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Post by dontshopadopt on Dec 25, 2011 6:18:25 GMT
Hello everyone, I have three baby guinea pigs that are only one day old. One won't eat and can't walk very straight and keeps falling over. His head is also facing upward as if he can't put it down. Mom seems to be ignoring him. The second one seems to be trying to feed from mom but mom keeps walking away. I've noticed this one seems to be having a hard time walking straight also. The third one seems to be healthy. The shelter I'm fostering them from said they might have been inbreed. Is this a known disease? Is there anything at all I can do to help them? Please Help! I tried giving the first one goats milk formula from the pet store but he doesn't seem to want anything to do with it. He keeps crying/whining and I just have no idea what else I can do for him.
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Post by Orlaith on Dec 25, 2011 12:59:00 GMT
It sounds like they might be inbred alright. Sometimes when that happens the mum will ignore the babies. You might need to syringe-feed the babies if you can. There are instructions in the feeding and nutrition part of forum (sorry,, I'm online om my phone so I can't copy the url for you). You can try your hardest but be prepared that you might lose them and it isn't your fault. They might just not be meant to make it.
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Post by Kayleigh on Dec 26, 2011 14:08:51 GMT
Being inbred isnt a disease its when guinea pigs breed with close lines. The defects ie head tilts, deformaties and abnormalities usually occur when brother and sister are bred togeather.
The mother knows theres something wrong with two of them so will naturally reject them. Its survival of the fittest in mother natures terms. I would try feeding the youngsters Aptamil first milk (its a baby milk you can get from most supermarkets)
I know its not what you want to hear but maybe its best mother nature takes control and you get the pups put to sleep. If they arent growing and have problems with either bone structure ect they may not live very long.
Its a horrible decision to make but its one only you can make. Feeding them from such a young age will be very time consuming and hard work. They will need fed and toileted every 2 hours.
Do you have pictures of the pups and their mum
Good luck
Kayleigh
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Post by dontshopadopt on Dec 30, 2011 6:25:36 GMT
Thank you both for answering. Unfortunately the first baby passed five hours after that post and I had to make the hard decision to put the other one down today. You were right. The vet said the mom was probably ignoring them because of a genetic disorder. The second baby was doing a lot better last night so it was a shock that she could barely move this morning. The vet said it was a mixture of low glucose count and low calcium. I tried everything from Karo syrup to mashing up and warming guinea pig pellets but I still feel awful. Thanks again for writing back.
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Post by neubunny on Dec 30, 2011 9:54:44 GMT
so sorry - that is so hard!
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Post by Alice Rose on Dec 30, 2011 11:42:09 GMT
That's such a shame =( I suppose it's better for them than having to live in pain and rejection from their mum, but it's still a very hard decision to make =( Sorry for your loss.
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Post by Orlaith on Dec 30, 2011 11:52:10 GMT
Sorry to hear that. You tried your best so take comfort from that.
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Post by sugar10381 on Dec 30, 2011 12:39:58 GMT
Aww! I am sorry to hear that.
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Post by Kayleigh on Dec 30, 2011 15:39:21 GMT
Sorry to hear that. you done the best you could.
Kayleigh
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