Austin Guinea Pig Rescue

Teach Me Tuesday!

Have you ever wondered how to tell if your piggy is a male or a female? Sexing guinea pigs as newborns can be really tricky, but as they grow it becomes more obvious. Here is a link with some photos from the RSPCA to help! If in doubt, your local rescue or vet can help you, too.

Pet store employees are often not experienced enough to know for sure so if you do buy guinea pigs from a pet store, there is always a risk they were incorrectly sexed and/or pregnant if a female. There was a situation this weekend where someone who bought two guinea pigs from a pet store and was assured they were both males, discovered this was NOT the case. There was a lovely weekend surprise waiting in the cage when it turned out one of them was actually a female.

(We do not advise keeping unfixed opposite sexes together EVER, and do not advise intentional breeding. By correctly sexing your piggies you are preventing bringing more unwanted guinea pigs into the world and protecting your piggies' health. Guinea pigs can get pregnant again right after giving birth, so males and females need to be separated even if the female is pregnant).

https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/guineapigs/sexing