How to Know if a Guinea Pig is Pregnant
Do you have a guinea pig as a pet and want to know if it is pregnant? If your female guinea pig has been in contact with a male, whether intentionally or by accident, the reality is that they may be pregnant. It is not easy to establish if your guinea pig is pregnant but there are some methods of observation and palpation which can help determine if she is expecting offspring. This OneHowTo.com article explains how to know if a guinea pig is pregnant.
Steps to follow:
To know if a guinea pig is pregnant is not easy and by nature, they usually have a belly that can hide their condition. However, there are some ways you can confirm if your small pet is expecting a litter:
- You must observe your guinea pig's behavior. Females are fertile every 16 days, and if they are pregnant, you'll notice that they'll try to mount their cage mates, whilst grunting and lifting their rear end as if they want to be mounted.
- They are usually more unfriendly and hostile when they are expecting babies.
If you don't notice any of these symptoms for the following 16 days , they aren't pregnant.
Another way of telling if your guinea pig is pregnant is by noticing if they experience any weight changes. Take a kitchen scale and weigh your pet every week. If you see that they are steadily gaining weight, they may be pregnant. Many females can double in weight when they are pregnant.
You'll also notice that their abdomen becomes increasingly bulky. If your female is plumper, this can also be caused due to a change in diet if they aren't being fed properly, have too high a caloric intake or due to their age, if your guinea pig has not reached full maturity.
We recommend that you observe their eating habits. If your guinea pig is expecting offspring, it's normal for their appetite to gradually increase whilst their pregnancy progresses. Watch her abdomen for any kind of movement. Take hold of your guinea pig, place your hands on either side of her and feel for any kind of kick.
Guinea pigs usually have between 1 and 6 baby guinea pigs per litter. When they reach the seventh week of pregnancy it is very likely you'll be able feel her litter inside. This is the clearest sign that your pet is going to be a mother. The average gestation period for these pets is approximately 63 days.
Another clear sign your guinea pig is pregnant is when their body starts to take the shape of a pear, and the sides of their belly get wider. You'll also notice how their breasts change during pregnancy, as they swell and stretch to prepare for breastfeeding their future offspring.
Pregnant females usually start drinking more water from the second or third week of gestation.
If you want to read similar articles to How to Know if a Guinea Pig is Pregnant, we recommend you visit our Pets category.
