Emergency

piggypiggybb · Post » Thu Jan 25, 2018 7:46 am

Hey guys. I have five guinea pigs in total; two adult females and three babies. Long story short, a male baby that we were told was “female”, impregnated both my girls. Three days ago, one of my girls gave birth to four babies; one died; it seemed like its side was flattened.

Since she gave birth, I’ve been keeping a very close eye on her because I read that pregnancy is very risky for sows, especially those one year and over in age.

Yesterday, I noticed that my sow looked depressed, and immediately I flew on Google to research the syptoms I took note of. These symptoms include:

Puffed fur
Hunched back
Little to no food and water
Receding eyes
Sits in one corner for the entire day
Crust near nose
Squealing when the other sow comes over to clean her fur

After my research, I realized that these symptoms are basically the signs that my guinea pig has an URI. Therefore, I have some important questions:

Should I separate the babies from the mother?
Should I separate the other sow?
How should I force feed her?

By the way, the country where I live basically only knows three animals: dogs, cats and fishes. Though there are many houses with guinea pigs as pets, the possibility of having a vet that has knowledge of the small animal is quite rare. I don’t want to go to a vet that focuses on dogs and cats, because they would most likely use their treatments on my guinea pig, and it may be even more harmful.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

PooksiedAnimals · Post » Thu Jan 25, 2018 8:52 am

Could be a URI, but given she's recently given birth, could be complications from that. We cannot diagnose remotely. We're not vets. She needs to see a vet for a proper diagnosis and treatment.

If she's not eating on her own, she needs to be hand fed.
Information on dangerous meds: https://www.guinealynx.info/dangerous_medications.html
Information on hand feeding: https://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html

I'm sure others will post soon with better advice than I have.

piggypiggybb · Post » Thu Jan 25, 2018 9:42 am

Thank you! I’m feeding her with a syringe consisting of mashed pellets at this moment.

Post » Thu Jan 25, 2018 9:47 am

A uri is not the only problem she could be experiencing post partum. There are issues related to the birth. Ditto on hand feeding. She may need antibiotics.

piggypiggybb · Post » Thu Jan 25, 2018 11:35 am

Thank you! I will be giving her antibiotics. I’ve googled the safe recommendations for piggies.

piggypiggybb · Post » Fri Jan 26, 2018 7:45 pm

Update: The mother died today. I moved my other sow into the cage with the babies so she could assist in taking care of them. I’m afraid that the babies are probably affected by the infection as well. Is it alright to give babies antibiotics?

Post » Fri Jan 26, 2018 10:04 pm

I am so sorry you lost her.

You must see a vet to evaluate the pups and determine if they require antibiotics.

WICharlie · Post » Sat Jan 27, 2018 10:37 am

What antibiotic did you give? I'm sorry that you lost your pig, but you can't just give a random antibiotic to guinea pigs without knowing what is wrong AND knowing about medication. Some antibiotics are toxic to Guinea pigs and they could kill your pig just by way of it being given. Do NOT give the babies anything without taking them to a vet for evaluation.