Can someone help me with a guinea pig?

First off, congrats on your new piggies! They are absolutely wonderful pets!:) I have owned a total of five in the past four years. However, at the moment I only have three because my two oldest girls recently died:(

What I would do first (if you can) is take these two to the vet so you can confirm whether or not you have a male/female or two males. They can also give you a pretty good idea if you do have a female if she is/isn't pregnant. There are a few pretty easy ways to determine the gender of piggies:

1.) Adult males will have large testicles in the genital area, females won't

2.) Males genitals usually take the shape of an "i", females a "y"

Here is a site with a bunch of pictures to help:

http://www.cavyspirit.com/sexing.htm

If you do end up having a male and female, and your female is indeed pregnant and you do decide to keep her, then I would reccomend separating the two. Pregnancy usually lasts around 59-72 days and your girl will get really big in that time period (depending on how many babies she is carrying). My boyfriend had a piggie who they got from a family friend and found out (towards the end of her pregnancy) that she was pregnant. She ended up having three beautiful babies July 16th '09. I currently have the mom and one of the babies. Towards the end you can actually SEE the babies moving! It's quite cool to see :)

After she has her babies (usual litter sizes are 2-4) you will have to find homes for the babies unless you decide you want to keep them. I'd suggest speaking with the petstore that you purchased the parents from and seeing if they would be interested. My local petstore constantly takes baby piggies from people in town.

As far as basic needs.. Just make sure you give your pigs an adequate amount of cage space. I currently have a C&C Cage set up for my girls and they LOVE IT! It's much larger than any petstore cage you can buy, and actually alot cheaper to make. Here is a site about C&C Cages:

http://www.guineapigcages.com/

- I would suggest changing the bedding you are using. I read you are using Pine Chips. Over a period of time, any kind of wood chips can actually cause upper respiratory problems with Guinea Pigs. I'd suggest using "Carefresh", or talking to your local petstore about other types of bedding. The current bedding I'm using is called "Cell-Sorb Plus" and I can get a forty pound bag for about 20 dollars! (:

- Piggies also need an unlimited supply of hay and pellets. I ready you have Timothy Hay and Pelleted food so it sounds like your covered in that area!:) If your one pig is pregnant however, after she has babies you will need to feed them alfalfa hay!(:

- Piggies LOVE lettuce and parsley! My girls get a combination of both every other day! Just make sure you stay away from Iceberg lettuce. Because Guinea Pigs cannot produce their own Vitamin C, you will have to make sure you incorporate this into their diet. The way I do this is I buy oranges and cut them in small slices and they get three slices (one each) every other day. (: If your piggie is pregnant tho, then you will have to make sure she gets even more of this, (I'd suggest a slice every day) because she will have little babies growing inside of her that need it too!(:

- Pigs also need their nails trimmed every few weeks. I just use a nail trimmer for my girls and what you want to do it trim the nail just above the red part (The quick) if you shine a flashlight under their nails you will be able to see it!(:

- If you do end up having a male and female then you will have to think about perminate separate housing (Unless you get the male neutered) otherwise you will have lots and lots of babies running around!

- Baby piggies reach sexual maturity pretty young. Males are about 3 weeks old, and Females are about 4 weeks old, so when they are that age they will also have to be separated!

I really hope I've helped!(: I know it can be scary but it will be ok!(: Good luck with your piggies!! They are absolutely wonderful pets:)

Here are some additional sites with info:

http://www.cavyspirit.com/

http://www.guinealynx.info/

-

Great answers. But from my take iceberg lettuce is ok. Its a myth about the vitamin c in it. FDA says it has the same amount as others. My only concern would be it has more sugars. An piggies love it. Just remember to much of a good thing isn't a good thing. Makes a great treat. All four of mine love it more than carrots. Balance is key.

It was not very smart to get a pet you haven't researched about it yet. but it is highly unlikely that one is a female, pet shops will only sell one gender at a time, because they wouldn't want more pets than they already do. If you got the Guinea pig from two different shops or tanks then yes its possible for the female to become pregnant.

And also, if you have no clue what to do, than you could either take the easy way out which is return them or you could research on the internet about Guinea pigs.

I can give you some links in the sources.

Depending if you live close enough to me, I could take the guinea pig. Please tell me if you live in Edmonton, or Calgary, or wherever (I live in St. Albert).

If you don't want to do this, it takes 65- 72 days for a guinea pig to have her kits after she gets pregnant. Put her in a separate container from the male with lots of soft fluff and shavings, maybe a new cotton sock or something. Try to add a bit of protein to her diet. If a pregnant rodent doesn't get enough protein, she may eat her babies. All natural or Organic tofu should work. Once the kits reach over 21 days old, they become fertile, so it is best to separate them at 19- 20 days of age. You can then give them to an animal shelter or keep them...

...Or give them to me. I love guinea pigs!

If your Guinea Pig is pregnant then are you prepared to deal with the delivery of the babies? Guinea Pig deliveries are not nearly as easy as it is for rats/mice/etc because the Guinea Pig babies come out all fully developed. There is a reasonable chance that your Guinea Pig might have issues and might die. Read this:

http://cfhs.ca/athome/guinea_pigs

Do not return the any of them. You got them and are now responsible for them. Pet stores often sell pregnant, mis sexed guinea pigs. I suggest you do lots of research on guinea pig pregnancies and find a cavy savvy vet. You can start here

http://www.guinealynx.info/

http://www.guineapigcages.com/

Do NOT return the female to the store!!

Separate them ASAP.

If you don't think you can handle owning a pregnant guinea pig and then raising pups please find someone who can. Put up ads looking for someone who is experienced with guinea pigs who would be willing to take on a pregnant female.

How to sex:

http://www.cavyspirit.com/sexing.htm

Breeding info:

http://www.guinealynx.info/reproduction.html

http://www.guinealynx.info/breeding.html

http://www.cavyspirit.com/breeding.htm

Other great info:

http://www.guineapigcages.com/

http://www.guinealynx.info/sitemap.html

http://www.cavyspirit.com/care.htm