Hi everyone. I've been noticing for maybe the last week or past couple of days that Elise's "donut ring" is a lot more prominent than
Athena's. This is the first time I've had a pair of girls, and I noticed that when I had two boys, the one's sac was larger than the others. Is
this normal in female's too? I know they are both certainly girls but Elise's ring almost looks like it's loose. When she is standing, it looks
like it's protruding. Girls can't get impacted can they? And she's only 2 month's old.
0 Kudo
Enlarged underside
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 WheeksandSqueeks |
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Posts: 147 07/10/08 08:56 PM |
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Jewlee |
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Posts: 85 07/11/08 07:55 AM |
You have such cute guinea pigs I hope everything is ok with Elise. She couldn't be pregnant could she?
Pooksied might have an answer! Did you look up the symptoms of impaction or constipation etc? |
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PooksiedAnimals |
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Posts: 3566 07/11/08 08:08 AM Moderator |
The use of "donut ring" makes me nervous. Some sows genitalia can vary by pig, but they should not have a prominent ring like boars do.
Can you post pictures? Are you sure they're both really sows? Sexing Guinea Pigs has some great pictures for you to compare and contrast. No, girls cannot get impacted.... or at least its very rare. Could be that one is in heat? It can effect the size of things.... |
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WheeksandSqueeks |
photo's of elise's bottom | #3 | ||
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Posts: 147 07/11/08 04:03 PM |
Here are some photo's that she let me take. Does this look normal? The thing that I think is weird, is Athena's doesn't look like it sticks out like this in the back. Maybe it's just her fur is longer back there. I hope this is a girl. :-/ I wanted to compare her to Athena but she is a right terror when I try to take a picture of her.    
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WheeksandSqueeks |
Geez, I hope Athena is not pregnant | #4 | ||
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Posts: 147 07/31/08 07:55 PM |
Okay, so now I have another dilemma. I got my handy scale a week ago and I don't think it was giving me an accurate reading. It said Athena weighed 785
grams and the new one I got that i think is accurate is saying 825 grams. She is almost 6 months old. The problem is, she was housed with a boar when I got
her in June up until July 24th when he got neutered and died. She seems to be gaining a lot of weight and her nipples look a little large too (Or maybe
it's just me.) I'm going to post some pictures of her from different angles and ask if anyone can tell me if she looks pregnant. She was just at the
vet and he felt her stomach and said everything was fine with the both of them. The pictures at the top of this page are of Elise and she sure looks like a
girl. If Athena got pregnant in June or July she would almost be due now, right? I've seen the other pictures of pregnant pigs and she doesn't look
that big but here's a peek.
A bad picture of her nipple, sorry she got wiggly.    
Hopefully, she's just "big-boned." |
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PooksiedAnimals |
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Posts: 3566 07/31/08 08:25 PM Moderator |
I have to admit, that last picture she's looking kind of tubby.
According to the weight charts, 825g is between 24-26 weeks old. That would put her as an average 6 month old. The pregnancy watch starts counting days from the last day a sow was with a boar. So, if the last time she was with a boar was (I think you meant June, not July) June 24th, she's just about 37 days into the watch. Normal gestation is between 57-73 days - she could be as little as halfway through it. I cannot imagine, if she is pregnant, that she's close to the end, given her weight is so close to normal for a 6 month old pig. She'd have to be carrying a very small pup. I would keep an eye on her weight. If she makes it another 36 days, and no baby pigs appear, then you're in the clear, and she is just big boned. Elsie is that much younger, and young pigs tend to look very lean. |
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WheeksandSqueeks |
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Posts: 147 07/31/08 08:39 PM |
What gets me, is that Cinnamon grew rapidly (I don't know if it's a boar thing) but his whole body grew. In that last picture, it shows how much bigger
her bottom end is. I remember you said that one of the differences in boars and sows is that sows are a bit "hippier." The pigs that I am pigsitting
are 1 year old and they weigh around 900 grams but their whole body is big. Her head looks soooooooo small compared to her body. I hope to God she's not
pregnant. Elise's parts are girl parts right?
