keno

My daughter had two guinea pigs. Although we where told by a vet that she
had two females, this turned out to be wrong (or a miracle). They had pups
and everything was going well until about 6 or 7 week.

We went to feed them in the morning as usual when to our horror we
discovered that the 3 pups where dead and one was barely alive. Two had had
their heads chewed right off, one had its stomach chewed. The fourth,
although no obvious signs of injury, was barely alive. She/he died on the
way to the vets on my daughters knee.

Is there anyone out there that can explain why this happened? Was it
something we could have prevented? My daughter is blaming herself and is
making herself ill. Emma is 10 years old. This all happened in November
2004. Despite my very best attempts to reassure her that it most certainly
was not her fault, she is still consumed with guilt beyond the normally
guilt that is experienced though loss or bereavement.

If you can provide any insight to this kind of behaviour I would be most
grateful.

Email Ken .. proclaim50@hotmail.com

donna

Was the male removed from the cage, or was he still in with the female? I
was advised to remove the male when my female had babies.

--
Donna
www.geocities.com/raindancer411
www.geocities.com/sweetdreameruk21

keno

Thanks for the reply Donna. No, the male was in the cage the whole time. In
a paper I read just yesterday about guinea pig behaviour it said that
aggression is not gender related, that the female can also fight for
dominance. The morning I found them, it was the female that attacked my hand
as I reached for their feeding bowl. I have been searching the net for 2
weeks and have still not come up with anything like what happen to these
pups. It is just like a fox had got to them. However, they where in the cage
which was in the garage.

lorna stevenson

Infanticide in guinea pigs is rare. The reason you should keep the male
apart from the female is that the female is fertile the moment she gives
birth - this is something you should have read about if you had done some
research before breeding. Back to back pregnancies can kill females.

The female may have killed her young if they were sick or if there were too
many but this rarely happens. It may even have been because she is
expecting another litter already. Are you absolutely positive that nothing
could have got in to hurt them? Please tell me you don't keep your car in
your garage! This is suicide. Guinea pigs are prone to chest infections so
a draughty garage is not the best place to house them and car fumes are
deadly.

Breeding for the sake of breeding is my absolute pet hate (excuse the pun).
Why did you breed them in the first place? Because your daughter wanted to?
Or to better a rare breed like a "responsible" breeder would? Did you know
what age to seperate the babies at? Do you know the genetics of your male
and female to prevent lethal crosses (babies with no eyes, extra toes).
What would you have done if you had babies like this? Did you have homes
ready for all the babies having seperated them by sex at 3-4 weeks (which I
don't think you did, given the he/she comment)? If you can't provide an
answer to all these questions then you shouldn't have been breeding in the
first place.

Sorry if it's harsh but there are waaaaay too many homeless rodents out
there to add to the problem by breeding just for the fun of having cute
little babies. It would be far more rewarding to get your male neutered,
and perhaps find a local rescue and get him another couple of girlfriends -
this would provide your daughter with endless hours of fun watching how they
behave as a group but without all the heartache.

Just my 2p.

Lorna and the animal clan.

scooter_girl_01

Scooter (a big boy) could have killed Dillen or Riley (also boys) too.

He's a neutered male and went crazy when he was put in with the smaller
guys cage.

Had a friend rescue Dillen (who had his ear chewed, drawing blood) and
Riley from Scoot's attack.

However, when all three are on my bed--nobody fights or bites

Scooter lives in his own cage. Riley and Dillen are together and get
along.

Bonnie

mira

While I do agree with you about breeding Lorna, in this particular case,
this lister was told he
had 2 females and didn't know until he found out about her pregnancy.

Mira
Flash and Ginger

kelvyn

It is possible,when they are in a confined space they establish
'territory' (however small..even just a hidey place) and anyone
that intrudes in that area is a threat and needs to be dealt
to...however when in unfamiliar or new places territory has not
been defined or established so everything is open for negotiation.
Personal space has not been defined....so there is nothing to
defend.
kelvyn.


--
No guinea pigs were harmed in the writing or sending of this post.
("United we stand..divided we're just Peruvian fast food")

keno

Thanks Mira. And Lorna, Emma read your comments. Its a shame you don't have
the same compassion for people as you do for guinea pigs.

lorna stevenson

I apologise for being rash - I made a mistake by misreading out the fact it
wasn't your fault she had a litter. Breeding is something I feel strongly
about. However, it's not my responsibility if a child reads the newsgroup.
Sorry.

keno

Lorna, I accept your apology and I fully understand and support the motive
behind your comments. I have been as outspoken as you on many subjects that
I believe are important. I am now 46 years old, and in that time I have
learnt that to be outspoken I must also accept the responsibility for the
consequences of my words or actions. I trust that you will always fight for
what you believe in. It is my greatest hope that more people will stand up
and be counted when it comes to putting things right in this world. The best
and only way I have found to make changes is be the change I want to see in
the world.