Is my rescue pregnant?

Dumplingsmom

Post   » Wed Dec 27, 2017 4:28 pm


I recently rescued a young guinea pig who could have been housed with males. I’ve had her about three weeks. Her activity level hasn’t changed (she is super active and constantly popcorns) and she loves to be held. I tried the c tip and her belly is still really soft. I’m worried because I am planning on adding another guinea pig soon and don’t want to stress her out.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Wed Dec 27, 2017 5:47 pm


Adding another won't hurt unless she is pregnant and very close to delivery.

I wrote this for another forum: https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/th ... ong-is-she

Dumplingsmom

Post   » Wed Dec 27, 2017 6:04 pm


Okay. When do they typically start getting rounder if she is pregnant? She isn’t very round yet.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Wed Dec 27, 2017 9:28 pm


A little more than halfway through.

Dumplingsmom

Post   » Wed Dec 27, 2017 10:16 pm


Sorry for all the questions. She is my first guinea pig. I did a lot of research before rescuing her but wasn’t expecting this. I’ve had her three weeks so assuming that she could have gotten pregnant close to when I got her. Is there anything specific I should be concerned about? I’d assume she isn’t more than 8-10 weeks herself. She is small but had grown in length since I’ve had her. I have not found a vet in my area yet who is familiar with guinea pigs.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Wed Dec 27, 2017 10:53 pm


She could have gotten pregnant at about 4-5 weeks of age.

Pregnant sows and young pups get the same things -- good quality hay, pellets and veggies. Since she's so young herself, you probably also need to supplement her with a little vitamin C. Feed a good quality timothy hay, and either alfalfa pellets or substitute some alfalfa hay for some of the timothy.

Dumplingsmom

Post   » Wed Dec 27, 2017 11:10 pm


She is on a quality hay and pellet. She should be getting plenty of vitamin c. Her favorite veggie is kale. She gets plenty of that! Thanks for all your advice. While I would love a baby piggy, I really hope she isn’t pregnant.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Wed Dec 27, 2017 11:27 pm


I hope not, too. She's pretty young to be pregnant, and pregnancy is very hard on sows anyway.

But, she does need a buddy. So if she's not pregnant, you really should think about finding one for her.

JX4

Post   » Thu Dec 28, 2017 2:28 am


If she is young and pregnant she needs *extra* Vitamin C and calcium NOW. One of my new sows got pregnant accidentally and because she was so young (probably around 3 to 4 months at conception) the developing babies depleted her bones and body of nutrients. Her femurs got so weak that they both broke just prior to or during delivery. It was expensive to fix and painful for her. (Three years later and she is fine, running and jumping like the others even though she has no hip sockets and her femurs are held to her spine only by cartilage.) You do not want the developing babies to deplete her bones.

If she is not pregnant she does need a companion. If she is pregnant you might want to wait, though another sow can be helpful to the new mom. But it depends on how many pigs you want to end up with and what you would do with babies. We kept most of ours because we became so attached to them and couldn't find homes I approved of.

Dumplingsmom

Post   » Thu Dec 28, 2017 3:21 pm


I have a buddy lined up for her which I why I only got her in the first place. It will be an older sow who recently lost her companion. I’m wanting to hold off because if she has babies, I can’t keep more than two pigs in the set up I have now. I don’t have room to add to it either :(. So unfortunately, I will need to wait another week or two to be sure. She is getting plenty of time of her space and socialization. I have potential homes in mind for if she does have babies.

JX4

Post   » Thu Dec 28, 2017 6:34 pm


An older sow can be helpful to the new mom is she does have babies. Especially if the older sow was put in with her early enough to forge a relationship before the birth.

Dumplingsmom

Post   » Thu Dec 28, 2017 7:22 pm


At what point should I stop handling her? She is out of her space about like 75% of the time that I’m home. It’s taken a lot to get her to that place and I don’t want to loose the progress.

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