Content
- Guinea pig pregnancy symptoms - behavior
- How to know if a guinea pig is pregnant?
- How long does the guinea pig stay pregnant
- Should I separate the pig from the male from the pregnant female?
Due to the precocity and ease with which guinea pigs reproduce, it is not strange that their guardians have doubts about whether their guinea pig is pregnant or not. Therefore, in this article by PeritoAnimal we will explain to you how to know and what are the symptoms of a pregnant guinea pig. For this, we will describe the fundamental changes that your piglet will undergo if it is pregnant, as well as the most important characteristics of this period. If you want to know if your guinea pig is pregnant, keep reading!
Guinea pig pregnancy symptoms - behavior
If you adopt a guinea pig without knowing her past and not knowing if she has had contact with males, you are sure to wonder if she is pregnant. If you look closely you can see some behavioral changes like being more skittish and hostile. In addition, it can prevent you from manipulating it, it likes you less to pick it up and it may even be less active than usual. In behavioral terms, you are unlikely to notice other changes. On the other hand, physical changes are more evident, which we will explain to you below.
How to know if a guinea pig is pregnant?
As in any pregnancy, the mother's body undergoes considerable changes in order to allow for the development, birth and subsequent raising of the newborns. If you want to know if your guinea pig is pregnant, you should notice the following symptoms:
- Headquarters increase. From the beginning of pregnancy, you will notice that your piglet is drinking more water than usual. Therefore, you should always provide plenty of water, always clean and fresh.
- Increased appetite. It is very important to increase the intake of vitamin c and adjust the diet to the new needs of the piglet. Ask your veterinarian for advice on exotic animals.
- As the pregnancy progresses, you will notice that the guinea pig's belly increases in size. At first it can be difficult to notice this, especially if it is a chubby pig.
- If you regularly weigh your piglet, you will notice that she constantly fattening, reaching twice her weight at the end of pregnancy.
- In the weeks before giving birth, if you place your hands gently on her belly, you can feel the small movements that are the offspring inside her womb.
- Eventually your guinea pig will have the shape of a pear, due to the increased size of her belly.
- Her breasts also increase considerably in size.
- Shortly before giving birth, it is possible to feel one or two bones in the genital area. If you can feel both bones, it means the birth is near.
- The best way to get confirmation is to see a veterinarian who does an ultrasound.
How long does the guinea pig stay pregnant
Now that you know how to identify if a guinea pig is pregnant, it's important to know how long a guinea pig's gestation lasts. This period may vary between 56 and 74 days and at birth, 1 to 6 offspring can be born. As soon as they are born, guinea pigs can feed themselves but for at least the first month of life they need breast milk. Read our full article on guinea pig feeding.
On the other hand, it is important to mention that from approximately 10 months of age onwards, the pelvis bones of the guinea pigs consolidate, maintaining a rigid structure that will prevent vaginal births. For this reason, you should never let a female mate if she is more than a year old and you don't know if she has ever had cubs in her life. In these cases, sterilization is recommended.
Should I separate the pig from the male from the pregnant female?
If you have a couple of guinea pigs, it's important separate the male from the pregnant female before giving birth and, above all, afterwards, so that he doesn't bother the mother and daughters, and because a female as soon as she gives birth to her young, she can mate again and become pregnant. This is because, as soon as the puppies are born, the piglet becomes fertile again, so the male can try to mate with her at that exact moment. The pig has a very high energy consumption during pregnancy and remains so throughout the breastfeeding period. For this reason, it is not recommended to re-pregnant immediately before you recover. Precisely for this reason, it is important to separate the puppies from the mother after the lactation period has ended. Males must be separated from their mother and sisters, as they can reach sexual maturity very early, between 2 and 4 months. From that moment on they have continuous cycles every 16-18 days.
