Need help. Guinea pig had her babies.

[SarahAnn31190]

My guinea pig had 4 babies today. 1 of which was dead when it came out. I know they are premature considering it hasn't even been 2 months yet. The mom isn't producing any milk yet and the babies are too weak to try and suckle. I have been trying to bottle feed the babies for the past hour, but have not had much luck. I could really use some advice/help right now. Not many vet places around me know too much about guinea pigs so it's hard for me to ask for help from them. I'm very worried about my sow and her babies. Can anyone give me some advice/opinions/help. ANYTHING!

[PIGGYMAMMA495]

OK. Number one let me first start off with saying my advice does not replace the advice of a trained vet who is trained in exotics.
They need immedaite vet attention or they will die.
You shouldnt be bottle feeding them. Guinea pigs should be syringe fed critical care by oxbow which you can get from a vet.
I hope you arent feeding them cat or dog formula. Milk based products are not good for pigs in general. They do not need it because within a day they are eating fresh hay and pellets. They also can be fed by syringe and supplemented if the mother has no milk. She may just need a shot of oxytosin from a liscensed vet to get her milk to drop.
Where did you get the pig who was pregnant? Im hoping you did not intentionally breed her.
As for the babies what are their weights? Did the mother properly clean them and bite the umbilical cord? Is the mom being a good mom or did she abandon the pups?
Keep track of their weights a few times a day. You do need to get them to a vet immediately. You need to syringe feed them a pellet mash. Get water and make the pellets into baby food consistancy. Syringe it and give them what is recommended on the GUINEALYNX.COM for the hand feeding section.
I would also add that you need to syringe feed them hourly, at first, it will have all guidelines on it.
AFTER you visit a vet pleeeeeease post and update all of us on thier status. Pictures will help as well.
Make sure they vet is a exotics vet.
Are they boys or girls? What are their names?
Also you live in CA. There are ton of people from CA that can help you find a good exotics vet.

[SarahAnn31190]

I will be taking them to the vet ASAP. Which I know isn't soon enough. I do not have a way of measuring them due to the fact that I am moving this weekend and it is packed away. The mother didn't do much to take care of them. She has basically rejected them except she will sometimes lick them but then just walk away or walk on top of them. I have been trying to give them kitten formula but I will stop now. But the problem is, they wont take it. They have no motivation to swallow it.
I do not know the sex's yet. They are WAY too tiny to tell. I will post a picture in a moment.

[SarahAnn31190]

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...e/DSC_0473.jpg

[SarahAnn31190]

That is the babies on a heating pad. The yellow stuff on the right is either pee or poop, which is good.

[PIGGYMAMMA495]

WOW. Someone said that you can add a bit of purreed veggies or level one baby food to the pellet mash for flavor. They are so small. Are they moving around alot? They should be eating pellets and at least hay pretty soon. My babies were active within a hour after birth. They just snuggled the mom then the next day they were eating hay and pellets.
I hope they do okay. Let us know how they are doing. I find it easiest to tell their sex when they are born. Right when they are born. Some babies people say it's harder to tell. You can try looking at the sexing page on guinealynx.com.

[VoodooJoint]

I recommend you start an account here http://www.guinealynx.info/forums/ and ask for help on their medical board.

Meanwhile here is their page about handfeeding http://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html

[SarahAnn31190]

They have been eating some mashed up oxbow pellet. They can't really stand up very well on their own but they do squirm around a little bit. I will be taking the mom and them to the vet in the morning.

[SarahAnn31190]

I just had one pass away:[ this is so traumatic.

[SarahAnn31190]

The two that are still alive are doing a little better. I've gotten them to eat mashed up oxbow pellets. Which is very good. I'm going to stay up with them tonight until i can take them tot he vet at 8 tomorrow morning (this morning).

Keep your fingers crossed!

[PIGGYMAMMA495]

Told ya I had a bad feeling. Im so sorry for the loss of now 2 babies.
whcihc one was it in the pic that passed? From left to right 1 2 or 3?
Keep giving the pellet mash and syringe water to them to keep them hydrated.
Ask the vet if you can get some Critical Care from him for the babies. Also really good to have on hand if your female becomes ill. This is a great prodcut.
Let me know what the vet says...
How did he/she pass?

[SarahAnn31190]

It was the one all the way to the left. I'm not really sure what happened, he just started gasping for air and then stopped:[.
The vet I went to did not have Critical Care so I was not able to get any.
He told me to do a 1:1 of evaporated milk.
They were having a hard time with the pellet mash because it couldn't quite fit through the syringe.

[Haley0489]

I was guessing it was the one all the way to the far left. It looks quite small compared to the other two.

Cavies are lactose intolerant, so milk products are not a good idea.

[SarahAnn31190]

The sow is finally making milk so I put the babies in with her. I am hoping she will take care of them, but I will keep a very close eye on them.

[PiggieMamaKelly]

Do you have any idea about how many days/weeks premature they were?

[SarahAnn31190]

I'm guessing at least 2 maybe even 3 weeks.

[salana]

Offer pellet mash on a spoon. This will be much easier than forcing it through a syringe, there's much less risk of aspiration, and if they eat it willingly it'll help them a lot.

I hope the two living babies can survive and thrive after such a rough start. Is mom nursing them?