How to find out the gender of a guinea pig
To do this, you need to examine your pet. You can find out the sex of a rodent using the following methods:
- pay attention to the pet’s intimate organs;
- Examine the animal's mammary glands;
- examine their anus.
Important: if the pet is frightened and breaks out of your hands, it is recommended to reschedule the examination to another time, when the animal is calmer.
Guinea pigs are quite shy and do not like to be grabbed and forcibly held in an uncomfortable position. To ensure that the animal is exposed to as little stress as possible, it is necessary to carry out the inspection procedure quickly and without sudden movements.
You also need to follow the inspection rules:
- Before performing the procedure, you should wear sterile, disposable gloves. In the case of examining two pets, gloves must be changed, since the presence of harmful microbes may be present on the genitals of rodents. To avoid spreading the infection to another pet, it is necessary to follow the rules of hygiene.
- To examine the genital organs, it is recommended to lay the guinea pig on its back, holding it in the palm of your hand. To prevent the animal from falling, it is necessary to hold it in the chest area.
- When the pet is fixed in this position, it is necessary to carefully examine its genitals, slightly moving the skin of the lower abdomen with your fingers.
- When the procedure is completed, the pet should be returned to the cage and be sure to give him his favorite treat.
The differences are shown in the diagram
How to tell if it's a boy or a girl by their genitals
A common way to examine the genitals is to remove the mucous membrane: you need to apply a little pressure on the very bottom of the rodent’s belly, after first placing the animal towards the top with its paws in your palm. If it is a boy, you can see the penis in the form of a small protrusion. In girls, part of the mucous membrane will open.
Females have a small genital organ and a slightly convex shape. The genital slit becomes thinner towards the tail and resembles the shape of the Latin letter Y.
The male genital organ is a rounded place, in the upper part of which a point is visible - this is the genital shaft of the animal. It can be felt quite easily by lightly pressing on the bottom of the pet’s tummy.
In boys, it is also easy to feel the testicles and scrotum. It looks like a small, convex sac and is located between the reproductive organ and the anus.
Attention! If you do not know how to determine the sex of guinea pigs and purchase a pet from unverified breeders, it is possible to have a “pig in a poke” by taking an opposite-sex pair or a pregnant female.
By the anal sac
Males need it to mark territory. They secrete a strong-smelling enzyme from the anal gland. Therefore, the anus of males is well developed and has a brown or gray color.
Females do not make marks and their anal sac is a rudiment: an atrophied organ that is quite difficult to see.
If during the examination you find a large anal sac in your client, you can be sure that this is a male representative.
Can be identified by the shape of the excrement
We determine gender by the shape of the litter
This method can also determine the gender of a guinea pig. The male's droppings, due to the structural features of the anus, have the shape of a crescent, narrowed at both ends and a groove along the entire length. Girls have even, oval-shaped litter.
This is only an additional method and is suitable for clarifying the belonging of a group of healthy pigs to the same sex or for determining the sex of a separately separated, but also healthy guinea pig.
Note: it should be noted that sex determination based on the shape of the litter is reliable for guinea pigs with healthy digestion.
Determining the sex of a guinea pig by indirect signs
To determine gender in this way, you should observe your pet for a certain period. When observing, you should pay attention to the behavior of the animal: females always remain calm and friendly. Boys, on the contrary, are more aggressive; they often display dominant behavior and rumble. During heat (1-2 times every few weeks) they can jump on other guinea pigs.
Males are also larger in size: the weight of an adult sometimes reaches one and a half kilograms; he has a strong skeleton and a massive head. Girls, on the contrary, have less weight (no more than a kilogram), they are small in size; the head and skeleton are more refined.
Inspection before 3 weeks is strictly prohibited
By genitals
The most logical way to determine the sex of an animal is through external sexual characteristics. This is done like this:
- The piglet is placed on the palm.
- Lightly press the pet's underbelly with your free palm or move the animal's skin upward.
- In males, during such manipulations, the flagellum (penis) should be felt; it can also come out when pressed. In females, the genital slit becomes visible.
In sexually mature males, the scrotum (sac) is clearly visible. The female genitals are smaller and resemble the letter Y.
Another way to examine the genitals is to remove the mucous membrane. To do this, the foreskin must be pressed against the belly. In males, in this case, the penis will open in the form of a small tubercle, and in females, most of the mucous membrane will open.
Determining the sex of a guinea pig at a young age
Attention! Examination of guinea pigs under 3 weeks of age is strictly prohibited. The smell of human hands remains on the animal’s fur, which contributes to the mother’s refusal to breastfeed this baby. This could be fatal for him.
To determine the sex of the baby, you need to place it on your arm, belly up, and visually measure the distance between the anus and the urethra. In females it is significantly less than in representatives of the opposite sex.
It is worth noting that boys have several skin folds in the genital area, while girls do not have them.
Have you found it difficult to determine the gender of your pig?
What not to rely on
When purchasing guinea pigs from a specialized pet store, there is no guarantee that they will sell you an animal of the required gender.
Often, people without special education work in these places and have no knowledge at all in this area. For this reason, you should not take their word for it. They may be most likely to make mistakes and simply not know how to accurately determine the sex of these animals. The best solution is to have faith in your knowledge. However, if you yourself do not know how to accurately determine the sex of these rodents, then the problem of choosing may arise - to trust the seller or still find out the rules for determining the sex of pigs.
