Hi

[Lucie]

Hiya

I am the proud new owner of a male and female guinea pigs. I found them on freecycle and decided to take them before someone else with not so great intentions did. I just love them, they are so stinkin cute. This is my first experience owning them and when I picked them up the previous owners said the female was pregnant. Right now they are in cages I bought from the pet store but I am in process of building them cool new ones. I have an appt. to get the male spayed but how old do the babies have to be to be spayed and adopted out?

Thanks

[Reginasunrae]

I haven't been on this forum for very long but I'll say "hi!" back to ya! It sounds like you've got your hands full!

Males become sexually developed by three weeks old so once they hit that they need to be removed from any contact with females. I'm afraid I don't know at what age it's safe for neutering the little guys, though.

[Foggycreek]

Here's a great page on neutering at Cavy Spirit . It looks like the males should be at least 4 months old.

Make sure your male is separate from your female. Immediately after giving birth the females can be impregnated.

You don't need to spay or neuter the babies, though--just adopt them out in same sex pairs. You'll want to sex any babies. Here's a good site on sexing at Guinea Lynx .

Have you had pigs before? Read the Care Guide for basic guinea pig care.

And get that larger cage done! Babies have been known to slip through the grids, though, so make sure you read that section of Guinea Pig Cages, Your Cavy At Home .

[Lucie]

Originally Posted by Foggycreek

Here's a great page on neutering at Cavy Spirit . It looks like the males should be at least 4 months old.

Make sure your male is separate from your female. Immediately after giving birth the females can be impregnated.

You don't need to spay or neuter the babies, though--just adopt them out in same sex pairs. You'll want to sex any babies. Here's a good site on sexing at Guinea Lynx .

Have you had pigs before? Read the Care Guide for basic guinea pig care.

And get that larger cage done! Babies have been known to slip through the grids, though, so make sure you read that section of Guinea Pig Cages, Your Cavy At Home .

Thanks!! I did finish the big cage tonight, they LOVE it... I need another water bottle and I will seperate the two with grids so when she gets ready she won't get pregnant again.

[cuckoo4cavies]

I'm new to the group too - hello.... I rescued a 6 week old little girl that was already pregnant when I got her....She had 3 beautiful babies...(I kept them all couldn't part with them). The boys (Clarence and Egbert) are HUGE now..and the Farrah, Candi's daughter is just incredibly lovely. Be sure to handle them soon after birth - handling them is a good way to make sure they 'like the hand' and mom usually doesn't mind.
It was a wonderful experience and I enjoyed it so much that I took in a pregnant mom for fostering - oh and I loved that experience just as much; however, I did find homes for everyone.
Males can be neutered at 3 months old (or when they're 'family jewels drop'). And take the advice given in a previous reply and separate the baby males from the females at 3 weeks - BUT IF there is a male in with the mom that is mature - get him the heck out of there immediately after the birth (or sooner to be safe). He can stay next door and...he can be with his sons after weaning. Those links that were posted are great too.
Enjoy the time...it's very interesting and heart warming.