6 new baby guinea pigs tonight... *It's been a bad week. UPDATE*

[cutiepieacres]

no milk products for baby guinea pigs and at this point I wouldnt try to feed it anything anyhow as it is probably dehydrated so SQ lactated ringers would be best. But you can also try to get some sugar water if no pedialyte is available but be careful especially being so weak its easy to aspirate them when they are little. But it doesn't sound good, there may be something wrong with it guinea pig moms feed a number of babies just fine and should have no issues. Just make sure its comfortable and try your best but be prepared that this little one might not make it and not due to anything done wrong, it just happens.

 

[jossanne]

The baby died. We're sad, but not surprised. We tried our best, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be. The other 5 are doing great.

Thanks everyone for your advice.

 

[redhen]

Aww! Sorry about the baby.

 

[Akane]

Sorry a little late.... Do not give guinea pigs any type of milk products or sugar. Been there, done that. It will only hasten their death. No milk replacers at all. Guinea pig milk is very weak and guinea pigs start eating solid food immediately. Guinea pigs cannot digest the proteins and fats in milk or any milk replacers along with being lactose intolerant from birth and they also require fiber to get their digestive tract moving. Their digestive tract will be at risk of shutting down within 4 hours of not getting any good fiber source.

Because of all that the best thing to give a sick guinea pig of any age is simply a moistened guinea pig pellet. Soak them in water, plain fruit juice (no added sugars such as sucrose, fructose, etc...) the organic section of a grocery store is best to find this, or pedialyte. Syringe the mixture warm into their mouth just behind the incisors. A 1 cc or diabetic syringe with the end cut off works best. There is also a product out there called critical care. It's sold by oxbow but they require a vet to order it directly from them. You can get around that by ordering from calvetsupply.com. If you are breeding or rescuing guinea pigs, rabbits, or any other herbivore this stuff is great to have on hand. I kept 2 bags in the freezer at all time when I was doing guinea pig rescue. They also have a carnivore care for animals like ferrets. Also a probiotic is always helpful. You can buy acidophilus capsules in the vitamin section of a pharmacy and mix it with the pellet mash or I know this sounds gross but take a fresh dropping from a healthy guinea pig, dissolve it in water, and give it to the sick guinea pig. There is no dangerous bacteria on a fresh guinea pig dropping. Only beneficial ones that a sick guinea pig needs.

I can't count the runts we lost in large litters because we didn't know this information and kept trying to keep them alive on various milk replacers.

 

[country freedom]

Quote:
Baby Guinea Pigs eat mama's stools (one of two types) for that beneficial bacteria, adults eat it, also.

 

[Bec]

 

[shelleyd2008]

So sorry to hear of the baby, hopefully the rest will be okay

 

[Bec]

Oh, I just had to re-read. I am so sorry for the loss of your little piggy

I hope the rest continue to do well!

 

[jossanne]

Quote:
Wow Akane, thanks for all that info. I'm glad to know it now, even though it is too late for the baby.

I knew rabbits ate their mother's stool, and wondered if guinea pigs were the same, but I hadn't had time to look it up yet.

Cross your fingers for the rest of the litter. Thanks everyone for the thoughts and advice. It's much appreciated.

 

[jossanne]

It's been a bad week, and I don't know why. We lost 4 babies, and the daddy piggie died last night.

We changed bedding to the blue cottony cellulose stuff. We had the adult males in one cage and mama and the babies in another. The last two babies are fat and growing quickly.

The last baby that died started laboriously breathing. We gave her tiny drops of watery pellets and mama poo, but she died that night. The other two did the same, basically, except I never saw them in the early stages. It must have started with them in the middle of the night.

The daddy piggie was healthy and well yesterday morning. When I opened the cage, he came running out and so I set him back in. I fed them, and sat here on the computer where I could see them, and it looked like he was popcorning. As I watched, though, it looked like he was hiccuping. After a while, he just laid down and looked uncomfortable. After church, he was laying with his legs pointed one direction, and his head twisted the other way. He died that evening. Could he have gotten food or hay stuck somehow in his digestive system? Would he have eaten some of the cellulose bedding and gotten impacted?

My daughter's heartbroken, and we sure won't be trying to have baby guinea pigs again. This has been a terrible week. We've got mama piggie, Lucky piggie from the first litter (male) and two unknown babies left. The babies are 9 days old, and I'm anxiously waiting until we figure out what they are, so they can be in the appropriate cage. Lucky's lonely, as he's never lived alone before, and he needs a companion. Hopefully one baby's a boy!

Anyway, that's our week. It's been a bad one. Hope you are all better!