Telling the Gender
No matter where you obtained your guinea pigs, you should always sex them. It's the only way to really find out the gender of your piggies. You don't want a high risk pregnancy.
When you sex a guinea pig, hold them so that you can see their belly. Press lightly above where the private is, and if it's a male, then their testicles will come out. Sometimes you can tell the gender of an older pig just by looking at their rear, because if they have balls, then that cavy is a male.
Can you sex babies?
Yes. You don't need to wait for weeks to sex newborns, but just make sure about it a week or two later, because males can get a sow pregnant at 3-4 weeks of age.
Separating Babies
After you tell the gender, you want to separate them a little bit before 3 weeks of age. (males) A few females can stay with their mom if she has enough cage space. But all baby males must be put in a separate cage before 3 weeks. NOT right away though, unless you want to feed them milk, which I don't know how to really do.
Neutering
Many people thing neutering is for males and spaying is for females, but neutering is for both genders. Spaying is for females and castrating is for males. Neutering is the surgical removal of the parts of the reproductive system. You should only castrate a boar if he is being put in with sows. You shouldn't really spay sows, and I really don't suggest you put a spayed sow with boars. They'll just fight over her even though she can't produce. There are risks when you neuter guinea pigs. You may even loose the pig.
Boars v.s. Sows
Boars are more likely to fight than sows-even if they're brothers. But if so, you can just put a divider in the cage. That way, they will still be able to see and hear each other without fighting. Sows can fight, too, but that's really only if one of them (or both) is dominant.
When you sex a guinea pig, hold them so that you can see their belly. Press lightly above where the private is, and if it's a male, then their testicles will come out. Sometimes you can tell the gender of an older pig just by looking at their rear, because if they have balls, then that cavy is a male.
Can you sex babies?
Yes. You don't need to wait for weeks to sex newborns, but just make sure about it a week or two later, because males can get a sow pregnant at 3-4 weeks of age.
Separating Babies
After you tell the gender, you want to separate them a little bit before 3 weeks of age. (males) A few females can stay with their mom if she has enough cage space. But all baby males must be put in a separate cage before 3 weeks. NOT right away though, unless you want to feed them milk, which I don't know how to really do.
Neutering
Many people thing neutering is for males and spaying is for females, but neutering is for both genders. Spaying is for females and castrating is for males. Neutering is the surgical removal of the parts of the reproductive system. You should only castrate a boar if he is being put in with sows. You shouldn't really spay sows, and I really don't suggest you put a spayed sow with boars. They'll just fight over her even though she can't produce. There are risks when you neuter guinea pigs. You may even loose the pig.
Boars v.s. Sows
Boars are more likely to fight than sows-even if they're brothers. But if so, you can just put a divider in the cage. That way, they will still be able to see and hear each other without fighting. Sows can fight, too, but that's really only if one of them (or both) is dominant.
