How many babies do guinea pigs have?
Guinea pigs are known as cavies. These are generally domesticated species of Cavia Porcellus (Rodent). Male guineas are known as boars while females are called sows. Babies of Guinea pigs are known as pups.
The sows often have a gestation period of about 59-72 days. She gives birth to a small guinea called a pup. Guinea Pig litters typically range from 3 to 4 pups. But, they can have up to thirteen pups in a litter.
At three weeks, pups are weaned and are fully mature in the next two to three months.
So, we hope you got your answer. But stay here. I will provide you more valuable information that no one will share it with you regarding the guinea family. And I hope you will also enjoy that information.
Can the father guinea pig be with the babies?
If you own a female guinea pig known as sown that can give birth to tiny pups, then ensure that she has the possibility to live in a conducive environment to raise her new addition.
In this case, male guinea pigs should keep separated from newborn babies as I said in another article before. Some species of male rodents kill and eat their new babies.
Newborn babies can meet their father when their mother is not around. Male cavies are not so much dangerous and aggressive as other species of a rodent to their young one.
It is so because pups are born in an advanced and more precocial stage than other rodents. Pups can escape from those male cavies by whom they feel treats.
Another aspect that you should know why it is necessary to keep babies away from male guinea pig is due to threats to small female babies from their dad.
Never allow female pups to meet with their dad till they are of 21-days. Because father can get female pups pregnant which is extremely dangerous for the bodies of young guinea females.
Here the question in your mind that is it good to separate males and females in their designated enclosure? then the answer is yes. It is very important to separate male and female cavies till they are 4-weeks old.
It is not necessary that male siblings only mate with their female cavy’s sibling, they can do it with their mother. So, it is good to prevent breeding by putting male and female in their designated enclosures.
Can you touch a baby guinea pig?
If you are a little bit confused about touching small babies of guinea pigs, then the following tips should be taken to handle them properly.
- Pups should be handled as soon as possible so that they become comfortable and suitable for human attraction.
- Hold babies on your lap by putting one hand to support his/her back-end and use another one under his/her chest.
- Talk them with a gentle voice.
- If pups become an embarrassment, then lower the, back into the cage.
- It is due to the fact that little pups become squeak when you take them for a longer time away from mother guinea.
- Never hold pups when they are nursing and sleeping.
What are the signs of a dying guinea pig babies?
Are you worried about the health of your guinea pig babies? Small pets do not live long. If you want to know about the signs of dying little babies, then have look below.
- Loss of appetite
- Incontinence
- Less playful attitude and behavior
- Slow movement
- Lack of healthy activities
- Drop-in temperature
- Closing of eyes for a longer time
Do guinea pigs recognize their owners?
Yes, of course, guinea pigs recognize their owners. These pets are social animals. They enjoy the company and have fellow cavies to enjoy their life, recognize and respond to their owners by playing different activities around the room.
They show a strong interaction not only with their fellow but also with their owners. Special types of sounds and show affection is the couple of useful ways in cavies that shows that they recognize owners.
Some signs that enable you to know about the affection of guinea pigs toward owner:
- Makes a noise like „coo”
- Run toward you when their owner enters the house
- Obeying power of cavies
When can guinea pig babies leave their mothers?
You might enjoy seeing female guinea pigs watching and nurturing their offspring. Females leave their babies after several weeks when they are born, unlike other living creatures.
When little babies born, they need feedings of Mom’s milk. It is very necessary for the mother to nurse and take care of their youngster for about 2-week. Weaning at 3-weeks is optimal for the growth of young cavies. Never separate them from mothers until they are fully weaned and become strong.
Do guinea pigs eat their babies?
Many people ask me this question if you are worried about the question that does guinea pigs eat their babies, then the answer is yes might be in several cases. Guinea pigs eat their babies when their shortage of food. They generally require more food than that of your expectations.
If the mother is fed enough and the right food during pregnancy, then there will be fewer chances that she eats her babies. Stay babies away from father guinea pig is necessary to protect the youngster from any upcoming threats from the father’s side.
How do I know when my guinea pig will give birth?
In case you own a female guinea pig who lives in the company of male guinea pig, then she, of course, gets pregnant. Before giving birth to babies, cavies will surely make a „Hiccupping” sound.
It means that her babies will be born in just a few minutes, its something crazy I live this experience just last month in the late early evening, look at the picture you will not see the mother pregnant guinea pig 😀 because she’s inside.
To ensure the fact that she has been sheltered in a soft area where she births babies like an igloo with a soft and comfortable fleece. Guinea pigs will usually birth babies in the late early evening and early in the morning.
It is necessary to closely take care of the morning and evening time of your female guinea pigs. She should be monitored in case of the occurrence of complications.
Verdicts:
So, here the end of this beautiful and informative content, I hope you get enough information about how many babies do guinea pigs have and what kind of care should be taken for small cavies. Try to care for your babies of guinea pigs so that they get nourish fast and become enough strong to lead a happy life with their fellows.
Lydia King is a huge animal lover and has always been fascinated with learning about the animal kingdom. She enjoys writing about anything animal related from scientific information about rare species to animal references in pop culture.
