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Sad new baby rejected by mom

phatgrlzrule

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Came home Sunbday to 2 new additions to out GP family which was a surprise since we thought they were all girls... 1 baby is nice and big moving throughout the cage, 2nd not so much really small mom shows no interest and I'm really afraid my little ones have already named them. Ant advice on how to get either get her to feed or what steps I should take to hand feed?
 

bpatters

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I'd take the mom and small pup out and put them in a small container, like a laundry basket. Give the mom something to eat, and see if you can encourage the baby to nurse. If it does, then do that 4-5 times a day for 15-20 minutes at a time.

If the pup won't nurse, or the mom won't let it, then things don't look too favorable. Goat's milk is the only reasonable substitute for guinea pig milk, but the pup can't live on that alone. GP pups are born ready to go, and they begin eating very quickly.

Is the little one moving around at all? What color is it?
 

Smileandnod

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Did you figure out which pig is a male?
 

phatgrlzrule

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yes and he has is in a cage by himself, we caught him trying to mount her again a few hours after we discovered the pups
 

phatgrlzrule

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I'm so heart broken...Shortly after getting mom to feed the pup past. On the brighter side the other pup is doing amazingly already eating the alfalfa hay and Mom is tending to him/her beautifully. Will post picks shortly. Thanks for all the quick responses!!!!
 

Smileandnod

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yes and he has is in a cage by himself, we caught him trying to mount her again a few hours after we discovered the pups

I am very glad he is seperated now. Make sure the girls cage has a cover if he is next to them.

You made it seem in your first post you have multiple pigs that you thought were all girls, if that is so this is a good time to check all of your piggies genders just to make sure.

As far as him mounting her again a few hours after you discovered the pups...He can get the new mom pregnant again right after birth which is very difficult on mom and the next set of babies. Please keep an eye on her because you may have another pregnancy.

I hope the little one who was having difficulty is doing better (?)

Make sure you check babies' genders and seperate males and females at 3 weeks. (Sexing the babies will be easier closer to the 3 week mark as well)
 

phatgrlzrule

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No we lost him/her a short while ago. I do agree, the place we purchased from sold them as being 3 females and that was the only reason I agreed to purchase them all. We actually took a rescue in from a local pet store that was said to be a girl so all 4 are currently in separate cages until our vet visit to confirm sex. This is all so new to our family we have only had our GP since late March so we are still learning.
 

Smileandnod

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No we lost him/her a short while ago. I do agree, the place we purchased from sold them as being 3 females and that was the only reason I agreed to purchase them all. We actually took a rescue in from a local pet store that was said to be a girl so all 4 are currently in separate cages until our vet visit to confirm sex. This is all so new to our family we have only had our GP since late March so we are still learning.

I am so sorry for your loss of the little one.

If you are new to guinea pigs, I am glad you found this site. Welcome.

I actually found this site after 2 of my newly adopted girls were already pregnant. One of them unfortunately did not have a good experience with the birth.

It is good you are taking them to a vet, make sure it is an exotics vet who is cavy savvy, otherwise you will waste your time and money. Small animal vets, who say they treat guinea pigs, usually are not that knowledgeable.

I am glad you have them all separate until you have them sexed. You can also post pictures here for people to help you out. Trust me it gets easier to tell the genders apart the more you do it. You will be a pro soon enough.

Please also keep an eye on the other girls and mom because it is unfortunately likely you will have another pregnancy if he was in their cage and with mom after the birth. But let's hope you are lucky.
 

phatgrlzrule

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Our vet is Amazing! She took complete ownership of not confirming the sex of them when we came in for our first visits. since we had the paper work from the pet store we purchased from that included initial vet check ups... now I know is suspect and will be making contact with them also. I am looking forward to all you guys support because we will have lots of questions as time rolls on! especially with such a small one on board,
 
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