Newborn Pups: Feeding after mommy has passed away.

[jhoustee]

I have 3 pups who are 5 days old. Their mommy died 2 days ago (they were 3 days old). I've been reserching the internet for caring for them since I cannot afford a trip to the vet until next payday (1 week - please don't yell at me, I'm already feeling horrible) . So far, I've been feeding them a crushed pellet/water paste, fresh basil from my garden, and timothy/alfalfa hay. Additionally, I've added a liquid vitamin supplement to their water at the advice of a Petland employee. Some posts say pups can be fed regular pellets pretty much right away, so am I wrong to crush and mix with water? I'm so afraid of them dying due to my ignorance, so any advice on proper feeding and care in this situation is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Bamysmum]

Hi, I had this on standby when my girl was due -

(Link removed by Ly as it's breeder info)

I'm definately not the expert so if someone experienced sees that the above info. on the site is wrong please let me know and i'll rip it out of my "in an emergency" folder!

Wishing you much luck.

[akstrohm]

They should have hay, pellets, and veggies. Are they eating anything on their own? You should offer lettuce and bell pepper and continue to feed them the pellet paste if they won't eat hay or pellets. Vitamin drops should not go in the water. If they aren't eating veggies, give them a pure vitamin C supplement (tablet or liquid). Critical care is another good option. They need a high quality pellet such as Kleenmama or Oxbow.

If you can't afford vet bills, pigs are not for you. They do require vet care and cannot wait until it is convenient for you. If you can't afford to have several hundred or thousand dollars available for emergencies, I recommend rehoming the pigs. It is in their best interest, and it is not fair to let them suffer. The mother may have had a chance if she had gotten to the vet when she needed it.

Finally, I'm not sure if this breeding was accidental or not, but pregnancy complications, including death, are extremely common in guinea pigs. Please get your pigs correct sexed by three weeks and separate the males from the females.

Good luck with the babies. I hope they pull through!

[BKPiggies]

I am sorry but it seems a bit harsh to tell someone to rehome because they do not have huge reserves of cash handy for their pet. I have rescued lots of animals off the streets and done the best I could to help them. I do not always have lots of cash for emergencies but I try to get them the best help I can.

As I understand, the original poster is doing the best she can given the circumstances. You do not have to tell her that she should rehome her piggies because she did not have emergency fund of hunderds or thousands of dollars. I am assuming that from your advice you have set aside a huge some of money from your pets in case there is an emergency. Please be bit more kind in your advice.

I have six guinea pigs that I have found and I am doing the best I can to take care of them until an appropriate home is found. It has not been easy to find homes right now and if I followed your advice, I would have to get rid of the piggies as I do not have a huge reserve set aside for them.

Just in case you want to know, I have three dogs, three cats, two macaws and now 6 piggies. I feed all the stray cats in the winter time. All these animals eat better then I do. Their needs are prioritized over mine to a point where it affects my relationships with my other half. Last new year's day, my dog had to have emergency surgery because he had bloat. I was able to recognize it and rush him to the ER. I used up all my cash for his surgery and treatment which was over $4,000.

I know you care about guinea pigs but please do not get carried away.

[JD In Van]

Given the state of the economy some of us who previously had huge reserves of $$ no longer do and it's very diffecult currently in a lot of areas to rehome pets when people are having trouble feeding their selves. So lets not be too harsh on Jhoustee here given we have no idea what her current situation is.

JHoustee> What area are you in? We can probably point you to a local rescue and typically they know who both the most affordable and skilled vets in a region are. They may even be able to get you some critical care or other supplies at a very resonable rate.

Good luck with the babies.

[akstrohm]

Having pets is a choice. If you choose to have them, you need to give them proper care. This includes vet care. It is not fair to let a pig die because you did not plan ahead.

[JD In Van]

Originally Posted by akstrohm

Having pets is a choice. If you choose to have them, you need to give them proper care. This includes vet care. It is not fair to let a pig die because you did not plan ahead.

But we don't know her situation.

Once a let a cat into my house in the middle of a blizzard and she had kittens in my kitchen. Not my cat, I was just giving her a warm place to stay so she didn't freeze to death. Could I afford to take her and the kittens to the vet? NoI could barely afford to feed myself at the time, the cat food and litter I got for them was a hard ship but the poor thing didn't have any where else to go and it was as I pointed out the dead of winter. But I made do, helped the cat out, eventually found homes for her and her babies.

We don't always choose to be in the situations we're in. What's important here is that this person has some orphaned babies and she came here for help on how to care for them. Not to make her feel terrible (which she clearly already is). So lets stick to that for the time being and save the lectures for when we're all more informed.

[princesspoppy]

I'm sorry you lost the mama pig. And know you are doing your best to take care of her babies. I wish you all the best and hope you can get them to the vet soon.

[akstrohm]

The point is that she now has these babies and no vet fund. Even if she found these pigs stranded, she is not forced to keep them. I simply pointed out that if she cannot afford vet care when it is needed, she should consider rehoming them. She cannot do anything for the pig that already died, but she has a choice with the babies.

[angiekay]

I agree that the economy is awful right now, the unemployment rate here where I am is over 15%, even though it's on a slight rise, we are all thankful to have jobs (those who still do). I do not have the hundreds much less thousands of dollars "saved" up and put back for emergency animal care either, and can't see that I could save right now with my particular situation.

However, we do have 3 dogs, and recently last week took them all to the vet for boosters, rabies, flea meds and tags, it was over $380, but we managed to take care of it, as we would manage to take care of our piggies should the need arise.

We do not know the situation of this member, or if the pregnancy was intentional or accidental, but sounds like she is trying to do her best to take care of these babies, I wish you all the luck, hope you find everything you need for their care!!

[Ly&Pigs]

Off-topic Notice: Let's please get back to the original poster's topic! If you want to continue this off-topic discussion, please start a new thread. Thank you.

Let's help the Original poster get the care he/she needs for these pups and keep the topic on track. Arguing about the economy isn't going to ensure these pups are getting a good diet.

jhoustee- Keep feeding the unlimited timothy and alfalfa hay. Ditch the C drops from the water and don't listen to Petland employees anymore. Start giving them small amounts of lettuce (any but iceburg) and bell pepper as akstrohm suggested. The basil is ok but only 2-3 times a week.

The pups should be starting to eat on their own. If they are, then you won't need to keep giving a pellet mash. If they aren't, then I'd suggest continuing the pellet mash or getting Critical Care. I'd only give the C supplement if they won't eat veggies. As was mentioned, they need either a tablet that you can crush and mix with water and give by syringe or a liquid C you would find at a health food store. Being as young as they are, they won't need more than about 5-10 mg per day of C.

[BKPiggies]

Thank you - there are lot of great tips from very knowledgable persons. Hope this helps in caring for the babies.

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Read http://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html#pups too

[jhoustee]

Thanks to all who replied to my original post. I chose not to spend time & energy trying to explain how I wound up in this predicament, but rather to soak up all of the information made available by the moderator and akstrohm. I realize that the abrasive replies came from concerned individuals looking out for the guineas' best interest, not to make me feel like a cold hearted murderer. I cried immediately after reading them, but fortunately got over it and cared for my surviving guineas. All three pups are doing outstanding. I do, however, have one more question. I've moved the father guinea to his own cage. Once I've had the pups sexed (within 21 days), can the male be housed in the same cage with dad? Thanks again to everyone.

[blackarrow]

Dad can be housed with any male babies immediately, assuming that they aren't with non-mom females right now.