Things You'll Need
- Healthy pair of Guinea Pigs of appropriate ages
- Cage for the expectant pair to share
- Separate cages placed next to each other
- Guinea Pig pellets and hay
- Vitamin C tablets
- Fresh fruits and vegetables
- Pre-arranged homes for the new babies
Instructions
Make Sure Your Guinea Pigs are Ready to Breed
Ensure that both the male and female Guinea Pigs are very healthy.
Make sure that the female Guinea Pig is at least five months old. If this is her first litter, make sure that she is not over six to eight months old to prevent her pelvic bones from fusing together. Should that occur and the sow is bred anyway, she will not be able to give birth and she will die while attempting to do so.
Make sure that the male Guinea Pig is at least five months old and reproductively fully formed before allowing him to sire babies.
Introduce the Happy Couple
Introduce the Guinea Pigs to each other prior to the sow entering season by placing them in separate cages side by side. They need to see and smell each other to become acquainted. Keeping them separate at this time will avoid fights. Normally, the male will purr to the female and puff out his fur when meeting for the first time.
Continue to care for each of them exactly as you have prior to this time.
Check daily for signs that the female is in season so that she will be receptive to the male. Stroke her back and she will flatten herself slightly onto the floor of the cage. She will also make noises which sound like purring. She will come into season every 14 to 18 days during her reproductive lifetime, each season lasting only about 24 to 48 hours. She will only be receptive to the male for a few hours during this time.
Place the sow into the boar's cage when she first begins to show signs of being in season, and make plans to leave her in there with him for about a month. Be ever watchful of the pair for signs of fighting. Should a dispute occur, quickly remove her and place her back in her own cage next to his until the following day, when you can try again.
In a Family way--the Pregnancy
Leave the pair together for a least a month. The time period when the sow will permit the boar to breed with her is very small. The longer you leave them together, the more likely it is that breeding will occur successfully. Don't even bother to try to see them actually breed, though, because this is a rarity.
Check daily for signs that the female is pregnant. If she is, several weeks after breeding you'll note that her middle has begun to expand. She should start to eat more and may begin to drink more water than she normally does. She will probably also begin to build a nest.
Begin to supplement the sow's regular pellet and hay diet to accommodate the possible pregnancy. Provide her with plenty of Vitamin C by feeding extra fresh fruits and vegetables. However, watch her droppings for signs of loose stools, and back off of the fresh stuff a little if her droppings become runny. You can also crush part of a Vitamin C tablet over her fresh food, rather than increasing the quantity of fresh foods, thereby avoiding loose droppings.
Make sure the sow gets plenty of daily exercise by providing her with an appropriate wheel, and be extremely gentle when handling her. Do not pick her up unless it's absolutely necessary.
Remove the female from the male's cage when you are absolutely certain that she is pregnant, to prevent them from breeding again immediately following the birth of her babies. After day 42, you may very well be able to feel the babies moving within her abdomen, and she will begin to become quite large. She may also develop some patches of hair loss during the later stages of pregnancy, which is hormonal and not a cause for alarm. Be sure to locate the cages of the sow and boar right next to each other, however.
The Blessed Event
Prepare yourself for a surprise sometime between days 66 to 72. Your Guinea Pig's babies will probably be born either sometime during the night, or when you are otherwise not looking. The birth of each baby will only take about 30 minutes, with usually no more than 45 minutes in between births.
Begin handling the babies as soon as possible after their mother has finished washing and drying them. This will accustom them at an early age to enjoy and not fear handling, and much more desirable pets will be the result. If the mother seems to be upset by this, wait a day or so before attempting to handle the babies again.
Place extra pellets, hay and fresh vegetables in the cage for the babies within a day or so of birth. They are perfectly capable of nibbling these foods in addition to the milk they will receive from their mother for about four weeks, when she will wean them.
Separate the baby boys from the baby girls when they are weaned at four weeks old. The boys can go into their dad's cage and the girls can stay with their mother.
Send the baby Guinea Pigs to their new homes at six weeks of age. If you are keeping any or all of them, each will need to be provided with its own individual cage, as Guinea Pigs are solitary creatures by nature.