i really need a swap QUICK

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shay1986

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Hi i am new to this website, i am a fairly new owner of 2 guinea pigs, i bought them as 2 males but one of the so called males is now expecting ? i would really like to swap my lovely boy for a female i am not really bothered about colour or hair type as she will be a loving pet and a companion to my girl. We live in liverpool but i am willing to travel for the swap. Please can someone help me as i really dont want my boy to go on his own and my girl to be lonely :...
 
Couldn't you get your male neutered? {:| So they can't have babies? And whilst she has them separate them?
 
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Is there a way you could put them next to each other in separate cages so they can see but not touch? Once she has had the babies, any girls could stay with Mum, & if there is a boar he could go with his dad. It might be best to wait & see what she has first?
 
I can understand your panic but first you should wait to see what gender the babies are. If there is a boy then your male will have a friend. If you get rid of the male and one of the babies is a male you will be left with the same problem.
 
I dont really know much about them apart from there diet and care needs, and wouldnt have a clue in sexing the babies i bought 2 boys so this wouldnt happen but the pet shop must have been clueless ! i would consider getting my boy neutered but it sounds very costy ?
 
Well this is the best place to learn! You cannot usually sex babies until they are a few weeks old as it is so difficult to see clearly. Before you get the boy neutered you must wait to see which sex the babies are. You will have to seperate the boy from the girl before she gives birth as she will go into heat as soon as the babies are born and get pregnant again. Will you be keeping the babies?
 
Yes, i agree that it would definatly be best to wait. If she has a boy, he could be bonded with the male you already have. If she only has girls, your male could be neutered and go back in with mom and female babies after 6 weeks. (if you are struggling for spare cages C&C cages are very cost effective and can be made to fit the space you have)

I urge you to wait. But if you do not PLEASE do not just give him away (its possible his new "owner" may feed him to a reptile. Please find your nearest reputable rescue and hand him over to them. They may also be able to advise on the diet needs for your pregnant piggy, and they will help if any problems arrise during or after the birth.
 
i would like to have kept one or two girls to be kept with her mum as i dont really have much room for loads ( as much as i would love to ) but if she only has boys i would keep maybe 2 boys and the dad. I'm not too sure what to do with the babies ? i would need to get outside help with the sexing though as i wouldnt like them to end up inbred :(
 
If this is her first litter she may even have one or two babies. Do not worry as somebody will help you to sex the babies. If she has two boys they cannot live with the dad as three boys never work. They fight. The best combination is two boys or a neutered boy and girls. May I ask what they live in? Would you consider building a c and c cage? They are ideal. Mine cost me forty pounds and I have five guinea pigs.
 
Firstly, calm down. :) This forum will help you through and answer all your questions. Your in the right place. How old are your piggies? (this will help us know how far gone she is) As said above it is important that the father isnt there for the birth as she will become pregnant again STRAIGHT away. This is VERY bad for poor mom. Hopefully suzygpr will be along soon, she will be more help. Ideally dad needs to be seperated now, then its a waiting game to see what pups she has. She will need extra alfalfa hay while shes pregnant and nursing. This will be good for the young pups too.
 
thank you i have a 4 foot double hutch for them but at the minute i have brought my girl in the house in a large indoor plastic cage because she is really big now and i can feel the babies a lot ! they are roughly 6-7 months old as i have had them for 4 months and the lady told my partner they were a "few" months old so its hard to say really ? i let them out together in the outdoor enclosure and they love each other soo much,
 
Please take a deep breath! You can go back to the p@h you got your missexed couple from, preferably with a confirmation of the pregnancy by a vet. P@h have a policy of paying vet costs and should also provide you with a larger cage etc. to accommodate the unplanned youngsters.

How long have you had your guinea pigs and how long have they been together at your place? I guess they are your usual shop youngsters? Sadly, your problem is anything but rare. But it would be good to get an idea about how far along your girl is. We have a pregnancy section on here where experienced piggy people can advise you.
Here is a detailded guide for all aspects of pregnancy, including the different dietary needs that a pregnant sow has. http://wheekers.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=library&action=display&thread=7303
http://www.guinealynx.info/reproduction.html

Like the others have said, please remove your boy asap - sows come into season within hours of giving birth and a rampant boar is the last thing you want around heavily pregnant sows and freshly born babies!

If there is a baby boar in the litter, he can be paired up with dad. Any girls can go and live with mum. Otherwise, you can have dad neutered. Neutering ops are often cheaper than all other operations - they tend to cost around £50, but you want to find a good vet.

We also have tips on cheap and affordable housing on this forum if you want to plump for more flexible housing.

If you really can't cope with more piggies, we can put to in contact with a reputable rescue that will only rehome piggies into home checked homes and never into single places. Please don't just dump any of your piggies - we see all too often the horrible results of what happens afterwards on here!

It would be good if your slept over it and considered your options with a calmer mind. Your boys can survive in a padded cardboard box for a day or two, provided you put some plastic under a towel so there are no leaks while you think things through and make your enquiries.
 
And PLEASE don't surrender your boy to the pet shop!
 
Hi and welcome to the forum :)

I just wanted to say try not to panic - there's been great advice given already on this so I am not going to repeat any but just wanted to say I joined this forum when one of my 2 new girls (I was new to piggies) was pregnant - pregnant before I got her and I just realised 2 days before she gave birth. I was in a bit of a panic.... and knew nothing....soooo

my advice is..... take a deep breath .... learn as much as you can, take all advice on board and dont panic - there are lots of people on here to help.

