Sexing your Guinea Pig

Their is only one way to sex a guinea pig and that is to look ' below ' as guinea pig males and females do not differ in appearance. Both male and female guinea pigs can be sexed correctly from birth although baby guinea pigs can be quite difficult to sex at birth so should be sexed again at 2-4 weeks of age to make sure you have correctly sexed your guinea pig.

To help you to sex your guinea pig below are diagrams and photographs of male and female guinea pigs.

Female: A female guinea pig will have what is known as a ' Y ' shaped genital area ( see diagram at left ). To double check that your guinea pig is definitely a female their are two methods you can use. Gently part the opening by gently applying pressure to either side of the opening and nothing should protrude and the ' Y ' shaped opening should stay the same shape that it appears without the pressure applied. You can also gently place your finger just above the genital area and apply light pressure by pressing down and again if the ' Y ' stays the same and nothing begins to protrude then you have a female guinea pig.

Male: A male guinea pig will have what is known as a ' donut' shaped genital area. A male guinea pig is generally very easy to sex and the following should be applied as sometimes male guinea pigs do not always show easy signs of a penis protruding. It is best to try to get the penis to protrude and to do this gently part the opening by applying pressure to either side of the opening. If this fails you can also place your finger just above the genital area opening and apply pressure by pressing down. You should be able to feel part of the penis underneath the skin where you are pressing and as you press down the penis should start to protrude. Adult male guinea pigs are generally very easy to sex as they usually have obvious testicals although don't be fooled by this as sometimes male guinea pigs can have almost non existent testicals whereby the applying pressure method stated above should be applied.

For further information on helping you to sex your guinea pig correctly please visit the following webpages with detailed information and photographs. http://www.guinealynx.com/sexing.html      http://cavyspirit.com/sexing.htm

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