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Lethal?

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keli

keli

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My young guinea pig has just given birth and I've worked it back to her definetely being pregnant in the pet shop. I know she was kept with her two sisters which was probably a sister and a brother and they were all ginger and white.
She just gave birth to a perfect little ginger and white baby which seems happy and healthy. However, her second baby is fawn and is lying on its side. When she nudges him he can straighten up but then just falls back over on his side again. His eyes are clear and bright and I haven't gotten a chance to look at his teeth but is there a chance that he could be ok?
Is he a lethal or is there something else wrong with him? :(
 
Lethal babies only appear when roans or dalmations are mated and if all the piggies in the group were ginger and white I'd say he/she has other problems.

I'd give him a gentle wipe with a clean towel and very gently, but holding him/her firmly swing back and forth a few times upside down - could possibly have swallowed some fluids during birth. Dont worry too much about it feeding straight away - they dont need to feed for a few hours but very important to make sure it's warm and can breath properly. If it dosen't feel warm use a hot water bottle wrapped in a tea towel or something similar - cant stress enough the need for warmth.

Good luck

Teresa x
 
whats a lethal baby? ive never heard of that as being a new piggy owner
 
thanks a lot the link was great and very informative. Feel very sorry for poor lethal babies tho! :(
 
Happy to announce that both mummy and babies are doing great now.
The poorly fella has his legs in under him now and is flying around :D
Delighted, I don't know if I was being paranoid as this is the first guinea pig birth I've ever been witness to but my mind is at ease now that he's up and moving around. :)
 
I am glad; I know that worry from when I had my two surprise babies before I joined the forum, and one of them wouldn't move for half an hour at first!
 
It's fairly panicy alright, especially when I didn't see what order they were born in and he wasn't acting the same as the other baby.
I'm so glad to come down this morning and see them running around with mum :D
I love your avatar btw :)
 
Thanks - it wasn't that easy to get my newbies to sit still for the photoshoot!

Enjoy your babies - it's a magical time!

If you want to sex them, I can recommend using this website for the best pictures at different stages:
http://www.cavyspirit.com/sexing.htm

You will need to separate any male pups at three weeks old in order to avoid any accidents - both boys and girls can be sexually mature from four weeks onwards. Make sure that you weigh your babies regularly. They should pick up weight from 2-3 days onwards. Also have an eye out on whether mummy's milk bar is working fully.
http://www.guinealynx.info/reproduction_faq.html
 
They're really helpful links, thanks :)
I was going to try to look up how to sex baby pigs earlier but I don't really want to go at them too much just yet.

Here's a pic of Poppy the mommy
dylanandedwardthefarmbabyguineap-1.jpg


And the babies Junior and Lucky (they're the names for now :D )
dylanandedwardthefarmbabyguineap-2.jpg

dylanandedwardthefarmbabyguineapigs.jpg


My boyfriend reckons they're the cutest thing ever :) He's completely fascinated with them! I think the fawn colour is so cool and unusual!
 
They are beautiful babies, congratulations. Just for the record lethal babies are ALWAYS white, so you don't need to worry. It can take some time for newborns to 'find their feet' (up to a few hours sometimes) but they usually get there in the end. Will these beautiful babies be staying with you?
 
Tracyxx said:
They are beautiful babies, congratulations. Just for the record lethal babies are ALWAYS white, so you don't need to worry. It can take some time for newborns to 'find their feet' (up to a few hours sometimes) but they usually get there in the end. Will these beautiful babies be staying with you?
Click to expand...

When he was born he still had some blood and mucus or whatever on him so I presumed that once he was clean he would be white. It's reassuring to know that it can take a few hours for them to be up and about. If the babies are girls I hope to keep one if not both of them as a companion for mom but I already have two boars so I can't afford to have three big guinea pig cages in the house unfortunately. I'm hoping to get my own house soon so it'll probably be over run with piggies then! x)
 
Oh I see, it's strange how the colours of a baby guinea pig's fur can change rapidly over a few hours. I had a 'white' baby that turned out grey! Hoping they are girls as it would be lovely to keep them together.

Do you have alternate homes planned if not?
 
they are so cute! x)x)

i hope you can keep them! :)) i bet you won't beable to part with them in the end! :))
 
No I have no alternate homes planned if they're boys cause the pregnancy itself was unexpected :(
I guess I'll just have to find good homes for them. They're cute though so hopefully it'll be easy :D
I tried sexing them today and as far as I can tell they're both boys :(
 
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