I was lucky - my Ebony gave birth to 3 healthy baby girls and I was able to keep them all. I spent hours worrying about would she have boys or girls etc .... but in the end I knew I could sort something out.

Keep us posted, ask any questions and there are lots of people here able and wanting to help where they can,

xx
 
Ok, so, your hutch will be big enough to seperate in the future, (ie two boys in bottom two girls in top) if this is the case. Now that they are housed seperatly, all you can do is wait for her to give birth.

Once she has had the pups you will need to weigh them (wait untill she has finished cleaning them, then give it an hour or so, but unlike hamsters etc the babies can be handled from day one without mum rejecting them.)

Mum needs to have a cup full of veg every day (including 2 high vit C veg for example, slice of brocilli stalk, slice of bell pepper - avoid parsley it can bring on premature labour) as well as a handfull of pellets and unlimited alfalfa hay. Dont overfeed her, as this will give big pup that are hard to pass.

Make sure the room doesnt get too cold for her (if your shivering, she will be too)

Piggy labour doesnt last very long. She will averagly have a pup every 5 minutes. If it has been 20 minutes since the last pup, and she still seems to have another one in there RUSH her to the vets.

A good mum will be cleaning off the amneotic sack very soon after the pups are born. if she doesnt attempt to clean them and you are there, you will have to peel away the sack (otherwise they cant breath. It is OK to do this.) I cant think of anything else right now, hopefully someone who knows more/has more experince will be along soon!

Once the pups are born, you will have 3 weeks before the males and females need to be sexed and seperated. We on the forum will do out best to help you along the way.
 
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i already have them seperated my girl is in the house now and my boy is in the hutch,, Hopefully a family member will fall in love with one of the babies and take mum or dad with the baby depending on the sex. so then i still get to see them :) i am ok keeping things as they are for now and depending on what babies she has and how i rehome them i will hopefully get my boy neuted as they get on really well it wwould be a shame to split them now :( maybe I'm been to soft ?
 
If you choose to get him neutered, and there are no male pups, you could keep him with the females. But as said above it is very important to find a cavvy savvy vet. We can help you with that when the time comes too. :) In our pregnacy section there will be loads of helpfull info, have a look around.
 
oh i am so glad to have found this site :) thank you for all your replys it really is much appreciated, in a perfect world she will have one girl and one boy so i will have 2 pairs, Fingers crossed and i will let you all know, My girl is long haired and all white my boy is black and tan and short wirey hair, i have read about breeds that shouldnt be mated please tell me mine are not them breeds ?/
 
If you have any girls I MAY potentially be able to take one off your hands. Like I said it's only a may at the moment and it could only be a girl but she'd be coming to a lovely home to live with my heard of five.

It all depends on a family situation though, so it's not a definite. Literally 50/50 :)
 
Ah brilliant :) I can't wait for her to have them so I can start organising x is there any signs that I should look out for as to when she will have the babies x she is really big now and the babies feel so strong in her tum, I am worried I won't be there for her if she needs me :(
 
You are not being soft at all to want to keep your boy with the girl. That is a lovely thing to do. They are bonded so it is nice to let them be together if there are no baby boys. I really reccomend you make a c and c cage for them and have them indoors. It is getting cold now and you will not want the little babies outside or the father really. There is so much information on here about how to make a c and c cage.
 
Others may be able to be more exact, I think there are SOME signs of when she will be due, however if you dont know exact dates it really is a waiting game! :( Unfortunaly this waiting could be anything from days to weeks! You will either be there or you wont. :/
 
I'm not sure where you are in Liverpool but I travel to the city centre on a two weekly basis. If you need any help in the flesh sexing your guinea pigs or sexing the babies you are welcome to give me a shout and I will try and help you as best as possible. I am pretty experienced in these things! I used to take in a lot of guinea pigs (not anymore, only have my own now!), just because people knew I would and a lot of them were pregnant so I have witnessed almost every type of birth. We are going back a bit but I remember the majority - from 6 babies to just the 1.

For now though don't panic, the likelihood is your girl will have a smooth pregnancy and labour, it's just best to prepare for all eventualities and set yourself up a plan of action incase there are any problems though.

There aren't really any totally obvious signs that labour is close, if you can feel the babies moving around a lot then your girl is probably not far off full term (she could have 1-3 weeks to go at that point), you might also be able to feel the pelvic bones widen - that's usually when there is only a few days to go. When your girl is in labour she might make a few groans, seem restless and will keep going between her legs to pull the babies out with her teeth. This is totally normal, she might need some help freeing the babies from their sacs and as others have mentioned it's fine to intervene. The labour should be over quite quickly and the babies will be just like minature version of their parents, all fuzzy and walking round.

Ideally you want to weigh the babies after they have settled in, 70g is a good birth weight, anything smaller and they might need some extra help, but we can advise you further at that stage. As already mentioned baby boys will have to leave Mum minimum 21 days old, depending on their weight and whether they seem interested in females. Sometimes they can be left a little longer than 21 days but anyway it sounds like you have room for them to be taken out from Mum.

Hopefully that wasn't too much information to digest. If you think of any more specific questions then fire away...
 
Aww that would be brilliant, I would really appreciate that x I am new to the guinea pig world and have been pushed in at the deep end, hopefully everything will go well :) I am in wavertree in liverpoool not that far from city centre x thank you Shayla,
 
Woo she has just had 2 lovely babies without a hitch, one is blue and White one is sandy and White, there running around and squeaking already :) :) there perfect
 
Thats great news. If you need any help sexng dont hesitate to post pigtures. :)
 
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