Newborn Pups Health Issue with new born pup! - Guinea Pig Cages, Care, Store, Photos of Guinea Pigs and More Forum!

**Allyson** · #1 06-05-09, 11:03 am

This is urgent so sorry for any confusion! And I'm sorry if this was posted in the wrong forum.

About 9 hours ago my sow Stevie Rae gave birth to only 1 baby guinea pig. Everything seemed to be going well. The mother was eating and the pup seemed to be progressing (eyes open, trying to walk, etc). The mother did show some acknowledgment of her pup without aggression, such as bathing him, so I put them in a baby-proof box and put them in a quiet room for a few hours.
When I went to check on them, the pup was laying on his side, slightly cold, and with his mother stepping all over him. I initially thought the baby was dead, but when I picked him up, I could feel the baby breathing and his heartbeat. I immediately put the pup near one of his mother's nipples to try and feed, but nothing happened. I then took the pup from his mom and tried to feed him mush/soft pellets (as done in Guinea Lynx) and water. He swallowed only one or two mouth fulls that I gave him a while after they had sat in his mouth. He also only had a few drops of water. I took the pup's mother out of the cage and put them together on my lap in a towel. She at first ignored him and tried to get off the towel, but she eventually started bathing him again. Nothing changed about the pup as he lied against his mother, so I put her back in her cage (she started wheaking, but I do not know if it was because she was put back or without her pup) and put the baby onto wash cloth that was on top of a heating pad set on low. I would keep them together, but the mother keeps stepping/standing on her pup and I feel like it is doing more damage to him. I've also noticed that the pup has something that looks like "hiccups" every 10 seconds or so.

Does anyone have any advice or experiences similar to this?

**Peggysu** · #2 06-05-09, 11:22 am

I hope you have an appointment for the vet.

**Sponge** · #3 06-05-09, 11:28 am

I suggest taking them both into the vet asap. Hiccoughs would suggest breathing difficulties to me. But I'm not a vet. Take them to a vet for a thorough check up and explanation of whats happening.

Hope all is well in the long run for both mum and pup.

**NicholsS10** · #4 06-05-09, 12:33 pm

You need to get that pup to a cavy savvy vet now! That is not normal behavior at all for a newborn!

**Allyson** · #5 06-05-09, 05:09 pm

I took the baby and mom to my cavy vet and the vet thinks the baby is pre-mature (because it is alittle smaller than it should be and also it was the only one in the litter, so he said it should have been a bigger size) and said it will probably not live

He gave it some meds to help give it energy, and told me if he lives through the night to bring him back tomorrow and he will give him more medicine... he also felt Stevie Rae to make sure she had no more babies stuck inside her and said she was ok.

He also checked the heart and lungs with a stethoscope(?) and says the heart is ok but the lungs did not sound normal...

I am still hoping he turns out okay and will keep a good watch on him tonight

**BabyBellie** · #6 06-05-09, 05:32 pm

I would continue to keep him warm, as that's probably difficult for him to do right now. It's so tough when there's not much that can be done for them. It sounds like you're doing the right thing. Don't give up with the force feeding either. Let him take little bits often. I hope all goes well with the little guy and his mom. Poor thing. Keep us updated.

**Allyson** · #7 06-05-09, 06:19 pm

Well the baby just passed away... I had checked on him not 5 minutes before, and was getting veggies for Stevie Rae and came back, and he was gone

If I had only known/thought she was pregnant maybe I could have been more prepared (I have only had her about 3 weeks). I am thankful he is not suffering anymore. I will continue to keep a close eye on Stevie Rae, right now she is gobbling down her veggies like normal.