What happened to the babies if your guinea pigs have not eaten them?
One of two things can happen if you find your guinea pig’s babies are missing and she has not eaten them:
- Predators will eat any infants found within an enclosure containing guinea pigs. Predators could be, for example, a small rodent, such as a rat. It is unlikely that your guinea pig knows that they have offspring, as they don’t sleep with their babies..
- The newborn guinea pig’s enclosure has fallen over, and the babies have escaped. To discover whether or not something is in the enclosure, check underneath the hay bundles. Be on the lookout for holes in the fence where the guinea pig could have escaped.
Return the baby guinea pig to the box immediately if you locate her. Without the warmth and milk of their mother, baby guinea pigs don’t last long. It may already be too late.
To keep the babies safe, the owner must strengthen the security of the guinea pig’s enclosure.
Examine the cage wire for any holes that may have been eaten. A predator could have entered the house through an open window or door and devoured a newborn guinea pig.
To be extra careful, you will need to take safety precautions for your guinea pigs if they are housed outside.
In these situations, it is suggested that a Perspex covering be applied to the enclosure.
From this, we can see your guinea pigs, which are protected.
Air circulation is achieved by leaving sufficient space on one side of the perspex cover for fresh air to pass through.
In some species, it is not always necessary for the guinea pigs to consume their young. However, those who do will normally do it just once.
Why do guinea pigs eat their babies?
There are many reasons that why do guinea pigs eat their babies:
- Weakest less likely to survive: Guinea pigs can be Darwinian in their procedure toward motherhood. That means only the strong ones survive and reproduce further.
- Panic: To avoid the attraction of predators to their enclosure, they get nervous and eat their babies.
- Stillborn: Your guinea pig will begin to eat the body if a baby was stillborn.
- Territorial behavior: To remove the competition, they don’t want to share their enclosure. This can be especially true if other male guinea pigs housed together.
- Placenta: The guinea pigs become confused in afterbirth and placenta while eating. Guinea pigs ate the babies, thinking it was part of the after birth.
- Dietary protein: They were left bored and had a lack of food and energy following the birth of their babies.
Most of the time, a guinea pig will not purposely decide to eat their babies.
They have a better understanding of what is required of them and their role once they have given birth to multiple litters.
Also read: Do guinea pigs nurse their babies?
Should I remove guinea pig babies after birth?
Like all baby animals, guinea pig babies can’t survive if they are separated from their mother. Baby guinea pigs must spend around three to four weeks with their mother.
At this point, they will be better able to care for themselves. The baby guinea pig will start to eat solid food and change their preference after a few weeks, and they will no longer want to drink milk.
Once the 24-hour period has passed, your guinea pig’s intention to eat their babies has changed.
Enclosure is important for the safety of the baby animals, and baby guinea pigs mature quickly.
Why do guinea pigs sometimes kill their babies?
Instead of breeding your guinea pig, it is recommended that you have your guinea pigs spayed. Motherhood does not go over well with the guinea pigs. Forcing your guinea pig to reproduce can make your guinea pig distressed.
Revealing that a female guinea pig could kill some of their babies via either action or neglect is fine. They can divide their babies into two groups, giving only one group of infants more nourishment.
As a result, a second group of babies is now believed to be more helpless and lacking in strength. In Guinea pigs, self-protection controls the behavior.
A critical role of this is repopulating the species with healthy babies who help to keep the species going. The doctors have agreed to give their full attention to the most vulnerable babies.
If this is the case, you can try to take care of the guinea pig’s babies on your own. If you have an additional project or task, you can make your guinea pig remedy to feed them as well. It is there for your convenience.
Also read: Can baby guinea pigs drink cow’s milk?
How can I stop guinea pigs from eating their babies?
For her safety, to prevent the chance of her eating her own guinea pig’s babies, follow these precautions:
- Guinea pigs give birth, and one of the first things they’ll do is to eat the afterbirth. They also have a difficult time distinguishing the placenta from guinea pig babies.
- When determining the age of guinea pigs, avoid breeding younger male guinea pigs or older female guinea pigs. It’s still too early for your guinea pig to mature thus far. They won’t be ready for the additional responsibility of having a litter.
- Enrich your pregnant guinea pig’s diet with protein-rich items. Alfalfa hay should be added to the habitat in the last few weeks of pregnancy for an optimal result. Consequently, you will not have to give your guinea pig the impression that she needs to eat more.
- Let your guinea pig know you have a soft spot for them. Sometimes when it’s claimed that someone’s job has been replaced, or that their baby has taken the place of their guinea pig, people may misunderstand. As a result, their territorial and jealous instincts will be greatly reduced.
- During, during, and before pregnancy, keep your guinea pig calm. An anxious or stressed guinea pig will expect their babies to eat them. Pay close attention to your guinea pig’s feelings of security and safety.
Also read: At what age can guinea pig’s breed
Do male guinea pigs eat their babies?
Male guinea pigs barely eat their babies, but you need to separate the babies from their fathers as male guinea pigs have an absence of paternal tendencies. Or else, baby guinea pigs could get hurt in other ways.
Mother guinea pigs will reject the babies of males. Without any additional needs they are requesting being met, the baby guinea pig will go hungry.
Both the male guinea pigs and the female guinea pigs might see the babies as potential threats to their territory. They will have a straightforward assignment.
When males have the opportunity to exhibit their superiority, they usually do so.
As soon as a female guinea pig has been bred, it is wise to keep her away from the males.
Both the male guinea pig and the female guinea pig will be happy and chipper, but the female guinea pig will not be in the mood for copulation.
When pregnant guinea pigs encounter another guinea pig, they become more agitated and are more likely to attack that guinea pig, no matter the sex.
When a female guinea pig is pregnant, getting a male guinea pig neutered is perfect.
You should wait three weeks after neutering a male guinea pig to place him back in his enclosure.
At the same time, guinea pigs that have just given birth can be impregnated after 15 hours.
Do guinea pigs eat their babies if you touch them?
It is a common myth that you should never handle guinea pig babies. In Greek mythology, a mother guinea pig will supposedly eat her babies out of fear that they have bad or undesirable human honor that smells like her babies.
It is not actually true. You will not scare your guinea pig by smelling on their babies. Your guinea pig may be comforted by the smell even if you don’t have a close bond with it.
Also Read: When can we handle baby guinea pigs?
When should you separate baby guinea pigs?
Baby guinea pigs require feeding on their mother’s milk, as this will nourish the babies to be healthy. Female guinea pigs need to feed their babies until they are a minimum of 2 weeks old.
Separating babies at three weeks is best for growing babies of guinea pigs. Do not separate the babies from their mothers until they are appropriately nursed.
The female baby guinea pig should remain in touch with their mothers until they are about 4 weeks old compared to male baby guinea pigs.
Conclusion
Thus, it is possible for guinea pigs to eat their young, as well as predators to be the cause of baby guinea pig disappearances.
A guinea pig has the ability to eat their newborn babies due to the placenta, as they mistake the placenta for their newborn babies.
It is impossible to take guinea pig babies away from their mothers once they’re born, as they won’t survive without her.
When you avoid breeding your guinea pigs as they age, you can stop your guinea pigs from eating their own babies. To help prevent guinea pigs from eating their babies, try these methods: Keep your guinea pigs calm when and after the birth. Comfort your guinea pigs, and don’t breed them if they are younger.
In the guinea pig world, males don’t consume their young, but they regard their young as adversaries. Also, if you pet the guinea pig, it will refuse to eat its babies because it recognizes its owner’s scent. The infants may be separated from their mothers at three weeks of age for their growth.
