When is it okay to touch baby guinea pigs?

Question

My female guinea pig just had her babies (it was a accidental breeding not intentional), and when we phoned the pet store on how they gave us guy/girl not girl/girl combo, they said that you shouldn't touch the babies 3-5 weeks (when she weens them) and if we do she will kill them, so i was wondering is that true or c**p and how are we supposed to clean the cage, thanks!

Answer 1

You should definitelly ring up the manager of the petstore and dob on the idiots who told you that.

i have babies of my own at the moment. they are weaned at about 4 weeks, i think,. but i started carefully handling them when they were a few hours old.

what i do, is i put the guineas in a separate area and clean out the cage, then put them back. anything like a box will do. they will get used to it. You really should tame them so they can walk around the house while you do it.

i hope you are planning on neutering your male guinea pig. Also finding the babies good homes, not giving them back to that horrible pet store.

what c**p advise that pet store gave you... seriously, ring them up and blast them make them clean up their act and employ proper knowledgable people.  

Answer 2

Thats such c**p, you can touch them after around 3 hours, as soon as they are completely dry, as long as the mum doesnt mind you playing around with them. I would like, take them away for ages though, but a few strokes is fine.

Answer 3

Thats such ****.

You should play with them from the day their born.

You really should complain about that pet shop.

Amy xx

Answer 4

thats definately not true. my friends guinea pig had babies and we were all touching them like an hr after the birth and a month later they're all alive and healthy.put them in a box while you clean the cage.

Answer 5

as soon as they are dry from the birth and you have let them get used to their mummy and the world. :)

I held all mine (20 babies in 6 litters) about an hour after they were born. All lived until adulthood :)

Answer 6

I'd advise not to just sit there picking the babies up, stroking them etc. FREQUENTLY, but it is unusual for a mother guinea pig to reject or harm her babies if she smells something weird.

I'd be careful, and not handle them too much, because this could distress the mother, but there isn't a needle to avoid handling totally- just do so with care.

Answer 7

I would not only ring the pet store manager and complain about the sale of your male/female combo, but I'd also complain about the INCORRECT information the employees are giving out.

Make sure the boar is nowhere near the sow or she will become pregnant again.

You can touch, handle, and pet the pups as soon as the mum has cleaned and dried them after the birth. She will not reject them, nor will she eat them. Guinea pigs do NOT do this--this is a trait of hamsters or gerbils, but not piggies.

The pups will be ready to be weaned at three weeks. You will need to find a competent person (Don't go back to that pet store!) to s*x the pups for you. Any male pups must be separated from the mum and any sister pups at 21 days (three weeks) old or you risk pregnancy again. Any female pups  can stay with the mum indefinitely.

Boars are sexually mature at 21 days (three weeks) old. Sows are sexually mature at 28 days (four weeks) old.

http://www.cavyspirit.com/sexing.htm

Good luck finding homes for your pups. I wish you well!