Ask a Vet!
Ask a Vet!
Our online veterinarian, WWWiz, Vet.,
gives you helpful tips on pet care.
3/12/97 Q: Please could you help me? My guinea pig just gave birth, and I need information on what to do now. The female was long-haired and the dad is short-haired, and they have been together for only a month, yet they have just given birth. Is this possible? I thought it took 60 days. Should I seperate them? When can I pick up the baby? Is there any food I would normally leave for them that I shouldn't now that there is a baby? Thanks!
A: The length of gestation for a guinea pig is 59-72 days (average 63-68 days). Hence, your female was pregnant before you got her. I would separate them until the babies are weaned at 14-28 days of age. I would not handle them during their first week of life. Also, I would leave the food as is, since guinea pigs do not like a change in their food or feeders. Good luck!
3/12/97 Q: I have some more questions to ask about my guinea pig.
1. If the female got pregnant from another male, will my male hurt or kill the babies?
2. How long after birth will the female be in heat?
3. Is it normal for a female guinea pig to nip another female it it goes near the male (father of her babies)?
4. How old should a female be to get pregnant?
Thanks again!
A: 1. Not as long as the males are kept away from her and the babies.
2. The female can come into heat 2-15 HOURS after birth; this can last 1-2 days.
3. It does not matter if the male is the father of the babies; the female is most likely nipping to show her dominance.
4. She should be 2-3 months old to get pregnant.
Good luck!
3/12/97 Q: My name is Angela and I'm 13. Is it okay to put kitty litter at the bottom of my guinea pig's cage?
A: I would use shredded newspaper or wood shavings. A fine bedding such as kitty litter may get caught in the guinea pig's genitalia. Good luck!
3/4/97 Q: Hi. My name is Jessica. I have a guinea pig named Prince. He is a male and very handsome. So handsome that my friend's guinea pig fell in love with him. He ended up getting her pregnant. I would like to know a few things so we are prepared. Please answer the following questions.
1. Should the male (Prince) be there when she is in labour?
2. Does the mother need bedding for the babies?
3. Is it good for her to have fruit or veggies?
4. How long will she be in labour?
5. When should she mate again?
Please write back, because no one I asked about this subject would return my email. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
A: 1. No, the male should not be with the female while she is in labor, because he may stress the female and she might not take good care of her babies.
2. No bedding is needed since guinea pigs do not build nests.
3. Continue her regular diet, which should be specifically formulated for guinea pigs.
4. Birthing (parturition) in guinea pigs is rapid, with only a few minutes between babies.
5. Do not breed her again until after the babies are weaned (approximately four weeks). Good luck!
3/4/97 Q: Hi. My name is Michelle. I'm 12 years old and quite fond of animals. I have two dogs, one bird, one guinea pig, and one horse. I have recently gotten a baby male guinea pig from my friend who breeds guinea pigs. I was wondering if you could give them a bath or rinse them off. Thanks!
A: If you needed to, you could gently sponge-bathe the guinea pig with warm water. I would not recommend a complete bath. Good luck!
1/28/97 Q: My name is Eric Crumbaugh and I'm 11. I just barely got a full-grown guinea pig and I just wanted to ask a question. Is it good to let a guinea pig get out of its cage and run around for a while? But what I really need to know is if so, how often should I let him out to run? Please write back.
A: You can let your guinea pig out once a day to run around; however, he should be supervised to make sure he does not get into trouble, such as chewing on electric cords or other harmful things. Good luck!
1/9/97 Q: I have read that oak and pine shaving has been linked to liver desease. Is this true? What kind of bedding to you recommend? I just bought my guinea pig today. Her name is Scarlet. I'm very concerned about this.
A: I believe that cedar shavings have been shown to affect some liver enzymes in rats and mice. The changes can affect factors such as drug metabolism, but no clinical signs associated with them have been documented. I would use either recycled paper products, citrus litter, aspen or oak shavings, or corncob by-products for bedding. Good luck!
11/13/96 Q: Well, we now know that our guinea pig is pregnant - her babies have been kicking. The only thing we don't know exactly is when her babies will be born, which is sort of scary because we don't know if we will be home in case she has difficulties. Another thing I would like to ask you about is her food. She eats her regular guinea pig food (with added vitamin C) plus alfalfa and carrots, but I don't know what to do about calcium. I heard that they are supposed to get a lot of calcium when they are pregnant, but I don't know what to give her. The last thing I would like to know about is her towel. My guinea pig loves to nestle under a towel. One day my mother draped a towel over the edge of her cage and ever since then she has loved it. I didn't know if this would be common for warmth, comfort, or both, but I would like to know. I really appreciate your help and am looking forward to the birth of the tiny guinea pigs. I'll let you know what they look like. Thanks again.
