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Small pets

Didnt know guinea pig was pregnant, she's just had a stillborn baby

12 replies

Wheresmypassport · 21/09/2014 20:47

I was after some advice please. I bought 2 baby guinea pigs from a pet shop 5 weeks ago, I was told they were 8 weeks old and 2 females. The larger of the two has been quite grumpy recently with the other guinea pig and I thought it was just she was the more dominant female. They live outside in a hutch and I feel terrible as my DD has sat with her on her lap today and we have had her out for a run on the grass. I went out about an hour ago to fill up their hay before before bedtime and the larger female had given birth. The baby was quite large but obviously dead. I removed it from the hutch and held it for a while to see if there was any signs of life but there wasn't.

I have no idea what to do, will the guinea pig be distressed I removed the baby? I am going to take her to the vet tomorrow to get her checked over and to get the other guinea pig sexed. Anyway I don't think it could be the other guinea pigs (if she turns out to be male) as they have only been together 5 weeks. They are both still outside in the hutch and I have no idea what to do so any advice would be welcome, has anyone else been through this?

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70isaLimitNotaTarget · 21/09/2014 21:30

Very sad Wheresmy

Your pig would already have been halfway through her pg when you got her (it's 63-70 days)
You do need to get your other pig checked though, if it is a male then it could already have mated with her. Though at this age (they'll be just over 3 months) a males bollocks are quite obvious so you can compare both. If you squeeze a male gently you'll see his penis,

WRT the piglet - I've had two pigs die in the last 18 months ( two brothers) and we've left the body overnight so the other one can have time alone.

In very very rare occasions a sow will damage/eat part of a piglet ( if a sow attacks her piglets she's very stressed) , you might find they'd nibble ears or feet, but it is rare.
I've had a stillborn piglet years ago, but she had two others to look after,
Your sow might well be waiting for another piglet, they usually give birth quickly but a large piglet would have taken alot of effort.

Give her lots of food and peace. Check to make sure they're settled.

Most likely your piggie was in with a boar by mistake. What about your other one, is she okay?

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Wheresmypassport · 21/09/2014 21:42

Thanks for the reply. I need to go and check on them, they were both OK when I removed the baby, unfortunately that was a couple of hours ago so dont think I can put it back in the hutch. They are outside in a hutch in the garden in the dark, I wouldn't be able to see anything unless I shone a torch in there and I really don't want to stress them out but will go outside and see if alls quiet. I just feel really bad for her and annoyed with pet shop. My DD and DS were very upset and I just hope the guinea pig that gave birth is OK in the morning.

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70isaLimitNotaTarget · 21/09/2014 22:01

She'll eat the placenta Wheresmy which has got alot of iron and nutrients in it.
And she's got your other pig for company so she won't be lonely.
It is a problem though with so many animals, you don't know exactly what happens before you buy them.

I see loads of Gumtree adverts where they write "I've got 8 week pigs girls and boys" - you see a mixed group. And I think "For the love of Jeff, males can get their mums and sisters upduffed from 3-4 weeks "
And they aren't particularly fussy either,

Sleep tight piggies.

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millimat · 21/09/2014 22:51

Ah that's really sad. I'd be fuming with the pet shop too.
I had no idea they could be pregnant so young.

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Wheresmypassport · 22/09/2014 07:53

Im just hoping the other guinea pig isn't pregnant or a boy for that matter! Will get her checked over by a vet I think. The guinea pig who had the baby last night seems fine this morning thankfully, has eaten her breakfast and tucking into hay. We are going to bury the baby gp in the garden later, my DD had chosen a spot nearby. Just feel so bad I didn't realise the poor little thing was pregnant. She only had the one baby and doesn't look that different today to be honest, so was difficult to tell. I just hope it hasn't traumatised her too much.

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Wheresmypassport · 22/09/2014 07:56

Also would you complain to the pet shop? I am sure they will give the usual 'difficult to tell' etc, but I do feel really annoyed/sad about it.

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purpleroses · 22/09/2014 08:05

I had similar happen to me. About 6 weeks after we bought her from the shop our new baby guinea pig have birth herself. One was still born but the other was alive and well luckily. I couldn't believe how small the mother was herself. Less than half her adult size and already a mum.

I did complain to the pet shop who were very apologetic. They said that babies are difficult to sex and they must have been separated too late. As they'd have been in with others before you bought them and the gestation peroid is 2 months, it's possible your other guinea is female and also pregnant, so take it to the vet too to check out.

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Wheresmypassport · 22/09/2014 08:12

Yes I will as she has got bigger recently too, but as they are babies I just thought they were growing. The baby was very big also so maybe that's why it was stillborn.

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millimat · 22/09/2014 15:01

Have you been to the vet?

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purpleroses · 22/09/2014 15:54

I didn't spot ours was pregnant either - despite having bred guinea pigs and seen them pregnant before. Like you say, if they're young they're growing anyway, and if you're not looking out for pregnancy it's easy to miss. Especially if yours only had one baby it might not have been so obvious. Yes I would guess a large baby to a very young mother is probably why it was still born.

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Wheresmypassport · 22/09/2014 21:11

I went to the vet and he checked her over and said she is fine. He also confirmed our other guinea pig is also female and said she's not pregnant, although I now know that they don't always look pregnant until the last couple of weeks. He had a feel of her tummy and couldn't feel anything. So they are back home and both seem happy enough, so hopefully things will settle down now and they will both be OK. Have emailed the pet shop but haven't heard back so might pop in tomorrow.

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70isaLimitNotaTarget · 22/09/2014 21:38

Young pigs with a first litter do hold their figures well. Good news that you have two sows.

The petshop will be unlikely to do anything but at least you can tell them that this has happened to something has gone amiss with their keeping of them or their suppliers to allow a mating to occur.

My Rescue sows both had litters in Rescue, they don't appear any worse for wear (thankfully) just that GP5 is a bit lairy.
Both putting on some weight which is nice.

Very sad to lose a pig especially one that didn't draw breath- but you can cossett and spoil your two lovely piggies.