Newborn not able to sit up or walk

[smore_churro]

Hello. We are new guinea pig owners, having brought home two female guinea pigs (S'more and Churro) just a month ago. Last week, we began to suspect that Churro was pregnant. Sure enough, she gave birth to two pups today, sometime mid-to-late morning (about 12 hours ago). By the time we saw the babies, Mama Churro had already cleaned things up.

One of the babies (brown and white) appears to be perfectly normal, moving all around the cage and climbing on its mother. The other (black with a few brown spots), however, seems to have torticollis, and it can't sit up. It can awkwardly scoot on its side / roll over to its mother, and it makes lots of guinea pig sounds, but it can't stand or even sit upright. Poor thing just falls back onto its side. It seems to be able to move all of its limbs. Other than assist it to get to its mother, is there anything we can do? (Mother does not seem to have rejected it - She grooms it and licks its behind.)

 

[bpatters]

I'm sorry. It sounds like the pup has some neurological problem, maybe from something that happened during birth, maybe something genetic.

Does it nurse if you place it next to the mom? If so, you might try putting it with her several times throughout the night and see if it's any better by morning.

If not, there's really not much hope for it. Keeping a compromised newborn alive is just nearly impossible. If it makes it through the night, you might want to take it to a vet to be humanely euthanized.

 

[smore_churro]

Thank you for your reply. I saw it underneath its mother several times today but I can't confirm that it was nursing or just huddled up there.

Poor little thing. We'll see what the situation is in the morning.

 

[bpatters]

You might want to try to keep it warm. I don't know that it will help, but it won't hurt.

 

[Lagertha]

would giving it a little bit of Critical Care work @bpatters? obviously if the poor baby has neurological problems then it may not help, but maybe if it just needs a bit of a boost? I had to give Sigyn some the first 2 weeks after she was born because she would get lethargic and have a hard time keeping up with mom due to her partial blindness. She's doing amazing now and just turned 2 months old! We call her the Silver Bullet because she runs lapse ALL. THE. TIME. and you can hardly see her she moves so fast!

 

[Lagertha]

and @smore_churro I am so sorry if the baby doesn't make it it's so stinkin cute and I really hope there isn't anything seriously wrong with it!
My thoughts and prayers are with you guys as you go through this!

 

[bpatters]

I don't know that it would help, but it probably wouldn't hurt. The thing is, babies that young usually just nurse, and it may not be ready to eat.

I wish there were some good substitute for guinea pig milk, but there's not. I've heard that there is in Australia, but I don't know whether that's true or not.

 

[Lagertha]

@bpatters I just thought I would suggest it since it seemed to have helped one of my babies and since the grind is so fine with it she handled it pretty well.

Right? Things would be so much easier in situations like this! I almost wonder if the substitute in Australia is capybara milk?

 

[bpatters]

I think capybaras live in South America, not Australia.

 

[Lagertha]

@bpatters xD Oh god, you're right! haha sorry, I'm extremeely sleep deprived right now!

 

[Fay]

I'm sorry to hear about the pup :sad: Did you check to make sure that S'more is a girl?

 

[wombats]

Oh dear, the poor little thing...I hope they pull through. Sometimes these things happen, though, and there's not much we can do about it. But nevertheless, I hope the little bug gets better, and if not I hope she goes quietly without any suffering.

 

[Paula]

If the pup is alive but not nursing, goat milk is an acceptable substitute. I've saved many babies with a mixture of goat milk and chinchilla Lifeline. The milk alone would be helpful if the poster doesn't have critical care.

 

[Cavies4EverEver]

I am so sorry about your pup, Try putting mom and pup alone in a small area to see if it will nurse. If it nurses then there is hope, you can probably put them together by themselves a few times a day. It couldnt hurt, I don't think I could just give up on it.. But that's just me.

 

[smore_churro]

Thanks for your responses, everyone. The baby is still alive today but is not showing any signs of improvement. It is still lying on its side quite still unless I pick her up or its mother scoots it with her nose. It can move its back legs but doesn't seem to know what to do with them. I've called a vet I know to see if she can come over today to look at the baby and give her recommendation on whether there is some treatment or whether it should be put down. (I called two vets' offices but neither has availability today for a vet who handles guinea pigs.) Will let you know.

 

[Cavies4EverEver]

Yes! Please keep us posted.

 

[smore_churro]

Well, the poor little one didn't make it. The vet said it was a congenital defect affecting many things on one side (she noted something wrong with one eye as well) and would never get better, so she put it down. Our daughter named it Brownie. Its sibling, which she named Oreo, was given a clean bill of health and is busy chasing Mama all over the cage and munching kale between feedings.

If Oreo turns out to be a boy, I guess we'll need to get a separate cage in a few weeks until he's old enough to be neutered.

 

[wombats]

Poor little bug...at least they didn't suffer.

 

[bpatters]

Thanks for taking him in to be seen. I'm so sorry he didn't make it, but it sounded like he was in really bad shape.

 

[Cavies4EverEver]

I am so sorry for your loss!

I am happy that the other pup is fine and I hope its a girl so you dont have to go through separation and then nuetering!

Thank you for keeping up updated!