How can you tell if your guinea pig is male or female?

Question

Reason being, we just bought a 6 week old and the girl at the store couldn't tell us whether it was male or female and we were thinking of going back and getting on of it's brothers or sisters to keep him company. The only problem is we don't want them to start breeding. Not only do we not have the room, but inbreeding? Eww! I know they're rodents, but even mice that have been inbred are only used for feeding purposes because they are so mean and stupid. So here's the question; If I got one of it's siblings, would they breed? And if so, how can I tell if they're male or female so they don't breed? By the way, they have all been kept in a cage together since they were born so they already know each other. I'm not worried about fighting or anything.

Answer 1

Guinea pigs don't care if siblings breed. They breed solely to reproduce. Here is an EXCELLENT website complete with pictures to help sex your piggie...:-)

Answer 2

I have had guinea pigs in the past and the gal at the pet store must not know too much about them because it is very obvious which is which. They have parts similiar to a cat as far as their external organs are concerned. The males have a small penis and you can see the testicles just under the bottom area. You can push down in front of that area and feel them if you can't tell for sure. Females just look to have an opening with what looks kind of like a skin tag at the top.
Inbreeding isn't so much an issue (although you shouldn't) as much as what to do with the babies once they are born. Just make sure you have the same sex and get them young because they will likely fight if you wait too long...even if they are brothers or sisters.

Answer 3

The way to tell if a guinea pig (cavia porcellus) is male or female is by feeling the male genitalia under the skin in the inguinal area. The place between the rear leg and can be protrude by manual pressure once you find the area you know where to press(please do not ask me to elaborate). This reason being that there is little difference in the cavies' anogenital distance between male and female,unlike rats ,mice and gerbils.The genitalia should be obvious by 60 to 90 days and they usually breed around 12 week old. if worse turn to worst you can always buy a new cage or pan for the cavies to live separately :)

Answer 4

With guinea pigs it's certainly harder to tell than with hamsters or mice, but you should still be able to find out if you have a male or female fairly easily.

Here's a website telling you how to sex them:
http://www.guineapigsclub.com/gp_site/sexing.asp

I know that it might seem odd, but it's fairly important to know the gender of your guinea pig even if you decided to keep it by itself. Both males and females make great pets (I have two myself) but there are some differences.

As for inbreeding, yes we think it's a gross concept with people- but with mice it actually isn't just stupid inbred mice which are used as feeders. All breeds of cats, dogs, horses, etc. were created using careful inbreeding and outcrossing (even modern corn was created this way!). As long as it is done carefully and by people who understand the genetics of the species, inbreeding can actually be used to select good traits and preserve them in the species/breed. Bad traits come from a lack of outcrossing or a mutation :)

Answer 5

ok properly i artwork at a puppy save and this question has been requested a million situations yet all you do is have some one carry the guinea pig for you and also you grab its bottom and there is this little purple spot down there and also you in elementary words gently push on that and if a purple searching element pops out then its a male and if not some thing pops out its a woman

Answer 6

Wait a few more weeks and i'm sure you or the store would know. As for the breeding I'm not sure but my guess would be no because I don't think anything will be going on between them (If you know what I mean) since theyalready know they're siblings.

Answer 7

First you can take it to a vet and have it checked for health reasons since it's a new pet and they would be able to tell you...or in our case I had a friend hold the piggy kind of on it's back and if you take your index and thumb (one on each side) and gently press in the privates area - if *something* pops out ...it's a boy.

Answer 8

They'll probably breed if they are male and female. You could also try asking a vet how to tell. There is a way to tell, but it is weird so I would just ask a vet.

Answer 9

You could get some books about them......I didn't know my Guinea Pig's genders until I read a book on Guinea Pig care....the book I reccomend is "The Essential Guinea Pig"

Answer 10

what you can do to tell if your guinea pig is a boy or girl is if you turn the guinea over and press down next its private area you will see if it is a boy or girl...if it is a boy his private will come out if it is a girl nothing will show...hope this helps and good luck...if you need anymore questions about your guinea please feel free to email mail me...