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i messed up

  • Thread starter Thread starter nattyone
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nattyone

ive screwed up big time .

i started out with two lovely male guinie pigs a few years later a relative asked me to care for her 2 females for a few months . i took them in and they were housed seperatly , then one day without warning one of my males died . the remaining male seemed lonely so i moved the runs closer together . he escaped and got in with the two females . nothing happened then several months later one had 2 babies , a male and a female . when they had stopped feeding i put the male baby in with his dad and left the female in with her mum and aunt . then the dad died :( so thinking the baby was still so young i put him back with the females then the other female gave birth . and had 2 babies after a few weeks i took the males out and housed them seperatly. today the female born last october has just given birth to 4 babies . despite the fact i thought she was housed with all females .

i screwed up badly now i dont know how to tell a male from female it seems and i dont know what to do. ive taken the piggy that was born in january out and put (her or so i thought) with the older male and her sibling ( who i think is male )because the two white females i was given are definatly females since they have both raised a litter each now the only adult in the cage with them is the female from october who is definatly female as she has just given birth today..

so now i am paniccing big time .
i have 3 definate females 2 of which could now be pregnant by the baby born in janury if i got its sex wrong and it was male or that female could have gotten pregnant by its brother which means the others might not be pregnant , i may have just made everything worse. by moving the suspect male /female what if the little one in with the male is actually a female ?

its all so out of control. i now have too many to house and i cant rehome any since i cant sex them or guarentee they arent pregnant .

i cant believe i cant sex a guinie pig properly.

can anyone help me please.
 
if you are unsure you could take them to a local vet usualy they will sex them free of charge x
 
There are links on here about sexing and someone will come along soon who is an expert and give advice, but a vet would be a good idea to help you sex them asap so you don't get anymore unplanned pregancies!

in the meantime you need to separate any you are unsure about by some sort of mesh if you are keep them in the same cage as another pig (you could use a wire cooling rack or C&C cube with cable ties!
 
Hello,
Welcome to the forum.

Firstly, don't panic. What's done is done. Have you looked at this link to help you sex your pigs?
http://www.guinealynx.info/sexing.html

Where abouts are you? There might be a local rescue/ experienced member that can help you out with sexing and rehoming. Or you need to get to a cavy savvy vet to get your pigs sexed.

Once you know what you're dealing with, things will seem more manageable. :)
 
I agree with flips - Where abouts are you? There may be someone on the forum/cavy rescue nearby that can help you sex them. I would suggest that you call your vet first thing in the morning and book them in to be sexed.

It is diffcult, my 'girls' turned out to be one of each, and then they had babies and I thought we had 2 baby boys and 2 baby girls, but we didn't. We had 3 girls and 1 boy, so the baby girl which I mistook for a boy had been in with her brother for a few weeks. Luckily they were still very young when I realised. When they are babies, it is an easy mistake to make and you aren't the first.
 
ok so resexed them all and the suspect one is a male. he is 12 weeks old . this means he could have got the other two pregnant also but couldnt have got toffee who gave birth today pregnant because that would mean he was only 2 weeks old !.

at least i guess this means i can rehome the three males without passing on my mistake to someone else:( quite sad tho because igglepiggle was born on my daughters birthday and is the son of wiggy who was my lovely sheltie who died. he doesnt have the same coat or colour as wiggy did but he has the same shaped face and temperement .

so the two possibly pregnant females , they always look fat to me is there a definitive way to tell if they are pregnant or if they are not since obviously i know nothing . i only seem to be able to tell 3 weeks before or there abouts .mallethead
 
Nattyone, I just wanted to say, please don't panic... There are some fabulous people on here who will be able to help and support you through everything. Don't make rash decisions.
For sexing, you could try and get help with a vet of a local rescue.
Take care and relax, you're no good to any pig if you're stressed out.:)
 
It might be best to take them to the vet and get them checked.
 
thanks guys your all being so nice . I'm glad i spotted amazing maizies odd behaviour straight away , if i hadnt toffee would be pregnant again soon too.

thinking back its amazing maizie thats been trouble from day one . when she was little she was originally sexed as a male and put in with the other two males but a few days later the older male was showing so much interest in her i became convinced that she was in fact female , thats how she ended up being back in the females cage , id forgotten all about that day . i have an amazing sex changing guinie pig . I'm going to call her a maizing mistakie from now on.

id rather not take them to the vet as its quite a hike and i dont think they would like the jiggling about.