Some believe that it is possible to distinguish between males and females using a simple method. To do this, you need to turn the pet on its back with its tummy on top and approximately determine the size of the distance between its urethra and anus. It is believed that in males the distance size will be larger. But you should not trust this method, because it does not always give 100% correct results, because the size of this animal is very small.
There is an opinion that you can find out the gender of pigs by the presence of nipples, but this is not true. The fact is that both females and males have nipples of the same size. For this reason, this method is considered erroneous.
Determining the sex of a guinea pig at an older age
During adulthood, choosing an animal based on its gender is much easier. The scrotum of a male representative is quite clearly expressed. There is a clear visibility of the external genitalia. In females, when pressing on the abdomen, the genital slit is visible. The reproductive organs of the male are much larger than those of the females.
In representatives of both sexes, the mammary glands are clearly visible, but in females they are more pronounced and have a brighter color.
There are some differences in the behavior of boys and girls
Method No. 3 - by size and external features
It is no secret that adults and young individuals of different sexes are visually distinguishable. With guinea pigs, everything is not so simple - the younger the animals, the more similar they are, but there are some differences.
External signs:
- The head of females is narrower. Males have a wider forehead and cheekbones.
- The females have a “chiseled” figure, with a “waist” and wide hips. Males look “tighter”.
- Females are smaller, their weight rarely exceeds 1.2 kg. Males are much larger and weigh from 1.5 kg.
Differences in the behavior of boys and girls
In order to find out what the differences in behavior are, consider representatives of each gender.
First, let's look at the behavioral characteristics of the male. Boys are active, if there is a neighbor, competitions often occur, but for the most part, they do not harm the pets: this is a way to show their dominance. They do not tolerate loneliness quite well, so they require the attention of the owner or living together with their own kind. It is good if it is an individual of the same litter or age. Males are very “talkative”: the desire to eat, play, the game itself is accompanied by various sounds. Sexual activity begins at 3 weeks and continues throughout life.
Girls are less active and affectionate. Just like males, they need constant attention. If you make two girlfriends, they will get along well: fights are possible, but very rare. Females make sounds less frequently than their opposite counterparts, mainly only when they are hungry. Puberty occurs at the age of four weeks, but mating is allowed from 5 months to 3 years.
Important: after 3 years of age, the risk of death during pregnancy increases.
Features of the inspection procedure
In order to determine the sex of a guinea pig based on its external characteristics, it is necessary to examine it. To do this, you need to choose a good time, when the animal is active and not frightened by anything. The peak activity of guinea pigs occurs during the daytime - this means that it is better not to disturb them in the late evening, but to reschedule the examination until the morning. It is important that the animal is not too scared during the examination. Otherwise, it will squirm and may accidentally slip out of your hands.
Falls, even from a small height, are extremely dangerous for these rodents.
And so, below are several basic rules for inspecting a guinea pig.
- Before inspection, you must wear disposable rubber gloves. This hygiene rule is especially important if you are going to examine several individuals at once. A large number of bacteria can accumulate on the genitals of guinea pigs. To avoid transferring them from one individual to another, it is recommended to use a new pair for each pig. You can also use special disinfecting gels after examining each animal.
- To study the genitals, you need to turn the guinea pig with its belly up, holding it firmly in the chest area. To protect the animal in case of a fall, it is better to carry out the procedure over a soft pillow or bedding.
- The next step is to slightly spread the fur in the crotch area and carefully examine it. To better see the genitals of a miniature animal, it is better to carry out the procedure in a well-lit room.
- When you're done checking, don't forget to reward your baby for her patience with a tasty treat.
Method two
It involves determining sex by the presence or absence of a fecal pouch. Suitable for adult pets only.
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Only males have an anal sac (more correct and scientific name); it contains anal or marker glands, with the help of which the animal marks its territory. In females, this organ is rudimentary.
Therefore, if it is possible to find this hole in a pet, then with a probability of 99% we can assume that it is a male individual.
First way
One of the simplest ways to distinguish a male from a female, which does not require acrobatic manipulations with pets, is to determine the shape of the genital slit.
It should be noted that the method is not very reliable, and the probability of hitting the target is 50 to 50. To find out the gender, just turn the baby on his back and look at the lower abdomen, where the external genitalia are located. First, the skin in this area is slightly spread with your fingers - this will increase the field of view.
- Females are characterized by the shape of the genital slit in the form of a large Latin letter “Y”. Often the sign is so smooth that it is quite problematic to understand what this gap looks like.
- In males, this area looks like a straight column; many compare it with the letter “i”, when a small tubercle (retracted penis) rises at the top of the straight line.
In addition, if you palpate the area above the column, then with sufficient experience and dexterity, you can feel the penis.
Palpation is carried out as follows:
- the animal is turned upside down and securely held in this position with the palms of both hands,
- spread the skin and press lightly with your thumbs in the abdominal area (just above the tubercle), then press a little harder and pull your fingers a little upward;
- At first you can feel the penis in the form of a dense cord, which after a few seconds sticks out.
