Breeding often reduces the lifespan of female guinea pigs. Breeding a female guinea pig for the first time after she reaches 8 months of age can be very dangerous because of the normal stiffening of the pubic symphysis (a joint of tough fibrous cartilage between the 2 pubic bones of the pelvis) that occurs when the female reaches adulthood.
Breeding often reduces the lifespan of female guinea pigs. Breeding a female guinea pig for the first time after she reaches 8 months of age can be very dangerous because of the normal stiffening of the pubic symphysis (a joint of tough fibrous cartilage between the 2 pubic bones of the pelvis) that occurs when the female reaches adulthood.
What is the best age to breed a female guinea pig? Male guinea pigs can breed when they are 3 months of their age, while females can breed somewhat at 2 months from their age, whereas some guinea pigs attain sexual maturity early to this period.
Dystocia is a clinical condition in which the process of giving birth is slowed or is made difficult for the birthing mother. In sows (pregnant guinea pigs), this is usually caused by the normal stiffening of the tough fibrous cartilage which joins the two pubic bones – medically referred to as the symphysis.
Female guinea pigs that are used for breeding should be bred for the first time before they reach adulthood. Skin Disorders Skin problems in guinea pigs are often first noticed as patches of hair loss. Several underlying problems can lead to hair loss, including infestations of fur mites or lice, ringworm, or fighting between incompatible animals.
As a result of being in heat, females become more clingy and cuddly, constantly clinging to their mate or other guinea pigs. Some even try to mate with other females when there are no males around. You can also tell when your female guinea pig is ready to mate by the way her spine curves down and her back is elevated.
In the wild guinea pigs live in groups of 10 or more. They are social creatures, and need the company of their own kind. As pets they are usually kept in pairs or trios of the same sex. Two females (sows) will live happily together, as will two males (boars), particularly if they are siblings.
Health Problems in Guinea PigsRespiratory Infections. Pneumonia is one of the most significant diseases of pet guinea pigs and can be caused by several bacteria, including Bordetella and Streptococcus. ... Diarrhea. ... Scurvy (Vitamin C deficiency) ... Tumors. ... Abscesses. ... Urinary Problems. ... Parasites and Skin Problems. ... Other Problems.
Unfortunately, noticeable bleeding is never normal in guinea pigs and is typically not part of their natural cycle. Other causes such as bladder or other urinary stones, infections, or other abnormalities may be causing those signs that you're seeing.
Mother Guinea Pigs and Female Playmates If the two guinea pigs are female, you will obviously not need to worry about the mother pig becoming pregnant again. If any of the piglets are male, however, it will be necessary to separate them from both female guinea pigs as soon as they reach the breeding age of 3 weeks.
Female Companionship Under most circumstances, a pregnant guinea pig can coexist with other sows without difficulty.
Pneumonia, or inflammation of the lungs, is a frequent cause of death in guinea pigs. Pneumonia in guinea pigs is usually caused by bacterial infection (most often Bordetella bronchiseptica, but other bacteria such as Streptococcus pneumoniae or Streptococcus zooepidemicus may also be the cause).
Guinea pigs and hamsters. These pets can carry salmonella; lymphocytic choriomeningitis; Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, which causes an infection that mimics appendicitis; Campylobacter; Trichophyton mentagrophytes; Hymenolepis nana; and Trixacarus caviae, a parasitic skin infection found particularly in guinea pigs.
Coupled with less muscular diaphragms and a longer esophagus, guinea pigs are unable to effectively throw up. Rabbits, rats, and even horses are in the same barf-free boat.
It can be sterile inflammation, or caused by a bacterial infection (a UTI). Inflammation or infection can occur due to dirty surroundings, a blood-borne infection, kidney disease, uroliths (stones – see above) and more. Cystitis is more common in females due to their shorter urethra.
Female guinea pigs have estrous cycles in which they go into heat several times a year for several days, with different stages. However, they don't experience bleeding or periods as in a menstrual cycle. While they are in heat, they are fertile and go through spontaneous ovulation.
Guinea pigs can have dark orange urine normally due to pigments they ingest from their food. True blood in the urine can occur commonly as well and cause pink to red urine. Blood in the urine may be due to an infection or urinary stones in the bladder or kidneys.
Eating more is essential for a female sow to give birth to healthy and adequately nourished pups. Lack of appetite might give birth to malnourished babies. However, your guinea pig eating more than usual could otherwise be an indication of some underlying health condition if not pregnancy.
Spaying/neutering is a surgical method to remove reproductive organs from a male or a female pig .
