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Studies show that twenty percent of all guinea pig pregnancies are fatal for the mother and her babies. Take this into consideration when you are deciding to breed a guinea pig.
Ideal Breeding Ages
A female reaches sexual maturity at four or five weeks but her body is not big enough to sustain a pregnancy until she is four months old. Male guinea pigs should be even older, about eight months old, before they mate.
Conception
Conception can occur for a female guinea pig only when she is “in season.” This happens every 15 to 17 days and is called her estrus cycle. A mucous plug blocks her vagina at all other times. The plug dissolves at the end of her estrus cycle, allowing her to mate for up to twenty-four hours.
Guinea pig males can mate at any time. They are easily aroused by just the scent of a female in estrus. An aroused male will lower his head and circle the female. Sometimes he wags his bottom back and forth. Most males will try to mount the female from behind. If they don’t know how to mate, they may try to mount her from the front or side.
If it is not time for her to mate, the female guinea pig wards off the male’s attentions with a spray of urine. If she is ready to mate, then she will accept his advances.
Mating lasts only a few seconds but the couple will likely repeat it dozens of times during the twenty-four hour period. This increases the odds that the female will conceive. If you notice two or three weeks later that she is fatter in the rear and drinking more water, then the chances are that she is pregnant. If not, then you can try again in fifteen to seventeen days.
Pregnancy
As we discussed earlier in this book, many owners unwittingly purchase pregnant guinea pigs because they were not properly sexed at the pet store. New owners may dismiss a female’s weight gain as just that. The difference between a fat guinea pig and a pregnant one is that a fat cavy is large all over while a pregnant cavy only grows larger in her hindquarters.
If you think that your guinea pig is pregnant, take her to the vet right away. The vet will confirm or deny the pregnancy and give you an estimated due date. Gestation is only sixty or seventy days, so you don’t have much time to prepare if she is carrying babies.
Guinea Pigs Previous Page (37)
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