Orphan Baby Guinea Pig Leaning On Side

[Bonniestephenss]

my little Guinea pig is 5 days old today and her mum passed away two nights ago. I have been giving her water and a vegetable pellet mash she has gained a bit of weight and was very energetic, but when I woke up to feed her today she wasn't moving much and she is now rolling on her side I just don't know what to do.

Thank you
Bonnie.

 

[Betsy]

Hi Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear about your piggie. Well done in trying to keep the little one alive. It must be completely exhausting for you! I would take the little girl to the vets for a check (are you sure she is a she? it can be difficult to tell at such a young age) In the meantime have a look at this thread:-
Pregnancy & Baby Care Guide

 

[Reenie]

Poor little mite. I'm no expert on these things and @Wiebke will be able to better advise, but just checking that she has plenty of hay in addition to what you're giving her by hand. Have you any other piggies? Company is very important for any guinea pig, but especially for a baby, who learns from her elders.

 

[Merab]

Poor baby, what an awful start in life for her to lose her mum so early.
She’s lucky to have you though.
Good advice already given.
Keep us posted.
Welcome to the forum

 

[Wiebke]

my little Guinea pig is 5 days old today and her mum passed away two nights ago. I have been giving her water and a vegetable pellet mash she has gained a bit of weight and was very energetic, but when I woke up to feed her today she wasn't moving much and she is now rolling on her side I just don't know what to do.

Thank you
Bonnie.

Hi! Please see a vet ASAP!

Babies can go downhill VERY quickly at any time because they do not yet have an operational immune system; it is still very much under construction and relies on the antibodies in their mother's milk. The main bulk of them comes with the first milk (colostrum) but they are also still present in later milk.

Please also be aware that over 80% of the daily food intake should be hay or hay based recovery formula; in a pinch you can use mushed up pellets until you get hold of recovery powder. Your baby is still at an age where she mainly relies on her mother's milk. Kitten formula or stale wholegrain bread cubes soaked in full fat goats milk can cover that angle. Too much veg is not good for the digestion and can cause guinea pigs to fall severely ill; veg only makes 10-15% of food intake.

Please DO NOT syringe feed a baby by squirting food into its mouth. Anything that goes down the wrong way can cause deadly pneumonia. You can let a baby lick from the tip of a syringe or from a small artists brush. You need to do that every 1-2 hours at first round the clock.

 

[RosieMaia]

I recently hand-reared a baby. While I don't have that much experience with it, I found that the baby loved Emeraid:
Emeraid Herbivore

I really believe she wouldn't have survived without the Emeraid, and she loved her syringe feeds.

Best of luck - it was very tiring the first 4-5 nights, when I had to feed her every 30 minutes (she was very tiny and couldn't eat much, so I had to feed her often). It was worth it - she's now a healthy, happy baby