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PooksiedAnimals |
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Posts: 3566 07/31/08 08:59 PM Moderator |
Elsie's bits look like girl bits. I have heard of vets mis-sexing guinea pigs, but an experienced vet should know the difference. You should be able to get
the penis to pop out if Elsie wasn't a girl - or at least be able to feel the ridge under the skin. (this reminds me - next time I'm at a pignic, I
should properly sex a boar - just so I know what I'm talking about!)
But in the majority of those pictures, she looks very normal and in proportion of an adult sow. |
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WheeksandSqueeks |
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Posts: 147 08/01/08 10:22 AM |
WHen they get pregnant do their nipples become enlarged. I'm worried now that she is either pregnant or she has cysts. Is 6 months too young to get cysts?
She isn't mounting or rumbling and her nipples aren't crusty. Her fur looks messed up though. Like her sides are messed up sometimes.
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PooksiedAnimals |
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Posts: 3566 08/01/08 11:31 AM Moderator |
More pictures?
Six months is really young for cysts. I've heard them appear as young as a year old, but 6 months - it doesn't sound possible. I've never had a pregnant pig, so I don't know if the nipples change before the pups are born. As for the fur - she's just a messy pig? ;-) |
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Jewlee |
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Posts: 85 08/01/08 12:23 PM |
Ah pregnancy scares. It's worse than human ones :P
Thats why I was paranoid about Rosie she seems bulgy in the side its just one side though lol. Are piggies bigger at the butt end? We need to compare to a definitely not pregnant pig. What do your girls look like pooksied? Now that I have a sow I see a huge difference in the privates. |
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PooksiedAnimals |
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Posts: 3566 08/01/08 05:57 PM Moderator |
I have pictures of my girls and my setup in an album attached to my profile (click on my avatar, then click on view my images). Actually - there's a few
good pictures of adult, non-pregnant sows. People often ask what size a normal adult guinea pig is, so the pictures are to help get an idea. The last picture
definitely makes Willow look on the plump side, and she really isn't that big of a pig.
I figure, a healthy adult pig should be eggplant shaped. Its just the way they're built. |
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WheeksandSqueeks |
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Posts: 147 08/01/08 07:01 PM |
OK, yea, Eggplant definitely describes Athena. It's just that the two sows I'm pig sitting look like our boars did. They're stockier. My husband
said that if they were humans they would play softball. I looked at Willow's ruler picture and that's how Athena is looking. I think she looks fatter
depending on the way she's sitting.
I'm glad Jewelee that I'm not the only one going "Holy Cow. Her rump is huge!" |
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WheeksandSqueeks |
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Posts: 147 08/03/08 06:35 PM |
...Okay, so I just weighed Athena and Elise again. Here's how their weights have gone:
Got the scale about two weeks ago so we'll say July 20th: Elise- 656G Athena-782G *This scale was the one that broke that I bought and I don't know if it was correctly reading, so I'll continue posting their weights. 7/31/2008: Elise-666G Athena-825G *Now Elise's 10 gram weight gain doesn't seem like much but Athena has me worried. 8/3/2008 Elise-704G Athena-861G And on this new Salter scale, it gives me a couple different numbers too. I keep them in the bowl for about 5 minutes so I can get an accurate read but this whole weight fluctuation thing has me worried. Also, Athena's sides are protruding more. I looked on the calendar and figured that if she was pregnant she would be due on August 26. Oddly enough that is our anniversary. ;-) |
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Jewlee |
.... | #14 | ||
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Posts: 85 08/04/08 06:30 PM |
Well Rosie definitely isn't pregnant she's sort of stopped gaining weight. Shes at 1.45 pounds or 580g. She is with me as I speak. She likes to snuggle
up to me when i put her on the bed. And she burrowed under her fleece at the second level last night and was wrapped in it somehow.
She still looks a little more eggplantey everyday. but honestly they seem to change shape depending how they are sitting/standing etc. Athena does look just as eggplant as Willow though in Pooksieds pictures. |
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PooksiedAnimals |
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Posts: 3566 08/05/08 08:25 PM Moderator |
Weights can fluctuate throughout the day, and from day to day. A 1oz loss or gain is not uncommon (1 oz is about 30 g). If Athena continues that much of a
rapid gain, you may have to worry. But I wouldn't be surprised if she was to lose that in a day or two, either.
