Cause of Death?

[Rileigh]

I'm new here, but I made an account because I'm really at a loss. My female had two very cute babies and one passed away this morning. The baby had bite marks on the shoulder and ear. They were shallow marks, but deep enough to expose some red on the shoulder. I've been feeding extra, extra, extra to try and prevent something like this. What do you guys think went wrong? How do i prevent it from happening to the sibling?

 

[Siikibam]

Sorry for your loss. I’m afraid we can’t tell you what the cause of death was. Only a vet carrying out a post-mortem would be able to do that.

Don’t feed extra, it’s not necessary. I’ve linked a feeding guide for a nursing mum below.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/after-birth-mother-and-baby-care.109389/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/pregnancy-and-nursing-diet.109377/

 

[Sophie B]

The bite marks were probably from poor mummy trying desperately to wake the baby up...
Cause of death cannot be confirmed unless you go to the vet to get a post-mortem

 

[PigglePuggle]

Sorry to hear this, it must be a dreadful shock. Guinea pigs are great mums and do not hurt their babies, probably the baby was born dead or very close to death and mum was just trying to wake it up. Feeding extra is not the best thing, as then the babies can be too large and birth can take too long. If the other baby is alive please check that mum is feeding it, and probably best arrange a vet check for them both x

 

[Piggies&buns]

I am sorry for your loss.
With above. The bite marks will most likely be as described above. The mother wouldn’t have hurt the baby. As mentioned only a postmortem could tell you the cause, but most often these kind of deaths are due to underlying health issues.

As @Siikibam said, please don’t overfeed. Ensure hay is always provided and pellets and veg fed in limited amounts.

 

[Rileigh]

Thank you so much, everyone. Unfortunately I can't do an autopsy because I already buried the baby, but I'll try and take mom and the other little one to the vet. I'll also start following the feeding chart. It's given me alot of peace to know the bites were most likely we'll intentioned. Thank you again.

 

[Wiebke]

I'm new here, but I made an account because I'm really at a loss. My female had two very cute babies and one passed away this morning. The baby had bite marks on the shoulder and ear. They were shallow marks, but deep enough to expose some red on the shoulder. I've been feeding extra, extra, extra to try and prevent something like this. What do you guys think went wrong? How do i prevent it from happening to the sibling?

Hi and welcome!

I am very sorry for your loss. Sadly one fifth of pregnancies and births end with the death of babies and/or mothers.
This is one of the reasons why we are a strictly non-breeding forum and only offer support for members with unplanned pregnancies from mis-sexing or accidents.

The bite marks have nothing to do with eating but everything to do with the mother desperately trying to wake up the newly deceased baby/companion in the case of a sudden, unexpected death. We see this occasionally in dead-born or unviable litters (which has given rise to the myth that boars kill or that mothers eat babies; neither of which is true).
We are also fairly regularly contacted over the same behaviour in bonded adult pairs where one party has died very suddenly without even the faintest sign of impending illness. It is the guinea pig equivalent of us humans instinctively trying to shake a child, partner or parent awake that have suddenly passed away from a stroke or heart attack.

 

[Rileigh]

Hi and welcome!

I am very sorry for your loss. Sadly one fifth of pregnancies and births end with the death of babies and/or mothers.
This is one of the reasons why we are a strictly non-breeding forum and only offer support for members with unplanned pregnancies from mis-sexing or accidents.

The bite marks have nothing to do with eating but everything to do with the mother desperately trying to wake up the newly deceased baby/companion in the case of a sudden, unexpected death. We see this occasionally in dead-born or unviable litters (which has given rise to the myth that boars kill or that mothers eat babies; neither of which is true).
We are also fairly regularly contacted over the same behaviour in bonded adult pairs where one party has died very suddenly without even the faintest sign of impending illness. It is the guinea pig behaviour of us instinctively trying to shake a child, partner or parent awake that have suddenly passed away from a stroke or heart attack.

Thank you so much for the information. I never intended for the mom to have babies at all. I adopted two piggies that were supposed to both be males. It wasn't until later that I'd realized she was a girl. The baby lived for a week before passing so I've been doing plenty of ugly crying all day. It truly means alot to know that the mom was just trying to help. Thank you a thousand times.

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you so much for the information. I never intended for the mom to have babies at all. I adopted two piggies that were supposed to both be males. It wasn't until later that I'd realized she was a girl. The baby lived for a week before passing so I've been doing plenty of ugly crying all day. It truly means alot to know that the mom was just trying to help. Thank you a thousand times.

