Help with Babies please
Also, baby boy will likely do very well with his daddy once he's 21 days old. Remember, he needs to be removed from mom at exactly 21 days old, before he becomes fertile. Neither dad nor son should ever be allowed with mama again. They can live next door to each other, provided they behave themselves and the cage AND YOUR FAMILY are 100% safe and committed.
Oh, I'm sorry about your little guy. You're doing right by the babies now that you have them.
As for intros, dont worry at all about the little boy and Dad. Boars do not fight any more than sows will, especially if you have a large enough cage. here's a thread on intros:
https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=46468
As for intros, dont worry at all about the little boy and Dad. Boars do not fight any more than sows will, especially if you have a large enough cage. here's a thread on intros:
https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=46468
Rather than bottle feed you can try soaking a piece of cloth in the milk/supplement (whatever you are using) and allow him to suck on it to get the nutrition. That way you won't have to work about him aspirating any of the fluid into his lungs. If you do decide to use a syringe instead, make sure that you don't plunge it quickly into the mouth. You need to push the syringe plunger slowly and also allow time for him to swallow.we will bottle feed him as long as he needs it.
My experience has been if they are not related, then any healthy guinea pig will chase the deformed or sick one out of the herd so to speak. If they are related, I have not found this to be true. However, the cases I have had have all been female with the exception of two male siblings.The new guy is a male, so when he grows up we can put them together maybe? I'm just concerned that they might fight.
You can try him with the father when he is three weeks old but you might want to rub some bedding from the father's cage on him so that he doesn't smell like his mother.
As for the leg itself, I have had pigs here with leg issues ... two had their legs removed ... one before she came and another one after she returned to her caretaker. One had a dislocated shoulder and another one had a broken leg before I got him. I also have a rabbit who is missing a front leg. They all seem/seemed to be able to adjust to their handicap and lived normal lives. In fact, the one with the broken leg was recently adopted along with his brother. The family had searched at shelters and other rescues and decided that they only wanted them and they would take no substitutes. His leg will continue to be monitored by their own vet to make sure that no problems arise.
How is the little one and the mother doing today?
NO MILK! PERIOD.
There are various schools of thoughts on what to feed babies ... for instance, the Library of Veterinary Practice's Disease of Domestic Guinea Pigs, Second Edition, by V.C.G. Richardson, states on page 31 "the orphans can be reared on a suitable milk replacer fed through a dropper ....". However, the book was copyrighted in 2000 so the contents may not be up to speed with the current thought in caring for and treating guinea pigs. More information on what is currently deemed to be appropriate to feed babies may be found here: https://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html#pups
We bottle fed our orphan babies with a kitten nurser with critical care in it, that way they could determine their own speed. They also ate veggies and hay and nibbled on pellets. He will probably follow what his momma does. (Monkey see, little monkey do!) Hopefully supplemental feedings are not needed, and he plumps up by himself! Keep it up little one!
https://www.guinealynx.info/nutrition.html#milk
https://www.guinealynx.info/nutrition.html#milk
Last edited by Kermie831 on Sun Jul 06, 2008 2:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
With all due respect, we are not talking about a failing neonate with no mother. This pig seems to be doing perfectly fine despite his physical concerns and has a mother pig who is caring for him quite well and providing biologically compatible milk herself. Exogenous milk would do considerably more harm than good. Liquidly critical care in a bottle is a much more physiologically agreeable solution should supplementary feeding be required, which now it does not seem to even be indicated.
Correct. I simply responded to your "no milk period" post.With all due respect, we are not talking about a failing neonate with no mother.