Post by chellebelle on Jul 2, 2014 5:28:51 GMT
Hi Everyone,
One of my sows had 3 pups, she had them sometime in the hour before we got up for the day. It appeared that she didn't get the sacks off their faces in time and we thought all 3 were dead. When we picked them up to take them out of the cage one of them squeaked but was very cold. We immediately cleaned her off and put her on a heating pad. We put the heating pad in the cage with her mom so that she could stay warm. Mom was all over her, cleaning her and trying to get her to get up and to walk and nurse. She was unsuccessful, before I went to bed I decided to try feeding the pup formula to see if that would give her a boost to get her moving. She took to the formula fantastic. I watched for a few hours to see if she would move around or attempt to nurse. She didn't, she just laid there. So I have been feeding her and making her go to the bathroom every 2 hours since then. She is now 5 days old tomorrow morning. I don't think she is ever going to nurse, which is fine. But then last night I noticed that her front paws were turned in slightly and that she raises her feet to her face when I'm feeding her. She still barely walks and shows no interest in greens, hay, or other solid foods. Even the formula she won't eat until I put the dropper in her mouth. She shakes when she attempts to walk, she will walk to mom for cuddles when she's in the cage, but not any farther than she has to. I asked people on facebook what they thought I should do and they said to try gentle massage to straighten her legs. My question for everyone here is.... Is that what you would do to try to correct the problem with her feet? And can I expect her to have a normal life, or will she always be a special needs pig? I was hoping to keep her, show her, and eventually breed her. But now I am concerned that this is something that she would pass on to any pups she has. I couldn't find very much info on club feet in cavies. I was hoping someone on here can help me out. I talked to my vet and they advised me to euthanize her because she might be in pain and they said she is obviously a weak guinea pig and might not make it anyway. I really don't want to do that, but will if she stops eating.
Thank you,
Chelle Belle
One of my sows had 3 pups, she had them sometime in the hour before we got up for the day. It appeared that she didn't get the sacks off their faces in time and we thought all 3 were dead. When we picked them up to take them out of the cage one of them squeaked but was very cold. We immediately cleaned her off and put her on a heating pad. We put the heating pad in the cage with her mom so that she could stay warm. Mom was all over her, cleaning her and trying to get her to get up and to walk and nurse. She was unsuccessful, before I went to bed I decided to try feeding the pup formula to see if that would give her a boost to get her moving. She took to the formula fantastic. I watched for a few hours to see if she would move around or attempt to nurse. She didn't, she just laid there. So I have been feeding her and making her go to the bathroom every 2 hours since then. She is now 5 days old tomorrow morning. I don't think she is ever going to nurse, which is fine. But then last night I noticed that her front paws were turned in slightly and that she raises her feet to her face when I'm feeding her. She still barely walks and shows no interest in greens, hay, or other solid foods. Even the formula she won't eat until I put the dropper in her mouth. She shakes when she attempts to walk, she will walk to mom for cuddles when she's in the cage, but not any farther than she has to. I asked people on facebook what they thought I should do and they said to try gentle massage to straighten her legs. My question for everyone here is.... Is that what you would do to try to correct the problem with her feet? And can I expect her to have a normal life, or will she always be a special needs pig? I was hoping to keep her, show her, and eventually breed her. But now I am concerned that this is something that she would pass on to any pups she has. I couldn't find very much info on club feet in cavies. I was hoping someone on here can help me out. I talked to my vet and they advised me to euthanize her because she might be in pain and they said she is obviously a weak guinea pig and might not make it anyway. I really don't want to do that, but will if she stops eating.
Thank you,
Chelle Belle