• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Much needed advice on a day old piggy!

Status
Not open for further replies.
A

Amywatters

Joined
Aug 14, 2011
Messages
46
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Northallerton
Much to my suprise this morning to check on all my piggys and put them in the run i went to get sue and saw next to her 4 very small babys also 2 no longer alive in the corner 1 baby i checked cant really walk properly and his eyes are mainly closed is it necessary to distress them all by a vet visit or is he just the so called runt of the pack and just smaller then the rest any advice please x
 
His life is probably in the balance and he may not make it. It is sadly not unusual in a large litter.

Please try to give him time alone with mummy to see whether he is suckling from her. Here are tips for hand feeding pups:
http://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html#pups
http://www.guinealynx.info/reproduction_faq.html
http://wheekers.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=library&action=display&thread=7303

Make sure that no boars are on the scene - mummy could already be pregnant again if there were; sows come into season again within hours of giving birth. How long have you had mummy?

Please make sure that you are feeding mummy double the amount of vitamin C in form of veg like parsley, coriander, slices of (bell) pepper of any colour or broccoli. Feed calcium rich alfalfa hay until the end of the nursing period, then switch to unlimited normal hay. Give good quality pellets and daily fresh water without supplements.
 
We got her given from a local pet shop he even said there is no way she is pregnant shes just over 1 have not weighed babys yet going to do it in the morning i hope hes ok reading the syringe feeding going to give that a go x
 
Amywatters said:
We got her given from a local pet shop he even said there is no way she is pregnant shes just over 1 have not weighed babys yet going to do it in the morning i hope hes ok reading the syringe feeding going to give that a go x
Click to expand...

Please do not try to syringe feed him - you can kill him if anything gets into his lungs! Rather let him slurp from a spoon. Have you checked whether he is drinking from mummy - or whether mummy is interested in him at all?

PS: Pet shops have a LOT to answer for!
 
Wiebke gave you some great threads to read........

Whee are wondering how the little ones are and how's the mum too ? :...

all paws fingers and claws crossed XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
 
Well last night went in got baby and tried to hand feed him some nuggets that i mashed up in warm water this didnt work he just was not interested then i took the other babys out away from mum and put him back in with her just to see what she does and she ignored him he tried to get under mum but hes just too weak to get under her not sure what else to try really is it worth stressing the baby away from mum for a vet visit xx
 
You need to watch her closely, she may let him feed. Is he being completly pushed out the bed or not? Your pup needs to eat, but i dont know if (s)hes feeding off mummy? If they get taken to the vet, take them all together, dont split them up.

Have you gone to the pet store yet? They need to give you some answers.

x.
 
Took baby and fam to the vets and they said its best to just put her down i said well there must be something else i can do that seems very slapdash and i got too upset and had to leave with them i felt like just because hes small he doesnt matter i was so angry i bet rhey wouldnt of said that if it was a puppy, so brought her home sue kept on walking all over him and his brothers and sisters he wasnt ever gona get a chance to get under mum hes just so weak, so i got a small sryinge mashed up some nuggets with warm water he ate it now he seems abit better his eyes are open and hes walking I'm not getting my hopes up can he survive this young without mum x
 
Pop to the vets a buy a mothering kit....
Technically for puppies I think... And also a 1ml syringe...
The mothering kit will have a little teat to fit on the end of the syringe.... But the syringe that comes with it is huge...
So pop it on the end of the one ml syringe... I hand rear with kitten milk... Has worked well for me most times... Aswell critical care works better then the mushed pellets... Again you can get that from the vets
I hand reared a baby earlier this year who was the runt... Weighted 19g born...
He was very weak... Made it to 4 weeks...
I will worn you though... Hand rearing is a hard and sometimes fruitless thing to do...
RIP thorn....x
And good luck bab...!
Cxx
 
And sorry I didn't mean to like your post...
Stupid phone...!'
x
 
that was not very helpful of the vet at least you can try to save little one and hand rear and if it doesnt work you will know you did evrything you could. Good luck have my fingers crossed for the little piggies i hope they are all ok.
 
Oh how sad. I am sure he can make it with love and care. I heard with babies syringe feeding is dangerous and you should use a spoon as with the syringe things can get into their lungs. You are so kind to want to save him. Well done. I really hope he can get well again.
 
you need goats milk for him i use a 1ml syringe and slowly feed it to baby let them have as much as he wants you can use a spoon though.

you need to toilet him after every feed which needs be every 4 hours.

gently rub his privates with tissue soaked in warm water do this until he wees and poops normally 7 mins to poop x


whats his weight?
 
piggyfan said:
Oh how sad. I am sure he can make it with love and care. I heard with babies syringe feeding is dangerous and you should use a spoon as with the syringe things can get into their lungs. You are so kind to want to save him. Well done. I really hope he can get well again.
Click to expand...

Yes... It is dodgy if you syringe it in there mouth... That's why you use a mothering kit with a teat on... They can suck it out then
Zxx
 
Update

Making great progress mashing up nuggets with warm water and syringe feeding the baby and hes walking now and one eye is completely open also alot more active so thought i would try him with mum so i got her out and put babys nose on mums nipple and he started to suckle i was so pleased i put them back in they went into the corner and they all cuddled thank god is it stupid of me to complain to the vet for telling me to put the guinea pig down? Went to another vets and they said they didnt have any mothering kits went on ebay delivery date 16th sep so no good going to get goats milk but mixed reviews online from peoples experiences he seems fine with syringe and its sort of nipple shoped anyway and hes doing really well running around I'm so happy!
 
Last edited:
That is fantastic! Hurray! I am so happy to hear this. I would complain about that vet and never go back there again.
 
Fingers firmly crossed for the little one.

Please gently clean and rub his bum end to stimulate the digestive system with a bit of cotton wool. Normally mum would lick him. That will hopefully also help him getting going.
 
Well i feel like naming and shaming them but not sure if its the best thing to do really, thanks I'm so glad hes my special boy now x
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top