# Why are guinea-pigs born fully developed?



## SEVEN_PETS (Aug 11, 2009)

Hiya

Near enough every other rodent and rabbits are born helpless and need a few weeks before they venture from the nest and can look after themselves. Why are guinea-pigs different and are born fully developed?


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## CarolineH (Aug 4, 2009)

They are a south american rodent and don't live in burrows underground like rabbits so babies need to be up and 'running' fairly soon after birth. Wild Cavies, Feral Guinea pigs, Wild Guinea pigs


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## lozza84 (Jul 19, 2008)

yep the babies are born opened eyed and with a full coat of fur and ready to run, they can also eat hay and veggies a few hrs after birth  so cute, right ? :001_tt1:


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## Clare7435 (Dec 17, 2009)

Guinea pigs live on the forest foor too as far as I hear so need to fend for themselves pretty quick. Also they're pregnant for a lot longer than bunnys, so where development's concerned they probably develop at a simila rate but born at different gestation periods
pic of mine with mum not long after birth
clarexx


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## Clare7435 (Dec 17, 2009)

lol dont know what happened to the pic....I'll try again shall I


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## sullivan (Aug 29, 2008)

My boar is the same as mum without the ginger bit. Gorg . x


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## MerlinsMum (Aug 2, 2009)

The rodents from South America - which include Cavies (Guinea pigs), Chinchillas and Degus - all seem to be born fully-furred.... I'm not sure about Capybaras but I would guess so too. This makes them very different to rodents from the Old World who are all born pink & wriggly.

I heard some time ago there was a move to reclassify the South American rodents as Octodons, a separate group - largely based on teeth (Octo = eight, don = teeth). In fact Degus are known as Octodons in France. This group seems to be very unique from all other rodent species, so if you regard them as being of a different class, then that would explain why they all have fully-furred babies when other rodents don't.


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## huskiesaregreat (Sep 24, 2009)

they are so amazing, they are born and running around straight away its cute


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## happysaz133 (Jun 5, 2008)

Yep, because they are above ground they have to be fully formed to start life.


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## CreativeLC (Aug 13, 2008)

When i went to a breeders i saw one that had been born a few hours earlier and i just couldn't believe how alert and formed it was. Compared to when my rabbit had babies i couldn't see them like that for weeks.
Its amazing.


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## CarolineH (Aug 4, 2009)

The one drawback to them having fully formed babies is the fact (and believe me it IS a fact) that their pregnancies and births carry a higher rate of mortality or complications (for mother and young) than say rabbits or rats etc. The same goes for chinchillas who also have fully furred and developed babies who are leaping about within hours of birth. That's why I always implore people not to breed from cavies and chinchillas that they regard as family pets as the outcome can sometimes be heartbreaking. I used to breed both because I showed them too, now I keep them just as pets. I miss having the joy of new litters but I don't miss the deaths of mothers and/or babies. :huh:


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## Clare7435 (Dec 17, 2009)

sullivan said:


> My boar is the same as mum without the ginger bit. Gorg . x


Hehe....a few weeks later the flash on her side changed and she was identical to Mum...I'll try and get a pic later they look lovely some days it's diffcult to know the difference  xx


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## SEVEN_PETS (Aug 11, 2009)

At pet shops, I do see some tiny baby guinea pigs, and I sometimes wonder if they are only a few days old as the public could be fooled into thinking they are weeks old because they are born fully developed.


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