SIX Babies?!

Question
Okay, so my neighbours have had guinea pigs for about three years. They're not animal lovers, but their youngest daughter loves guinea pigs. Because she thought the baby ones were especially cute, they purchased a male and female. Of course they ended up with a ridiculous amount of pigs and ended up giving lots away. But that's not the point. They didn't feed them, play with them or give them water, so I ended up caring for them. Every time the mother got pregnant I worried for her and her unborn babies. And this time she totally over did it! She is approximately three years old and is probably malnourished. But somehow she managed to deliver SIX babies! One was born dead but the others seem fine. Luckily the owners saw sense to let us handle the situation, so we took her and her youngsters home and provided them with food, water and shelter. She seems pretty stressed though. Is there anything I can do to help her?

Answer
well first off, good on you!

on thw whole they should be fine, diet wise though there are some good additions you can give them

lots of green veg, not iceburg lettuce citrus pineapple or kiwi, the rule of thumb is the less acidic the better and then the less watery the better, so small amount of cucumbre is okay lots of cabbage is okay no orange are okay etc.

feeding them alfalfa hay will help replenish nourishment they might be losing and if you have one lying around a cuttlefishbone soaking in their water supply will help increase the calcium intak for the mum.
if she appears to be struggling to feed that many pigs then you can set up an additionsl water bottle or bowl with a kitten milk forumula. if this appears to be a real issue feeding wise then you may have to syringe feed the babies. as a rule of thumb they get fed every four hours, so if you think thy are getting less than five feeds each a day then id hand feed them

other than that just leave them to it, given the size of the litter id leave the males in for five weeks before seperating them and then they should be alright living with the father.

all the best contact me if you have any more questions