Breeding Archives

The gestation period for guinea pigs is approximately two months long, and it is a time that can be really adorable. During pregnancy, guinea pigs often gain weight and become plumper. You should be aware that the gestation period will be cut down significantly the greater the number of children that the mother is carrying at the same time. Guinea pigs that are pregnant often do not experience any issues until it comes time to give birth to their young; but, as they enter the second stage of their reproductive cycle, their behaviour can change. As their gestational stage progresses, you should be more watchful of them and spend more time with them in order to provide the appropriate care that they require. The majority of the time, the pregnant state of these animals will last for an average of 63 days. If the litter is going to be pretty large, the period of the pregnancy will be quite a bit shorter, and if it is going to be relatively small, it will be quite a bit longer. Because of the length of the guinea pig pregnancy, the female guinea pig will swell up and take on the appearance of an eggplant during her pregnancy. However, the size and form of the guinea pig will vary from case to case. Puppies are born with fully developed bodies, including fur, teeth, and claws. They also have impaired vision in one eye. They will continue to nurse, but they will also start eating solid foods around this time. The smallest litter size is one pup and the greatest litter size is seventeen. Litters can have anywhere from one to six offspring. How to take care of sow during gestation? Guinea pig gestation becomes fertile as early as four weeks but pregnancy is not recommended until the body weight has reached one pound. If the baby is too small, she may have difficulties in delivering the pups and special steps must be given. Here are some ways to help your cavies in their gestation period. * Make sure that your guinea pig has lots of vitamin C intake. You can put some supplements in the water they drink or in the foods they eat. Ideally, put 20 mg of Vitamin C per day in their foods. If you use food pellets, double check the quality of the item. You should be particular with those products that have 100% vitamin C content, with protein and fiber as well. * It would be better to give fresh fruits and vegetables that are very rich in ascorbic acid including parsley, dandelion and cabbages. * During guinea pig gestation, be sure to let them play and alloy them to have some exercise. * Avoid squeezing them and any other activity that would put them stressed. * Be aware when to move sow when they are on the pregnancy period and put them in a separate cage. You must remember that guinea pigs can rapidly multiply so it would be better to separate the female guinea pig to male so to avoid pregnancy again. Like human beings, animals like guinea pigs should be properly taken care of and be given special attention before gestation and during pregnancies. Proper knowledge on how to give them the care they need would ensure that the mother guinea pig is physically matured and prepared before gestation. And good care given during its pregnancy would keep it healthy until it gives birth to its young. This would require additional time and effort for you but it would be rewarding to successfully care for your pet all the way out.