Help with Babies please

User avatar
Kermie831

Post   » Sun Jul 06, 2008 12:12 pm


So sorry about the loss of the pup (Hugs)

Give kisses to the rest of the family for us. We are all pulling for you little boy!

User avatar
Feylin

Post   » Sun Jul 06, 2008 1:17 pm


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

User avatar
GuineaPigFun

Post   » Sun Jul 06, 2008 1:36 pm


we will bottle feed him as long as he needs it.
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.
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.
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.

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?

User avatar
rshevin

Post   » Sun Jul 06, 2008 2:00 pm


NO MILK! PERIOD.

User avatar
GuineaPigFun

Post   » Sun Jul 06, 2008 2:16 pm


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

User avatar
Kermie831

Post   » Sun Jul 06, 2008 2:17 pm


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
Last edited by Kermie831 on Sun Jul 06, 2008 2:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
rshevin

Post   » Sun Jul 06, 2008 2:21 pm


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.

User avatar
GuineaPigFun

Post   » Sun Jul 06, 2008 2:30 pm


With all due respect, we are not talking about a failing neonate with no mother.
Correct. I simply responded to your "no milk period" post.

HollyT
Get on your bike.

Post   » Sun Jul 06, 2008 2:35 pm


I had a very sick little neonate without her mom. She ate pellets, hay, critical care, and veggies but began to have GI trouble, gas and straining to poop- she was on multiple ab's. She was a little fighter and I thought we had things down but she died of a strangulated hernia. I still to this day don't know how I should have handled it differently. I do wonder if mom's milk aides in digestion or if the ab's did her in.

User avatar
sus4rabbitsnpigs

Post   » Sun Jul 06, 2008 2:51 pm


Guinea pigs are herbivores. There is not a real suitable milk replacement on the market.

And...
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.
Not always true. Guinea pigs who are not related can still work it out. They still need to be able to work out their dominance issues.

klynne

Post   » Sun Jul 06, 2008 6:40 pm


"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 ....". '

And Quesenberry and Carpenter still gives a dose for oral Cephalexin in their formulary, but we all know what a disaster that almost inevitably turns out to be.

Best to stick with what is safely known to work, considering this is not a crisis situation in which all other resorts have failed.

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Sun Jul 06, 2008 9:00 pm


If you have a truly failing neonate, in the first few days of life, and if you know what you are doing, you can find a milk replacer that will come reasonably close to the composition of a guinea pig's mother's milk. They're not easy to find; if I recall correctly the composition is rather odd --

https://www.guinealynx.info/norms.html

-- Milk composition is toward the bottom.

http://wildliferehabber.com/modules/sup ... p?itemid=2

http://www.foxvalleynutrition.com/prod/ ... asp?PLID=1

It's fairly unusual for protein to be double the fat. I think. I am not a rehabber, and have never attempted to care for a failing true neonate.

However, I have a problem with the word "never". Best to stick with what is safely known to work, yes. But there are close to suitable replacements out there, used mainly by professional rehabbers and zoos (i.e., petsfart ain't gonna have 'em). If you know what you need and can get it, mother's milk does give neonates things they can't get from Critical Care.

Post Reply