Baby guinea pigs are called pups. Therefore, the smaller the litter (one or two pups), the longer is the gestation time. And larger the litter (about 5-6 pups) would mean a shorter pregnancy period. At maximum, a female can give birth to 8 pups in one litter.
Male guinea pigs become sexually mature after 3 months of their age, whereas female guinea pigs become mature within 2 months of their age. However, they both can achieve fertility earlier than the mentioned period. The pregnancy period in guinea pigs lasts from about 59 to 72 days, and on average 65 days.
Within a week or two of pregnancy, gently touch the abdomen area of your pet, and you will be able to feel the lumps in her belly , which can be an indication of developing fetus inside the womb.
However, if a female of age more than 10 months is bred for the first time, than the severity of pregnancy increases and thus putting in danger both the mother and the child.
Keep the pregnant mother in a different cage to ensure her well being and safety.
Bring your female guinea pig to the male and pop her into the cage with him. Don’t be tempted to sit around watching them, as being moved and put in with a new partner is stressful for your girl.
Raising Baby Guinea Pigs. Hopefully, approximately nine weeks after your male and female guinea pigs meet, a litter will be born. Anywhere from 1 – 8 babies strong, the usual number is more like 3 or 4. And they will be born running!
Breeding guinea pigs is usually straightforward, but the results aren’t quick. The sow (female) and boar (male) need to be together for at least 17 days, and the gestation period is then around nine weeks. There is also quite a small window for safely breeding your female guinea pig. Before 6 months old they will be too young.
Guinea Pig Pregnancy. A female guinea pig will often look very pregnant after a few weeks. They can double their weight, and their sides will have a distended look that is a clear departure from the usual guinea pig oval shape! Make sure that you check her water more regularly as she might drink more.
A female guinea pig’s heat cycle lasts around 16 days, so to be sure that they have mated at the correct time you will need to leave them together for this time as a minimum.
This is due to their pelvic bones fus ing in position, and struggling to allow the fully formed baby to pass through and out into the world.
But, after a month the baby boys will start to show far too great an interest in their mother and female siblings! That’s right, guinea pigs have no qualms about mating with their close relations. So it’s vital that you separate them for the health of the sows.
The average period of the gestation period for guinea pigs is 63 days.
For female guinea pigs (known as sows), they can mate as young as 2 months of age. Both the male and the female become more sexually mature the older they get. When deciding to reproduce guinea pigs, there are some important things to keep into consideration.
A female’s heat cycle lasts between 14 and 17 days and there is only a 24-48 hour chance window for breeding during which the female will show interest in her partner for only about 8 hours in total.
Breeding cycle. The gestation period for guinea pigs is 59 – 72 days. A female’s heat cycle lasts between 14-17 days and there is only a 24-48 hour chance window for breeding. Therefore, do not interrupt the couple.
The very first thing you need to know before letting your guinea pigs mate is that you need to provide sufficient space for your pets and their babies.
It is important that you frequently restock food and water for the mother guinea pig in order to have a safe and healthy litter. Once the birth has occurred, you need to continue feeding the guinness pig mother a rich diet. More rations alfalfa hay and food pellets are needed, especially when the mother is nursing.
The moment there is a deficiency the health complications kick in such as hair loss, bleeding of skin and gums, arthritic pain, and, in the worst case possible , a miscarriage. Furthermore, low calcium levels, eclampsia, uterine prolapse, and mastitis are also seen in late-aged pregnant female guinea pigs.
Answer: Virtually no one. It pretty much takes a PETA undercover investigation to get through the doors.
To understand the complexity of problems associated with breeding, one needs to understand the pet business in general -- worth billions, by the way.
Just like you don't want to know the details of where that tidy package of yummy ground chuck at the grocery store comes from, similarly, you really don't want know where those cute and perky fluff balls at the pet store come from.
The C-section in guinea pigs is usually not advocated because mothers usually do not survive it. Birth is a very dangerous time for a guinea pig, and unfortunately, you will need to be prepared for the possibility of a fatal outcome for your pregnant sow.
In sows (pregnant guinea pigs), this is usually caused by the normal stiffening of the tough fibrous cartilage which joins the two pubic bones – medically referred to as the symphysis. As the female guinea pig ages, the cartilage that binds the two halves of the pubic bones stiffens, limiting the ability of the pubic bones to spread sufficiently ...
Dystocia in guinea pigs can be prevented by either breeding the female between four and eight months of age or by preventing pregnancy altogether by housing male and female guinea pigs separately or by spaying and neutering.
