Post by Tayz on Sept 5, 2008 4:08:43 GMT -5
This should help for people who want to know a few risks what are out there. From the site www.2ndchance.info/gpreprodprobs.htm
The most important factor in successfully breeding guinea pigs is that they not be too old at the time of their first litter. The next most important factor is that their diet be adequate and the third most important factor is that they not be too fat. Most male pigs are good sires. However, male pets, kept in isolation, and those weaned too early sometimes are unaware of the necessary facts of life. Longhaired sows should have the hair surrounding their vulva clipped short. They should never be maintained on wire flooring. Besides being a bad husbandry practice, wire floors quickly inflame the toes of heavy pregnant sows.
Pregnant sows almost double in weight. Try not to handle them in late pregnancy. They are so terribly distended and uncomfortable at this stage. Pregnant sows do better when housed individually during the last trimester of pregnancy, But for convenience, many breeders successfully breed them in groups.
Stillbirths and abortions in guinea pigs are most often associated with pregnancy toxemia or ketosis. Ketosis is also a common condition in human beings and cattle. It occurs when the body burns a large amount of fat in response to inadequate levels of blood glucose or accessible liver glycogen. Two factors are most responsible for this condition in guinea pigs, inadequate feeding during late pregnancy and mothers that were too fat to begin with. There are several factors that can cause pigs to not consume adequate nutrients late in pregnancy and shortly after birth. These are inadequate food portions, infections of the breasts (mastitis), failure of the uterus to adequately cleanse after birth (metritis) and dehydration. Genetic susceptibility of certain strains of guinea pig also contributes to the disease. Pregnancy toxemia or ketosis is most common during a sow’s first or second pregnancy
Signs of the disease appear suddenly and progress rapidly. The pig stops eating and drinking and quickly becomes dehydrated. Stool may become mucoid or mucus-covered. As the disease progresses she will become weak, develop labored breathing and often die in two to five days. These guinea pigs are hypoglycemic, that is, their blood sugar (glucose) is abnormally low (less than 60mg/dl). Their normally basic (alkaline) urine becomes more acidic (normal urine pH is 9). Due to derangement in metabolism their livers produce excess acetoacetic acid, acetone and B-hydroxybutyric acid (Ketone bodies). Proteins and ketones are also spilled into the urine. All this can be quickly detected with urine chemistry check strips and a few drops of urine.
There is no consistently effective treatment for this disease so prevention is the key. Avoid obesity as well as stress during pregnancy. Do not breed guinea pigs that are too young or too old. Be sure that your pigs do not have borderline vitamin C deficiencies. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) requirement increases during gestation and it is thought that marginal deficiencies in ascorbic acid contribute to a high level of abortions and stillbirths in a colony. The signs of scurvy are initially vague (nonspecific). They include, anorexia (lack of appetite), rough hair coat, listlessness, weakness and subcutaneous hemorrhages. Later, joint enlargement and painful joints may occur. Guinea pigs with scurvy often grinding their teeth and are generally sore. They resent handling. Remember vitamin C breaks down rapidly, especially from the effects of heat, moisture and light. So do not keep guinea pig chow for over two months. Green peppers, kale and cabbage are rich in vitamin C. If you are supplementing your water with vitamin C it must be changed daily since it quickly hydrolyzes. Some breeders give 10mg vitamin C orally per day during pregnancy. In poorly managed colonies bacterial infections with streptococcus, bordatella and pasteurella can increase the incidence of stillbirths and abortions.
Dystocia: or difficult delivery is relatively common in guinea pigs. It is associated with the failure of the pubic symphysis, a joint within the pelvis, to relax fully at parturition and allow the baby guinea pigs to pass through the birth canal. . It’s chief cause is breeding females older than 7 months for the first time. Other causes are obesity or one or two very large fetuses. Clinical signs that the babies will not pass through the canal are nonspecific. They include depression, failure to eat (anorexia), bloody greenish-brown girl thingyl discharge and signs of ketosis. If I place my finger through the birth canal and determine that it is wide enough for the babies to pass through I give these pigs a drug called oxytocin. I give them intramuscular injections of 0.2-3 units/kilogram. Some breeders routinely give pregnant sows 2 units on day 66 of pregnancy. The drug should work within twenty minutes. If necessary, it can be given an additional two times at thirty-minute intervals. One always has to be ready to perform cesarean sections in these cases. This procedure is quite tricky in guinea pigs because they are such bad anesthetic risks.
Lack of milk (agalactia) is also common in guinea pigs. It results from malnutrition, ketosis, dehydration, mastitis or a lack of natural oxytocin. Orphan guinea pigs or those from mothers that lack milk need to be bottle-fed. This is quite easy to do. I generally use KMR kitten milk replacement diluted two or three to one with water. By the second week I supplement this with baby food vegetables. By the third week milk is no longer necessary. Guinea pigs that are less than 55 grams at birth rarely survive. Litters of three or four generally do the best. Be sure that pigs smaller than this are reserved nipple time because larger more vigorous babies often push them aside. And check the milk frequently. Any evidence that the milk is clumped and off-color or that the gland is hard, painful and bluish are evidence of a mammary gland infection (mastitis). These pigs need to be immediately removed from the mother if they and her are to survive. Mastitis due to streptococci is relatively common in guinea pigs.
