Hi everyone,
I am relatively new to Guinea pigs. We got 2 sows (or so we thought) as family pets in April. The children adore them, they are very well loved. Anyway, it turns out one was a boar and our lovely girl, Luna, gave birth in the early hours of yesterday morning - 1am 27/7/(her companion is housed in a cage next to her at present so she doesn't become pregnant again and is being neutered on Friday so they can be together again when it is safe to do so). Luna delivered 4 pups. Unfortunately the first was not alive . We tried to revive it but it wasn't to be sadly (she had opened the sack for the pup to breathe but it was lifeless. She had also delivered the second pup when we found her. I still beat myself up we didn't find her and the first pup sooner ).
We weighed the pups shortly after birth when we were sure they and mum were ok (we have also started weighing her as of today to keep a track on her weight). They weighed 108g, 103g and 100g. The babies have been following mum around, seem to be suckling, they've started eating Hay and some crushed up Guinea pig nuggets. One even had a go at drinking from a bottle today! They are all lively, have shiny fur and eyes, squeek a lot, seem inquisitive and active. Yesterday evening they weighed 102g, 99g and 94g. We have weighed them again this evening and they now weigh 94g, 96g and 95g respectively. The last pup has started to gain back weight (only 1g but it's a start). Should I be concerned? Mum seems really worn out this evening and isn't interested in feeding her babies. We have taken the babies out of the cage one at a time this evening for cuddles (for no more than 3 mins at a time). Will this have caused an issue with the bond? I really hope not but we are so new to this and definitely did not plan to become Guinea pig grandparents. We just want our piggies to have the best life possible. Can anyone help please?
Many thanks xx
I am relatively new to Guinea pigs. We got 2 sows (or so we thought) as family pets in April. The children adore them, they are very well loved. Anyway, it turns out one was a boar and our lovely girl, Luna, gave birth in the early hours of yesterday morning - 1am 27/7/(her companion is housed in a cage next to her at present so she doesn't become pregnant again and is being neutered on Friday so they can be together again when it is safe to do so). Luna delivered 4 pups. Unfortunately the first was not alive . We tried to revive it but it wasn't to be sadly (she had opened the sack for the pup to breathe but it was lifeless. She had also delivered the second pup when we found her. I still beat myself up we didn't find her and the first pup sooner ).
We weighed the pups shortly after birth when we were sure they and mum were ok (we have also started weighing her as of today to keep a track on her weight). They weighed 108g, 103g and 100g. The babies have been following mum around, seem to be suckling, they've started eating Hay and some crushed up Guinea pig nuggets. One even had a go at drinking from a bottle today! They are all lively, have shiny fur and eyes, squeek a lot, seem inquisitive and active. Yesterday evening they weighed 102g, 99g and 94g. We have weighed them again this evening and they now weigh 94g, 96g and 95g respectively. The last pup has started to gain back weight (only 1g but it's a start). Should I be concerned? Mum seems really worn out this evening and isn't interested in feeding her babies. We have taken the babies out of the cage one at a time this evening for cuddles (for no more than 3 mins at a time). Will this have caused an issue with the bond? I really hope not but we are so new to this and definitely did not plan to become Guinea pig grandparents. We just want our piggies to have the best life possible. Can anyone help please?
Many thanks xx