A guinea pig that is recovering from dystocia should be given time to rest and nurse her young in a clean, quiet, and undisturbed environment. Any supportive care that has been advised by your veterinarian should be administered routinely.
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If you are breeding your guinea pig, the male and female can be in the same space for breeding purpose s, but if breeding is not intended, you will need to keep your male and female guinea pigs separated until one or both of the guinea pigs has been neutered.
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This allows an extremely small window of opportunity unless you want to have a Cesarean section (C-section) performed on the sow to get the babies out. Guinea pigs are sexually mature as young as one month of age. While it is less important for the male pig to be a certain age at the time of breeding, the female needs to be less than 10 months old ...
Unlike other rodents, guinea pig babies are born precocial. This means they have teeth, fur, squeak, and run around just like the adults when they are born. They nurse within the first few days to get colostrum but also eat big pig food, such as hay, shortly after birth.
Health problems among guinea pigs that live alone are usually related to aging, dental disease, reproductive disorders, injury, or improper care. Infectious diseases caused by certain viruses and bacteria usually occur only in guinea pigs that live with other guinea pigs. Intestinal parasites are not common. Tumors are rare in young guinea pigs but are more common in guinea pigs that are more than 5 years old. Treatment of infectious diseases can be complicated by the fact that guinea pigs are more sensitive to antibiotics than other types of pets.
Malocclusion may be inherited or due to lack of vitamin C, injury, or imbalances of certain minerals in the diet . The teeth of guinea pigs grow continuously throughout the animal’s life. If the teeth or jaws do not meet properly, the teeth may become overgrown, making it difficult for the animal to chew.
Increasing roughage (fiber in the diet) and decreasing grains and sugars may help treat diarrhea. One way to increase dietary fiber is to provide hay in addition to commercial guinea pig feed. Probiotics (supplements that contain live bacterial cultures) may help to restore the healthy balance of bacteria in the digestive tract. It is important that your pet drink enough water. If your guinea pig will not voluntarily drink sufficient water, your veterinarian may provide additional fluids by injection. Antibiotics should only be used when absolutely necessary because their use can worsen the imbalance of bacteria in the digestive tract. Follow the treatment program prescribed by your veterinarian carefully. Keeping your guinea pig’s bedding, water bottle, and housing clean and sanitized and promptly removing uneaten food can help prevent infection by reducing the level of disease-causing organisms.
If they do not get enough of this vitamin in their diet, their bodies’ supply of vitamin C disappears quickly. Vitamin C is required for the production of collagen, a protein necessary for healthy skin, joints, and blood vessels. Reduced collagen can cause problems walking, swollen joints, and bleeding under the skin, in the muscles, in the membranes around the skull, in the brain, and in the intestines. Guinea pigs with vitamin C deficiency may be weak, lack energy, and walk with a limp. They may have a rough hair coat, lose their appetite, lose weight, have diarrhea, become ill, or die suddenly. Your veterinarian can diagnose vitamin C deficiency by investigating the diet and by examining your pet, looking especially for bleeding or joint problems.
Guinea pigs that receive these antibiotics may develop diarrhea, loss of appetite, dehydration, or a drop in body temperature. Death can occur in less than a week if the antibiotic treatment continues. Inadequate nutrition and vitamin C deficiency can make your pet more likely to develop these problems.
Sickness causes guinea pigs to be stressed; if your pet is sick, hold it as little as possible. Antibiotics can cause problems in guinea pigs’ digestive tracts, so your pet may not tolerate these medications. Most disease treatments should include extra vitamin C. Diarrhea and other illnesses may cause your guinea pig to become dehydrated. Signs of dehydration include dry stools, dark urine, or skin “tenting” (skin that returns to its normal position slowly after being pinched). If your pet is dehydrated, your veterinarian may provide fluid treatment. Animals that will not eat may require a stomach tube.
Most disease treatments should include extra vitamin C. Diarrhea and other illnesses may cause your guinea pig to become dehydrated. Signs of dehydration include dry stools, dark urine, or skin “tenting” (skin that returns to its normal position slowly after being pinched).
Homozygous individuals are true-breeding because they have only one type of allele to pass to their offspring ex: AA.
The genotypes for the P generation are Aa and Aa.
The phenotype is determined by the genotype.
The P generation is the parental generation that cross.
With a monohybrid cross, the offspring may be either AA, Aa, or aa. The expected genotypic ratio will be 1:2:1. (1 AA 2 Aa and 1 aa) The expected phenotypic ratio will be 3:1 (3 dominant and 1 recessive)