be eating hay, and liked the critical care we tried giving her when we weren’t sure she was eating.

We’re going to call the vet tomorrow, but it’s Sunday night right now and I just need advice.

I know now that Guinea pigs shouldn’t be separated from their mothers so young, even at 4 weeks. I didn’t when I got her, and I did not know she was so young.

I understand that this forum might be angry with me. I am too, but I’m scared for this baby Guinea pig, so tiny and sweet.

I wish she’d had more time with her mother.

But it’s happened now and I want to know there best way for me to look after this baby I’ve found myself with.

Should she be introduced to my ladies or not yet?
Should she even share a wall with them?
What do I feed her?
Does she still need milk supplements? Should I buy milk supplements?
 
Hello and welcome to the forum. No one’s going to be mad with you. You’ve done the right thing my coming here for amazing advice and help.

I’m not an expert but she will need to be bonded your two girls straight away. She is definitely too young to be alone.

At 3 weeks she should just about have been weaned. So she can now eat what your other girls eat.

Don’t just pop her in the cage with the girls. Bonding will need to be done on neutral territory. I’m sure they will accept her as she will be no risk to the hierarchy. Good luck 🤞🏻

Behaviour, Bonding & Bereavement Guides


https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/forums/pregnancy-baby-care-and-sexing-no-breeding.11/

I’ve attached some guides that will help.
 
Be certain she is a she and then properly introduce her to your other piggies today. She is too young to be in a cage by herself. Companionship is so important to her.

This is the bonding guide. Please introduce on neutral territory following the guide, and after a few hours on neutral territory, clean out the main cage and then move them all back to the cage together.

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

She ideally would not have been sold for another 3-6 weeks, at 3-4 weeks old weaning is underway /done (bear in mind that baby boars need to be separated from their mothers at 3 weeks old) so while she is very young, she should be fine.

Feed her plenty of hay, offer top ups of critical care. Monitor her weight every morning.
Do not feed any milk supplement, she doesn’t need it.
 
Will she be okay alone overnight? It's 10 in the evening. She has access to the others through the bars, and I'm confident she can't slip through or get her head stuck in the bars. I still live at home, and my mother's been helping me with her, and I know my mother's going to bed very soon.

I've done the sexing check - y shaped genitals, what I'm pretty sure is the fleshy seal (like a pale fleshy bit visible when you part the genitals?) and the only thing I feel where a male has a penis ridge is her pelvic bone. It's definitely a bone, unless males have rock hard penises which seems unlikely. Also she'd already been seperated from her male siblings and mother when I got her, so presumably enough was known to tell? She has a little bit of a nub, but it's not round like boars penises, it's more like a flabby bit of skin?
 
goldencolouredskies said:
Will she be okay alone overnight? It's 10 in the evening. She has access to the others through the bars, and I'm confident she can't slip through or get her head stuck in the bars. I still live at home, and my mother's been helping me with her, and I know my mother's going to bed very soon.

I've done the sexing check - y shaped genitals, what I'm pretty sure is the fleshy seal (like a pale fleshy bit visible when you part the genitals?) and the only thing I feel where a male has a penis ridge is her pelvic bone. It's definitely a bone, unless males have rock hard penises which seems unlikely. Also she'd already been seperated from her male siblings and mother when I got her, so presumably enough was known to tell? She has a little bit of a nub, but it's not round like boars penises, it's more like a flabby bit of skin?
Click to expand...

As it’s late you may need to leave her in the cage as is but please do bond her tomorrow.

You can post clear well lit picture in the pregnancy section of the forum and our experts can help you sex her.
 
PiggyPoo said:
How’s things going with the bonding process? Hope all is well xx
Click to expand...
After a quick trip to the vet where they said they're fairly confident she's female, as well as our own gender checking, she's been introduced to my two older ladies. There's been a lot of licking, but no humping and the older girls have not really been bothering Penelope. Interestingly, the dominant behaviour has come from one of the adults to another adult. My 7 year old geriatric lady pig is trying to mount her cagemate, but is leaving Penelope alone.
 
Glad the bonding has gone well, I’m sure she’ll thrive now she has the company that all babies need
 
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