Any guinea pig owners/lovers?

[CraziChknLady]

Several months ago I got 2 males and female. They were not kept in the best of heath. Both males had bottom teeth that were longer than the top. The female had really long nails and had obviously had pups ( she seemed older, judging by her nails and size). When taken to vet, one male had an abscess on his foot. He was taken in two days later, also to be neutered and sadly passed under anesthesia. Since then the vet will no longer do anything but wellness exams. Currently the male, now a bit older is now reaching puberty. My only educated guess is he's between 3-6 months. ( When I got him his man parts hadn't dropped/shown yet). They are in separate cages.

Just last weekend I also got a mama ( who doesn't even look like she's 6 months - year due to her size) and 3 pups. The pups were still nursing when I came up on them in the cage. I couldn't leave them. I think the pups were only a few days old. I've never had pups before, so I I've been researching and looking at a lot of videos.

Originally the first day or so the mama would push the pups out of the way for veggies/ pellets. One pup seemed smaller, moving less and tired, so I pull him out so he had extra opportunity to eat. They have already been munching on romance lettuce, cucumbers and bell peppers. This morning they seemed calmer and pups have put on weight. I have been weighing them as well as frequent checks for nipped/ torn ears, weight loss, etc on the pups. And have read about gender confirmation at 3-4 weeks to seperate and prevent teen pregnancy. I have also provided plenty of hay, specifically alfalfa, and young pig pellet food. Sorry such a long read! Any other advice, suggestions or recommendations?

 

[CascadiaRiver]

If your local vet doesn't want to treat them, I would look around for a second. Especially if they arrived in bad condition, I would want a vet on hand in case something worsens or develops. Just to be clear you have now 1 male, 1 female, 1 female with babies, 3 babies? Was the vet able to correct/trim the teeth on the remaining adult male?

How old are the babies? If you don't know, what are their weights/sex? Once male pups are about 5-6oz they are mature enough to get mom pregnant and need separated immediately or mom will be pregnant (possibly sisters too, but generally they become fertile closer to 6-8 weeks). Babies are born precocious usually able to eat and drink and survive on their own fairly quickly, so while they may still want to nurse, for the safety and non-pregnancy for mom it's totally fine to remove boys before they're done nursing (8-10 weeks or if mom kicks them off earlier)

As long as they have unlimited access to hay, unlimited pellets (for mom+babies, everyone else can have the 1/8-1/4c as per the bag per day) and a vitamin c supplement or veggies high in vit c every day they should be good. Are the adults proper weight/muscled or are they underweight/overweight?

Were the original 2 males & 1 female kept fully separated? Were they housed together before you got them? If so, that girl may also be pregnant, gestation is usually around 70 days give or take.

 

[CraziChknLady]

If your local vet doesn't want to treat them, I would look around for a second. Especially if they arrived in bad condition, I would want a vet on hand in case something worsens or develops. Just to be clear you have now 1 male, 1 female, 1 female with babies, 3 babies? Was the vet able to correct/trim the teeth on the remaining adult male?

How old are the babies? If you don't know, what are their weights/sex? Once male pups are about 5-6oz they are mature enough to get mom pregnant and need separated immediately or mom will be pregnant (possibly sisters too, but generally they become fertile closer to 6-8 weeks). Babies are born precocious usually able to eat and drink and survive on their own fairly quickly, so while they may still want to nurse, for the safety and non-pregnancy for mom it's totally fine to remove boys before they're done nursing (8-10 weeks or if mom kicks them off earlier)

As long as they have unlimited access to hay, unlimited pellets (for mom+babies, everyone else can have the 1/8-1/4c as per the bag per day) and a vitamin c supplement or veggies high in vit c every day they should be good. Are the adults proper weight/muscled or are they underweight/overweight?

Were the original 2 males & 1 female kept fully separated? Were they housed together before you got them? If so, that girl may also be pregnant, gestation is usually around 70 days give or take.

I have no clue if the original 2 males and female were housed together or not. The one Skinny male was extremely young, as his manly parts hadn't dropped yet. He was in a cage by himself. The other male and female were in a cage together. Although I took all the them to a vet. It was agreed the Skinny male was extremely young. The other male slightly older but not even 6 months. The female was older. I did have X-rays done and the female wasnt pregnant. I also separated the female and males. The vet didn't trim either of the males teeth.

The one male also had a hard abscess on his foot. Since it would need to be surgically removed they would also neuter him. Unfortunately, he passed while being under. I don't know if he had any underlying conditions, either.

A month or so later I contacted my vet finding out they don't do anything but well checks. I have since found out 2 other vets do see them, one charges $99 and the other $85 just for the vet visit. I'm not sure how much for the anesthesia. Either way they would want to do a wellness check again before doing any neutering. I have 2 other vets I can contact to get info but have heard back.

Currently the adult female is on the chunky side. The Skinny male was looking portly, but had hit a growth spurt, so he's looking better. But they both can definitely use less veg.

A little over a week ago I got the mama with 3 pups. Sadly, 1 pup passed. It was the smallest out the them. I think the pups were a few days old by the time I got them. Mama seems to have been handled and socialized and I have been trying to handle the pups as much as possible. They have all been eating veg a long with pellets and hay. I did start weighing the pups right away. As of the last weight check, both were 3.9 oz

I really don't think the mama is that old. Her weight now is 1 lb 5.2 oz. I have an educated guess that one pup is female and one male....but the first week I was unable to tell tell due to them being newborns and being so undistinguishable.

All the research I have read has said males can be pulled at 3 weeks due to possible impregnation of the mom. 8-10 weeks seems quite long.

I have 1 more week of quarantine for the mama and pups. That will be 2 weeks that I've had them. I figured a couple days after that will be about the 3 week mark for the pups. I'll watch them closely and weigh them.

I have a hard time shelling out more for a wellness exam ( double what original vet charged) for the same male again. So I'm going to wait to see what the pups are. If one is a male, I'm hoping I can bond the 2.

 

[CascadiaRiver]

The testes don't have to be descended to get a female pregnant, 4 week old males don't have very big testes but they still need separated ;D Xrays can only detect fetuses when their bones have calcified, usually in the last part of pregnancies, so I would get her checked again in a month or so. Age doesn't matter as far as fertility iirc, the only common barrier for older sows getting pregnant is more on if she had a litter when she was young for the hip fusing thing, otherwise I believe they can get pregnant throughout most of their lifespan. If the adult female is chunky and the boy(s) were skinny I would definitely get an ultrasound for her if the vets are comfortable doing that, until late term that'll be the only way you'll identify babies if the vet isn't experienced in palpating them by hand, but fingers crossed for you she is not pregnant!

Yes separate the male(s) babies when they're 3-4 weeks old, I meant that weaning naturally doesn't usually happen until 8-10, you'll often see the female pups remain with mom until she kicks them off, sometimes sooner sometimes later. I don't know where you're at but a wellness exam for an exotic like a rabbit or guinea pig near me is starting at $150 and that's for the vet I'm established with, not as a new patient, so imo that sounds fantastic! Especially if they're experienced with guinea pigs and small animal surgeries, I'd pay more for experience than risk a vet who is unsure or winging it (exaggerating here).

For the remaining male with the bad teeth, watch him and his weight closely to ensure he's eating enough hay & when checking in with the vets in the future ask if they'd be willing to correct them for you. Sometimes guinea pigs are able to exist well with malocclusion, other times it can lead to malnutrition or chipped teeth, rarely things like injuries from where the teeth touch parts of the face or inner mouth since they aren't connecting and wearing each other down. It's generally just safer to have them corrected, as long as the vet is comfortable doing so of course!