Rapid breathing or wriggling can cause the weight to shift up and down about 10g. It can be a pain to wait for them to settle and the scale to finally stick to a single number. Keep a weight chart on Athena! The 100g jump is a bit, but you really can't tell from shifting scales. Now that you have the new one, it will be interesting to see what she weighs in another few days. |
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WheeksandSqueeks |
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Posts: 147 08/10/08 07:22 PM |
Okay, so now I'm seriously worried. I weight Athena today and she is 925. When my husband picked her up he said her stomach felt a little harder. I felt
her sides and they are soft still but a little more taut? I don't know if that's the right word. I am taking her on Tuesday to the vet. She is pooping,
eating, drinking, and urinating although sometimes is it hard for me to tell if she's going because she uses the pan. Can someone post me pictures of a
bloated pig or some information on bloat because Cinnamon was bloated when he got neutered and he was as big as a small log. On Athena her sides are
protruding. And I don't know what to *feel* for with bloat. Is their stomach hard? I don't want to flick her belly if she is pregnant but man she is
gaining some weight. I need to post more pictures if I have time tonight. I'm really worried that it is something medical and maybe she's not pregnant.
:-( When a pig is bloated don't they normally lose weight because they're not eating?
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PooksiedAnimals |
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Posts: 3566 08/10/08 09:44 PM Moderator |
Bloat is usually combined with gut stasis. Bloated pigs tend not to poop. So the fact she's eating and pooping seem to indicate she doesn't have bloat.
From what I understand, pigs with bloat get a very hard belly. She could be gassy, which could cause the sides to be a bit more taunt. From your descriptions,
I don't think she's bloated.
She seems to be gaining weight faster these last weeks. I had figured it may just be a growth spurt, but given her shape, and her housing situation, I'd start preparing yourself for some little ones on the way. If Cinnamon's the papa, Athena might have about 2-3 weeks left to her pregnancy. If that's the case, you should start to feel/see movement in a week or two, as the pups start getting active. Sooner, if she got pregnant before their last day together. |
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WheeksandSqueeks |
Pass the carrot cigars | #18 | ||
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Posts: 147 08/12/08 02:20 PM |
Okay, well it's official. We just came from the vet and Athena is indeed pregnant! Dr. Heidicker could feel the pups but he said he couldn't tell how
many. He said they were about the size of a half dollar. He couldn't tell me when they would be due without scanning but he said they're still
developing.
The sticky situation is, she might be due when we're away. My mom and dad are going to be watching them but they work so they're not going to be here the whole day. She is around 6 months so she shouldn't have any issues with the fused pelvic bones. (According to the shelter.) Can anyone tell me how you baby proof the cage? I will post a picture of my set up. I just can't see the babies crawling out because my sides are like 7 inches high. 
*Sigh* Cinnamon still lives! RIP Cinnamon. You would have been a great dad. 
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PooksiedAnimals |
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Posts: 3566 08/12/08 02:44 PM Moderator |
Heh. I guess Cinnamon did more than just snuggle!
I hope everything goes well for the birth. Even if someone was around, chances are you'd miss the birth anyway - the whole thing can take less than 15 minutes. Baby pigs bounce. Like you wouldn't believe. Easiest way for babyproofing is to add cardboard to the sides, inside the grids (between the grids and the coroplast) about 10" high. Even though 7" seems like a lot, its still not high enough. The other way is to use extra grids, zip-tying them to the original gids, skewed by a half grids - so it makes 1/2" openings instead of 1" openings). I know that's not a great description. I know there are pictures and instructions on GuineaPigCages.com, so I'd check there for babyproofing ideas. And we'll want pictures!!! (I just noticed your fleece. Skulls and roses? LOL! Dead-head pigs! ) |
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maryspigs |
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Posts: 48 08/13/08 12:27 AM |
How exciting!!!
My pig Wilbur could squeeze through the grids at like 2 months old! It was crazy because he was like twice the size as the hole! I couldn't figure it out. But that was the grids in the living room with no chloroplast, just for playtime. |
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