As baby guinea pigs are very tiny it a good idea to take extra precautions to help ensure their safety in their cage.  Consider their tiny heads could become stuck between the bars and possibility of strangulation.  A way of preventing this is to line the cage walls with coroplast or cardboard from the floor level up to approximately one foot.  If you are using a cage made from a grid, you could double the walls and in between place coroplast or cardboard to create a “wall”.  When the babies are four to six months old,  you can remove the layer as they will have grown enough to not get stuck.

When the babies are born and the mother has had a chance to clean them and time to bond,  it is fairly safe to touch the babies. Your scent on the babies shouldn’t cause the mother to abandon her  pups.  This would be a good time to start monitoring their weight.  By tracking and monitoring their weight gives you an insight to their health.  If the baby isn’t growing at the same rate as the others you will see this in the weight and can intervene to assist and provide health care.

Sometimes a pups growth is slower as they are not receiving enough of their mothers milk.  You can intervene and place the pup alone with it’s mother for feeding.  If their weight continues to fluctuate, for either the babies or the mother, it’s best to contact your Veterinarian right away.

Provide a alfalfa rich (with adequate levels of Vitamin C)  in a pellet form as they are beneficial to the babies growing requirements and very helpful for a pregnant guinea pig.  As guinea pigs are plant based eaters avoid food sources that contain animal products, sugars, seeds/nuts and fats. Also supply a fresh clean water source and timothy hay.