The most important factor in successfully breeding guinea pigs is that they not be too old at the time of their first litter. The next most important factor is that their diet be adequate and the third most important factor is that they not be too fat. Most male pigs are good sires. However, male pets, kept in isolation, and those weaned too early sometimes are unaware of the necessary facts of life. Longhaired sows should have the hair surrounding their vulva clipped short. They should never be maintained on wire flooring. Besides being a bad husbandry practice, wire floors quickly inflame the toes of heavy pregnant sows.
Pregnant sows almost double in weight. Try not to handle them in late pregnancy. They are so terribly distended and uncomfortable at this stage. Pregnant sows do better when housed individually during the last trimester of pregnancy, But for convenience, many breeders successfully breed them in groups.
Stillbirths and abortions in guinea pigs are most often associated with pregnancy toxemia or ketosis. Ketosis is also a common condition in human beings and cattle. It occurs when the body burns a large amount of fat in response to inadequate levels of blood glucose or accessible liver glycogen. Two factors are most responsible for this condition in guinea pigs, inadequate feeding during late pregnancy and mothers that were too fat to begin with. There are several factors that can cause pigs to not consume adequate nutrients late in pregnancy and shortly after birth. These are inadequate food portions, infections of the breasts (mastitis), failure of the uterus to adequately cleanse after birth (metritis) and dehydration. Genetic susceptibility of certain strains of guinea pig also contributes to the disease. Pregnancy toxemia or ketosis is most common during a sow’s first or second pregnancy
Signs of the disease appear suddenly and progress rapidly. The pig stops eating and drinking and quickly becomes dehydrated. Stool may become mucoid or mucus-covered. As the disease progresses she will become weak, develop labored breathing and often die in two to five days. These guinea pigs are hypoglycemic, that is, their blood sugar (glucose) is abnormally low (less than 60mg/dl). Their normally basic (alkaline) urine becomes more acidic (normal urine pH is 9). Due to derangement in metabolism their livers produce excess acetoacetic acid, acetone and B-hydroxybutyric acid (Ketone bodies). Proteins and ketones are also spilled into the urine. All this can be quickly detected with urine chemistry check strips and a few drops of urine.
There is no consistently effective treatment for this disease so prevention is the key. Avoid obesity as well as stress during pregnancy. Do not breed guinea pigs that are too young or too old. Be sure that your pigs do not have borderline vitamin C deficiencies. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) requirement increases during gestation and it is thought that marginal deficiencies in ascorbic acid contribute to a high level of abortions and stillbirths in a colony. The signs of scurvy are initially vague (nonspecific). They include, anorexia (lack of appetite), rough hair coat, listlessness, weakness and subcutaneous hemorrhages. Later, joint enlargement and painful joints may occur. Guinea pigs with scurvy often grinding their teeth and are generally sore. They resent handling. Remember vitamin C breaks down rapidly, especially from the effects of heat, moisture and light. So do not keep guinea pig chow for over two months. Green peppers, kale and cabbage are rich in vitamin C. If you are supplementing your water with vitamin C it must be changed daily since it quickly hydrolyzes. Some breeders give 10mg vitamin C orally per day during pregnancy. In poorly managed colonies bacterial infections with streptococcus, bordatella and pasteurella can increase the incidence of stillbirths and abortions.
Dystocia: or difficult delivery is relatively common in guinea pigs. It is associated with the failure of the pubic symphysis, a joint within the pelvis, to relax fully at parturition and allow the baby guinea pigs to pass through the birth canal. . It’s chief cause is breeding females older than 7 months for the first time. Other causes are obesity or one or two very large fetuses. Clinical signs that the babies will not pass through the canal are nonspecific. They include depression, failure to eat (anorexia), bloody greenish-brown girl thingyl discharge and signs of ketosis. If I place my finger through the birth canal and determine that it is wide enough for the babies to pass through I give these pigs a drug called oxytocin. I give them intramuscular injections of 0.2-3 units/kilogram. Some breeders routinely give pregnant sows 2 units on day 66 of pregnancy. The drug should work within twenty minutes. If necessary, it can be given an additional two times at thirty-minute intervals. One always has to be ready to perform cesarean sections in these cases. This procedure is quite tricky in guinea pigs because they are such bad anesthetic risks.
Lack of milk (agalactia) is also common in guinea pigs. It results from malnutrition, ketosis, dehydration, mastitis or a lack of natural oxytocin. Orphan guinea pigs or those from mothers that lack milk need to be bottle-fed. This is quite easy to do. I generally use KMR kitten milk replacement diluted two or three to one with water. By the second week I supplement this with baby food vegetables. By the third week milk is no longer necessary. Guinea pigs that are less than 55 grams at birth rarely survive. Litters of three or four generally do the best. Be sure that pigs smaller than this are reserved nipple time because larger more vigorous babies often push them aside. And check the milk frequently. Any evidence that the milk is clumped and off-color or that the gland is hard, painful and bluish are evidence of a mammary gland infection (mastitis). These pigs need to be immediately removed from the mother if they and her are to survive. Mastitis due to streptococci is relatively common in guinea pigs.