Newborn guinea pigs, also known as pups, are pretty independent creatures. However, they do require some specialized care when compared to adult guinea pigs. In this guide to newborn guinea pig care, we’ll discuss how to keep your pups healthy, what to feed them, and more.
What do Newborn Guinea Pigs Eat?
Newborn guinea pigs drink their mother’s milk like other mammals, but they don’t rely solely on her for food. In fact, guinea pig pups can eat solid foods when they’re just a few days old.
Like adult guinea pigs, newborn guinea pigs should have constant access to fresh grass hay. At this age, they can eat alfalfa hay for the added calcium. However, alfalfa hay isn’t strictly necessary for guinea pig pups, and they can eat timothy hay or orchard grass too. If you do feed alfalfa hay, transition away from it once your guinea pigs are fully grown.
When they’re a few days old, you’ll notice your baby guinea pigs munching on their mother’s vegetables. Provide extra so that they all get enough to eat! Introducing a variety of veggies at this age will benefit your pups for the rest of their lives, but be sure to go slowly so you don’t upset their tummies with too many new foods.
Lastly, most pellet brands havofferods made especially for young guinea pigs th, whichovide added nutrients to help your piggies grow up well.
How to Care for Newborn Guinea Pigs
Newborn guinea pigs can already see, hear, and run. They even have teeth! This makes them easy to care for compared to other baby animals. However, while they might seem super independent, they need help from their mother and human owners to stay healthy and thrive.
Health Checks
Both the pregnant mama and her pups, once born, should see an exotic pet veterinarian to ensure they’re healthy. In addition, you’ll want to complete health checks at home to look for common signs of illness. This is because guinea pigs can go downhill very quickly when they’re sick, so it’s important to know what to look for and check them over regularly. This is doubly important for newborn pups as they’re more fragile than adults.
- Weigh the guinea pigs to ensure they’re growing well. If their weight stagnates, they lose weight, or they don’t seem to be growing proportionally to the others in the litter, talk to a vet.
- Check their eyes, nose, and mouth for discharge.
- Check the teeth for crookedness, brokenness, or other abnormalities. Check the gums for redness or swelling.
- Check the skin and fur for redness, dullness, fur loss, or parasites.
Handling
During the first two weeks, guinea pig pups should be handled minimally. This means recording their weight, giving them a quick health check as described above, and placing them back in the cage with their mother and siblings.
At this age, you can begin getting them used to people by keeping them in a place where you and your family spend time so that they can see, smell, and hear you. Once they’re older, you can also begin handling them for short periods.
Setting Up Your Newborn Guinea Pig Cage
Cage Size
The minimum cage size for 1-2 guinea pigs is 7.5 square feet, while 10-12+ square feet of space is highly recommended. However, you may want to consider how many of the babies you’d like to keep before setting up their cage.
The above is a good amount of space if you plan to adopt them all out, neuter the father, and keep both parents. The same goes for if you plan to keep the mama and a single baby girl (or neutered baby boy).
However, if you plan to keep more of the pups, it may be best to have an appropriately sized cage from the start. This can help you to save money and time, as you won’t have to buy or build a new cage as they age.
You’ll also want to ensure that you have a second cage prepared for the males when it’s time to separate them and for the father if he lives with you!
Preventing Escape
Next, you’ll want to ensure that the cage is escape-proof, even for tiny baby guinea pigs. They can sometimes fit through standard C&C grids as well as those of other cages designed for adult guinea pigs.
The easiest way to fix this is to double up on the grids by zip-tying a second layer onto the first set of grids. Stagger them so that the spacing is half a grid-wide.
Bedding
Fleece bedding or chenille bath mats may be best for baby guinea pigs, as they’re easy to wash and can’t be eaten by curious pups! However, you can also opt for disposable paper bedding or any other guinea pig-safe bedding choice.
Other Cage Supplies
Lastly, you’ll want to include all of your guinea pigs’ other necessities. These include:
- Multiple water bottles – at least one at a comfortable height for pups and one at a comfortable height for their mother
- A hay pile, or a hay rack or bag with large holes (make sure their heads can’t get stuck inside!)
- At least one hide per guinea pig
- Toys for the babies to chew and play with
Weaning and Separation
At three weeks old, guinea pigs are ready to wean. Boys should be separated from their mothers and sisters at this age since they can already reproduce! Girls can be kept in the same cage as their mother for as long as you’d like, so long as there’s enough space for them as they grow and they can all get along.
Keep the male and female cages apart from one another so that they can’t mate through the bars. You’ll also want to escape-proof the male cage in particular, as they will likely try to escape to visit the females if given a chance.
This may involve making C&C cages two grids high rather than one, putting a lid on the cage, or even keeping males and females at separate levels. For instance, you may place the males’ cage on the floor and the females’ cage raised on a table.
