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Fluffy had a baby... (pics)

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FluffSqueak

FluffSqueak

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I'm not sure if this belongs here or in breeding, so feel free to move it if I'm wrong?

Fluffy had a single baby while I was away for the weekend (had a house-sitter), but Fluffy isn't doing so well. Baby is fine, but had to rush both to the vet today because Fluffy wasn't right.

The vet gave her calcium injection, mushy packet food (which she has been eating and loves), antibiotic injection, subcutaneous fluids and meds to take home, also instructed us to give both some liquids with a syringe (i've done this before so know how). Mum seems much brighter having eaten something, perhaps she was just too young and unfit to have a baby, but both are doing fine now.

So without further ado, here is mum and 'Tiny' having some mushy food as per vet's instructions

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Poor little mummy - she looks far too young and small to have such big baby! Good on you for taking her to the vet!

Please weigh both daily to make sure that they are OK. Babies should be weighed daily until they are about two weeks old and are starting to eat on their own to make sure that they are getting enough milk. Mummy won't be putting on much weight during the nursing period, but she will hopefully not lose much. After that weighing once weekly is enough; it will help you spotting any problems early on.

They are both absolutely gorgeous, by the way!

Here is a link for sexing piggies of all ages. Please be aware that you need to separate them at three weeks after the birth if she has a boy in oder to prevent a back-to-back pregnancy. Guinea pigs start very early and there is a lot of misinformation around. http://www.cavyspirit.com/sexing.htm
 
Mum and baby are lovely. Glad to hear Fluffy is doing better, how old is she? The food the vet gave you is probably critical care or somethin similar which is really good. Is the baby suckling from mum? Does she have milk? If you are concerned about this, the nearest thing to mums milk is full fat goats milk maybe soaked in some white bread or made up into porrdige is a really good supplement for baby. Would be good idea to weigh baby and mum and keep checking this probably daily for about a week or so, it's a good indicator of how they are doing.
xx
 
Thanks guys, I agree baby and mom are lovely!

Thanks for all the advice, too!

The vet (and I) thinks baby is a girl, but yes I remember about 3 wks for males now you mention it, someone from this sister site (the bunny one) told me lol!

I had heard about goats milk BUT the vet said to use half evaporated milk mixed with half warm water in a syringe, which is what I have been doing?

I'm not sure how old mum is, we didn't intend to have a baby, I bought her and her cagemate from Pets At Home and thought she might be pg, but thought she had at least a month to go... and surprise! Yes, I agree, she is too young and too small to be bred :(

Thanks again for all the comments :)
 
You'd be amazed how many pregnancies no thanks to pet shops we get on here!

If a baby is not too underweight (50g or less) to need handfeeding, the rescue people on here usually soak cubes of stale wholemeal bread in goats milk and let the babies nibble on that in order to supplement the diet. Goats milk comes closest to guinea pig milk and is better than cows milk. The nibbling prevents milk getting into the lungs by mistake. Is mummy able to nurse now? Your baby looks well and healthy, anyway!

Here are some links to the best medical website for guinea pigs:
http://www.guinealynx.info/reproduction_faq.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html#pups
 
Such a cute pic- mom and her 'mini me!' They really are almost identical!

Hope that mom picks up and both mom and baby thrive... so sweet!
 
Awwww mummy and baby are gorgeous, hope mummy gets well soon! x)
 
Aawwww...I am a complete sucker for ginger abis.......how gorgeous are they!

Baby looks fine and healthy...so please concentrate on mum..well done to your vet for administering what they did..but even from your piccies it is clear she is not looking/feeling chipper and I am quite concerned...

Unfortunately I think you should be prepared for the fact that you might not out of the woods yet...but given your diligence and observance....plus treatment from a clearly cavy savvy vet..mummy piggie should be fine.

Please monitor mum's weight daily (or even twice daily) as Wiebke suggests......and also her outputs in terms of poos/wees. ...and her behaviour/activity. Get her to a vet soonest if she starts going downhill from the condition when you first posted.....or you have even the slightest concern (your gut instinct is to be treated seriously and not ignored with regard with piggies)

Keeping all fingers and paws crossed here...(and wiping all the dribble from my mouth after seeing your lovely piccies)

Good luck Hun
x
 
Our mama rescue was pregnant when we brought her home, she too had a single female pup and they just loved each other, it was so cute. :) Good luck with them, hope Mama is feeling better soon.
 
I nearly always use evaporated milk mixed with an equal amount of boiled water to supplement feed baby guineas and have found it to be really successful - it also means I can always have some handy without having to rush to the supermarket in an emergency.

I LOVE mummy and her 'mini me' baby - fingers crossed for both of them ...........x)

Teresa xx
 
Thanks all.

Mum still isn't doing brilliant but she has perked up a little bit. Although at first she was just VERY lathargic and refusing to move around, she is now trying to walk and it has become clear to me that she has either incurred some kind of hip/back injury during the the birth, or much more likely is suffering from vit c deficiancy (she has a slight runny nose as well). We've been back to the vet who said its quite possible and gave us some more meds, and said to keep giving the antibiotic just in case. We also have more mushy green powder food (which she likes) and strict instructions on feeding. Mum was a bit dehydrated so we have added water to her syringe-fed diet, and if she doesn't improve in 2 days the baby has to be removed as 'Tiny' could be nursing Fluffy dry?

We aren't giving up on these two, they WILL pull through. If we have to do round the clock feeding, we will. If Tiny and Fluffy can make it to the 10 day mark together, both of their chances apparently improve loads, so keep fingers crossed for us!

And spare a thought for Squeaky, who has been put in another cage until these two are in the clear- I think she's lonely!
 
Fluffy was sadly put to sleep this morning.

She seemed to be improving for a day or two after recieving antibiotics and other medication, but last night was unable to hold up her head steadily and was flopping on her side when she tried to walk. This morning, while at the vet's being seen, she began seizing, and we asked to have her put down quickly to save her any further pain.

He said she was brain damaged, and it was commonly seen in new mummies, they get an infection and antibiotics seem to clear it up for a few days, then it moves to the brain and causes the symptoms we saw last night and today.

Tiny is being hand-reared by one of the vet's assistants who rescues guinea pigs and has 16 of her own.

We still have Squeaky and I'm not yet sure what we're going to do for her, its unfair to keep her alone but I don't know if we're ready to take on another guinea quite yet or not.

Thank you for your kindness here.
 
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