I'm in rushden northants. any help from a local piggy addict would be much appreciated.
 
Hi

Here is some very good info about pregnancy, labour and the facts of piggy life.

A pregnancy lasts about 10 weeks, and boys as well as girls can reach maturity from four weeks onwards. Which means that you need to separate any baby boars at three weeks old in order to avoid any accidents.
http://www.guinealynx.info/reproduction.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/reproduction_faq.html
This website has the best pictures for sexing piggies of all ages:
http://www.cavyspirit.com/sexing.htm

The earliest signs of pregnancy are thirst and an increase in weight.
(PS: You might like to start weighing all your piggies once weekly on the same weekday at the same time of the day. That way, you can also control the health of your piggies and react quicker to any illness that involves weight loss. )
At some point the nipples start to elongate and swell up more.

Later you can feel hard balls in the belly when you are holding your hand underneath. Make sure that you never squeeze.

Apart from fresh water daily, make sure that any pregnant ladies get plenty of vitamin C in terms of vitamin rich veg like peppers of any colour or broccoli. Make sure that the mums are getting a good diet (we have tips in our reference section). It is important for the development of the babies.

Please tell us where you are, so we can find you a reputable rescue near you in order to help you with practical advice for your pregnant mums and all the babies in need to find guaranteed good homes.
 
Wiebk, location is Rushden, Northants. I'm sure we have members that way...
 
Hi Nattyone

What's done is done & you can't change it :) I think you are to be commended for addressing the problem & have looked for help.
 
Great news, Debbie (or is it Ellie @) I never know...)! Anyway, Nattyone, you are in good hands!

just seen above post... :)) :))
 
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you're both the same colour and have similar avatars... smaller brains like mine can't cope! :{:{:{
 
Welcome Nattyone we're in OZ :)
I commend you for doing something about your situation well done!
I'm thrilled to see Debbie is going to be helping you out, she's the loveliest person x)
Good luck with your piggies, hope we get to chat and maybe see some of your darlings soon? x)

Glynis, Velvet and Onyx x
 
Hurrah! Thanks to furryfriends for helping out. This is why I love the forum. :(|)
Hopefully things will start sorting themselves out now nattyone. Well done for getting the ball rollling. x
 
Thanks for your help everyone.
The little babies are all still alive , I'm very surprised at how small they are , really miniscule compared to the previous 2 litters but they are less skittish and I was able to pick them up . It seems as tho it's 3 boys and a girl . Of course I fell in love with them already.

I think I'm going to put the older 2 females and all the males into the hutches on the porch today that way there is space to put the babies into same sex groups in a few weeks. The age when * have to seperate them seems so early I read on here 2 weeks . Then some places 4 weeks I was ready to move my last lot at 4 weeks but pearl there mum was still producing milk and letting them feed. 2 weeks sounds impossibly early , 4 weeks was bad enough lol

right off to clean them all out and play shifty shunt . Will hopefully get some pics if I can figure out how to up load them .
 
We usually recommend to separate the boys out at three weeks. Two weeks is too early; but by three weeks old, they are ususally able to get by on their own even if they are still nursing if they can get hold of mummy. Any later, and you are running an increasing risk that a brother can impregnate a sister or even their mum.
The best age to separate according to the best updated medical website for guinea pigs (scroll down to when to separate): http://www.guinealynx.info/reproduction_faq.html


You say that your current pups are really small. Have you weighed them? Ideally, they should be 70-100g.

40g and less can mean that they may not make it and need extra nourishment. The rescue people on here recommend soaking stale wholemeal bread with fullfat goats milk, so the babies can nibble on it.

Here are more tips on handfeeding pups (scroll down to young pups):
http://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html

Make sure that your tiny pups are warm and well protected at night.
 
I weighed them all around 66 plus so small but they are eating well and mum has lots of milk. I will weigh them everyday. Maybe they are premature I certainly wasn't expecting her to have them this week .
 
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