Question:

What happens if a guinea pig mates with there sister/brother

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would there baby's come out deform?

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  1. not always. their babies will be inbred, which means they may be slightly crazy and yes, some may be deformed or not come out right. next time, separate the sisters and brothers so this doesn't happen.


  2. The babies could come out deformed in some way.

    Lack of limbs, premature, be more sickly, no eyes, too small, too big...

    Just don't let them do it and you won't have to deal with the consequences.

  3. The babies are much more likely to be deformed, and could have alot of problems are die early.

  4. Probably.

  5. I doubt any babies would come out deformed, unless the siblings are the result of many generations of inbreeding and display genetic problems themselves.

    If you have guinea pigs of different sexes, you're concern should be for the female. Depending on how old she is, she might not be able to give birth safely. Females (or sows) older than about 9 months old should not be bred, unless you have a vet nearby to deliver the babies by C-section. Also, since guinea pigs become sexually mature at an early age, male babies should be removed after 21 days so they do not impregnate the mother.

    If the female is already pregnant, get her checked by a vet. If not, be a responsible pet owner and get them both fixed.

  6. missing eyes, internal problems, diseases, etc...

  7. They commit a sin.

  8. Inbreeding, things could go wrong like what other people said, I would not try it if I was you!

  9. ***To rasoul s: to male guinea pigs it doesn't matter whether or not the female is related when he's feeling horny.  All that matters is that she's a female.  It only takes a few minutes for a female to get pregnant (especially if he's making cooing sounds).  You either are going to be dealing with a litter of babies shortly or whoever sexed the two you have screwed up (not unusual even with people who supposedly know what they're doing).  I've known experienced breeders (including myself once) s***w up before-everyone makes mistakes.  Males make a weird cooing sound (that females don't) and walk a little funny when doing it.  Males also spend a lot of time sniffing other guinea pig's butts.  There is a very small chance that the male is sterile but is unlikely.***

    It depends on genetics.  If there are no negative recessive genes then the babies would be just fine.  If there are negative genes then they would be far more likely to be expressed.  In the wild guinea pigs almost always mate only with others in their own colony/family so inbreeding is common-BUT the individuals with the negative genes get weeded out very quickly-unlike those kept as pets.

    If the negative genes are weeded out then inbreeding is safe.  Animals used in labs have been inbred for 20+ generations to ensure genetic uniformity in which case any negative genes were magnified rapidly and weeded out.  These animals can interbreed with any others in the same line without problems barring spontaneous mutation.

    HOWEVER, breeding pet guinea pigs is still not a good thing even without taking into account genetics.  The female has a 1 in 5 chance of dieing and even if she survives one litter her lifespan is often shortened by a full half (~4 years instead of 8-10) and there a number of complications that can occur (see http://www.cavyspirit.com/ for a list of common problems and for more info).  It is also nearly impossible to find good homes for all the babies and even if you do most of them will still end up abandoned or neglected within a year and almost no one takes them to the vets even for emergencies, much less the twice yearly checkups that they need for their health.

    ***If you want to keep a male and female together, get the male neutered (and keep them separate for the first 2-3 weeks afterwards or he can still get her pregnant).  It's a minor surgery with minimal complications, call around to the local vets to see who can do it.  Ask the vet what antibiotics will be used-guinea pigs are allergic to the most common ones used by vets and even a small dose can kill them-Cavy Spirit should list the safe ones on their site.

    If you want more guinea pigs or know people who do, go to the local animal shelter or rescue.  Many are abandoned every single day just because their owners got bored with them.  They are almost always far healthier than any you will find in a petstore and the males will almost always come already neutered so you don't need to find a vet yourself.

  10. Your chances for genetic diseases increase but you may get perfectly healthy off spring as well.  You really won't know until you see the babies.

    But please don't deliberately do it unless you are a knowledgeable breeder.

    Inbreeding is a way to fix a desirable trait, so it is done.  If you look at the variety of colors and hair coats on any animal you see the results of careful breeding and some of it is inbreeding.

    Some people fell that it is yucky because it is morally wrong for people.  But it's how we get such a variety of dogs, cats,etc.

  11. I dont know relly but if humans dont mate with thier brothers and sisters why would they last time i cecked with my guinea pig it was with its brotgher and its a girl

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