How long does it take for guineea pigs to have babies?
The single most important breeding consideration is that female guinea pigs should be first bred before 7 months of age. If the first breeding is delayed beyond this time, serious (sometimes life-threatening) problems with delivery are encountered. Females should be first bred between 3 and 7 months of age. Males should be 34 months old at their first breeding. The guinea pig’s heat cycle lasts 16 days. The period during which the female is receptive to the male and will allow breeding lasts about 8 hours. Female guinea pigs can come back into heat 15 hours after giving birth. This is called a “postpartum estrus,” which means that they can be nursing a litter and pregnant at the same time! Pregnancy lasts an average of 63 days. The larger the litter, the shorter the term of pregnancy .and vice versa. The duration of pregnancy for guinea pigs is unusually long when compared with that of other rodents. Pregnant sows (females) exhibit a grossly enlarged abdomen during the latter stages of