A: I believe that feeding your guinea pig a quality formulated guinea pig diet with vitamin C supplementation should be sufficient. Commercially prepared guinea pig diets contain vitamin C but the vitamin C content is degraded and lost within weeks of manufacturing. Hence, the diet should be supplemented with vitamin C. In order to supplement the diet, you could feed your guinea pig fresh kale, cabbage and oranges. Another option is to add vitamin C to the water (200-400mg per liter of water); make sure to mix the water fresh on a daily basis. Still another option is to feed your guinea pig chewable vitamin C (50mg). Good luck!
11/11/96 Q: My common chameleon got its tongue stuck on the side of its tank, and it got all stretched out. It took him a while to get it back into his mouth. He is not eating well, and appears to have lost part of his tongue. What can I do?
A: Your chameleon needs to be examined by a veterinarian, preferably one with a strong interest and experience in exotic pets. Good luck.
10/31/96 Q: We just got our female guinea pig about two months ago. At the time she was in a pet store with a male. She seems to be getting fat. How can we tell if she is pregnant? She is the best guinea pig we have ever had. She never screams, and she purrs when you pet her, especially her fat tummy. Could that be a sign?
A: The fact that she was with a male guinea pig prior to her purchase means there is a good chance she could be pregnant. The pregnancy of a guinea pig is 59-72 days. Therefore, if she is pregnant, you will be having baby guinea pigs any day now. You might want to take her to a veterinarian to determine whether or not she is definitely pregnant. Good luck, and let me know the outcome!
Q: 10/20/96 We have several angora rabbits. One of them, the oldest, will occasionally fall on its side, thrash around, screech and attempt to bite itself. This lasts for about three to five minutes. It occurs about one to four times per week. The rabbit has no parasites in its skin and is well looked after, but its eyes are dilated when this happens. Could this be seizure activity?
A: It could possibly be a seizure and the question is: why is your rabbit having these seizures? Some possible causes are infectious diseases (e.g., pasteurella tumor) or possibly epilepsy. I would advise a thorough exam and consultation with your veterinarian. Good luck!
Q: 10/17/96 I am only 13 and trying to convince my parents to get a guinea pig for my birthday. This might sound like a stupid question but how many times a day do I have to brush it? Thanks for the help!
A: A guinea pig should require no more brushing than once a day. More importantly, make sure to feed the guinea pig an appropriate "guinea pig food" mixture, available at pet stores. Also, vitamin C is very important to guinea pigs, and there are supplements available at pet stores, as well. Good luck!
Q:I have a guinea pig whom I am very concerned about. She gave birth to three healthy babies last week; tonight she is acting very strange, like her back legs are paralyzed. I am very concerned for her. Any suggestions?
Julie
A:The best response to your question is that you should take your guinea pig to see your veterinarian as soon as possible. There are several possible causes to her paralysis. Some possible causes are: pregnancy toxemia, vitamin C deficiency, trauma (i.e. nerve damage or bone fractures secondary to a fall or possibly having caught their feet in a wire-bottom cage), or a systemic disease (such as an infection). These are just a few of the possible causes and would require a thorough exam and history in order to provide a diagnosis. Please let me know the outcome.
Good luck,
Thank you for your reply. I did tke her to a vet. it took several calls on my part to find someone who treated guniea pigs. But it was well worth it. I found someone to treat her. After a very thorough exam he came to the same conclusions as you.We are going to try 50mg of chewable vitamin C and .10 of steriod. The hard thing was he wanted us to wean the babies. I am a little concerned about this as the babies are only 9 days old. We did try it last night and they cried for awhile but they seem to be doing ok. I know they were eating on thier own but I am not sure if they were drinking on thier own. So we will try it and see what happens. She is not in a wire cage it has a plastic bottom. So it is not due to a wore cage bottom I really did some investigation before I bought the cage. The hardest part is the poor thing keeps peeing on herself so we have to wash and blow dry her several times a day. She is such a sweetheart that she enjoys it!!! Thank you for your reply and I am hoping all works out well for her and the babies. The vet did say she was definately amply named sweetie pie. She really is a love. She gives kisses and loves to be held. She also loves to curl up by your neck. We have 2 guniea pigs and the second is not a socialable she screams when you pick her up till she will finally calm down. She was preganant also and gave birth to 5 babies two days after sweetie pie. So as you can see we have a lot of guniea pigs right now. Again thanks for the reply and I will keep you updated as things progress. She has been a trooper through all this so I hope she can recover!
Thank you Julie