I am very sorry for the tragedy. If you have adopted from a rescue, please complain! I am so sorry that you have found us too late to do the sexing upon arrival... not that it would have made any difference but you would have had a chance to be better prepared.
Please open an ongoing support thread in our specially monitored pregnancy section (which is only visible after you have registered) so we can help you with sexing the baby, the companion and help you work out the best way forward in your specific situation.
Here is our baby and mother care advice, including sexing and when to separate male pups: Pregnancy & Baby Care Guide's

Sadly even babies can suffer strokes or heart attacks out of the blue. Mothers can often sense if something vital is wrong with a pup and refuse to accept it, but sometimes death comes sadly without notice if there is a genetic time bomb in the body.

Here is our grieving information, which you will hopefully find helpful in the coming days and weeks: Human Bereavement: Grieving, Coping and Support Links for Guinea Pig Owners and Their Children

You may also find our new owners guide helpful as a resource as we are addressing specifically all the areas we get the most questions and concerns about and have a number of guides that help you learn what is normal and what not: Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

 

[Freela]

I'm so sorry! Unfortunately, some babies just don't make it... there was something internal wrong, they were ill, or otherwise just not strong enough to make it. We don't see it often, but infant mortality for many species is just a very sad fact of life. The bites are likely from the mom trying to rouse the baby... guinea pigs will not cannibalize their babies, but will groom/nuzzle/chew on a deceased companion in an effort to wake them up or get them to respond. This is likely what you've seen here. I hope mom and the other baby continue to do well, and so sorry about this poor little one!

 

[Rileigh]

I am very sorry for the tragedy. If you have adopted from a rescue, please complain! I am so sorry that you have found us too late to do the sexing upon arrival... not that it would have made any difference but you would have had a chance to be better prepared.
Please open an ongoing support thread in our specially monitored pregnancy section (which is only visible after you have registered) so we can help you with sexing the baby, the companion and help you work out the best way forward in your specific situation.
Here is our baby and mother care advice, including sexing and when to separate male pups: Pregnancy & Baby Care Guide's

Sadly even babies can suffer strokes or heart attacks out of the blue. Mothers can often sense if something vital is wrong with a pup and refuse to accept it, but sometimes death comes sadly without notice if there is a genetic time bomb in the body.

Here is our grieving information, which you will hopefully find helpful in the coming days and weeks: Human Bereavement: Grieving, Coping and Support Links for Guinea Pig Owners and Their Children

You may also find our new owners guide helpful as a resource as we are addressing specifically all the areas we get the most questions and concerns about and have a number of guides that help you learn what is normal and what not: Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

I'm sorry if the answer to this is obvious, but I couldn't quite figure out how to register to post on the section for pregnancy and pups. Any advice is very appreciated, especially since I'm really not sure how to tell the gender and do not want any more babies to happen.

 

[Siikibam]

Start a thread under the section linked below, and post all queries about mum and pup on there.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/forums/pregnancy-baby-care-and-sexing-no-breeding.11/

If you look atthe mum, you’ll find a fleshy part just inside when you (gently) part The lips. On a boy you would feel a penis ridge above the area. You can then check baby and compare against mum. The crucial thing is this - if baby is a boy, you have to separate him from mum at 250g or 3 weeks, whichever comes first. So if, for example, he weighed 260g at 2.5 weeks you’d need to separate. That is when they start shooting live bullets, so to speak. I’ll link to the sexing guide so you can have a gander yourself.

I would also highly recommend that you find yourself a piggy savvy vet and register with them. Take mum and baby for a general check up.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/sexing-separating-baby-boars-and-rehoming-babies.109391/

 

[Wiebke]

I'm sorry if the answer to this is obvious, but I couldn't quite figure out how to register to post on the section for pregnancy and pups. Any advice is very appreciated, especially since I'm really not sure how to tell the gender and do not want any more babies to happen.

If you can post on this forum, then you can see and access our pregnancy and sexing section on the main menu on the starter page. It is just not visible to any visitors that have not signed up to the forum.
Here is the shortcut to the section: https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/forums/pregnancy-baby-care-and-sexing-no-breeding.11/
You start a new thread by clicking on the large green button on the right side.

In all our Care sections you find our information threads in a green field at the top. You can also access them in thematic order via the Guinea Pig Guides shortcut on the top bar.

I hope that this helps you?