baby guniea pig runt

Question
hello pat my name is theresa and my guniea pig had baby on the 25 of march and she had 4 babys and i have a runt that is only 78 grams and i am find that when the baby was first born she would lick it and so on but she does it to her other 3 babies. alsothe babies are not 2 weeks old and the 3 babies weigh 150grams and the babies thats the runt only weighs 78 grams. can you please tell me why se wont lick him like she does her other babies.

i am also hand feeding the runt 6 mls of pruee solids 4 times and day and he also have a go at corn on the cob and also carrot when i put it in the cage for them.

canyou please tell me when the mom is not longer licking him to cleasn him.

getting very very very worried.

also is it normal if when i feed him solids i weigh him before i feed him and if he is 74 grams before i feed him then after i feed hiom he weighs 78 grams then is it normal for them to lose about 3 to 4 grams in the space of 1 hour .. please help asap. and will the feeding help him along if the mom dont want anything to do with him. pleazse hetback to me asap. thansk theresa

Answer
Raising a runt is difficult at best. It's hard to simulate the same routine and regime given by the mother. You've done a good job keeping him going for the first two weeks, and those are the hardest humps to get over.

Very often when there is a runt the mother rejects them because they know that something is abnormal. It could be anything from a malabsorbtion problem or digestive issue. The fact that he is not gaining sufficient weight may indicate a serious problem.

It's natural that the mother no longer licks him to stimulate excretion at his age. Dogs and cats are the same way. Once the babies begin taking in anything other than mother's milk they will no longer eat the waste. Presumably it makes the stool taste more like doo doo rather than reconstituted milk. At least that's the basic concept.

I would not give this baby corn. It's too hard to digest. You might also break up some pieces of bread, cover with some milk and put it in a saucer. He will lick up that 'milk sop' and get nourishment from that as well.

Babies like this often are very delayed in their progress. Normal babies would be ready for weaning at four weeks. Runts can take much longer. They must be able to eat and drink on their own to survive without help.

It's a long struggle, but you've come this far so don't give up. He really is progressing as he should, just slower than normal.