Baby Guinea Pig Care

Question
Dear Pat,

Thank you for replying me from other day. FYI, my baby guineas pig is about 2 days old as their mother passed away. I fed them with the diluted evaporated milk (1:1) as the Vet told me. Do you know what brand of kitten milk replacer we can choose from? Also, I do notice that one baby-Oreo, after we fed him today, he seems not as active as the other ones. I started to give them Orchard hay (Oxbow ) so that they can start to nib on it. However, I think that I gave them too much that is why Oreo did not drink much milk lately. How much hay we should give them? Also, how many cc should we feed our guinea pig since I was told that I just feed them as much as they can take. Currently, we also use critical care from Oxbow and mix with evaporated milk to feed the. Today is there 5 day old, do you have any more recommendation for us in caring for baby guinea pig?

And one more thing, Oreo is not active suddenly tonight. We can even see his hip bone from the back. He seems to be drowsy and weak and start to sleep. Compared to Oreo, his sister creampuff is perfectly fine. Do you know what is wrong with him?

Thank you for your help!

Answer
It's very hard to raise newborn cavies. They need the colostrum provided by their mom for the first few days. It gives them immunity and is also more easily digestible. I suspect Oreo may have not been able to digest the evaporated milk and is most likely not going to survive. Not that you did anything wrong, you did not.

As far as how much to feed you typically don't give more than one or one and a half cc's at a time. Their tummies are very small. When nursing on mom they only suckle for a minute or two, unlike puppies or kittens that suckle for a long time each time.

Any brand of kitten supplement will work. The babies need to be fed every two hours around the clock. They will only take a small amount at a time so they need frequent feedings. They've gotten a good start if they're already five days old. Even with a healthy mom there is frequently at least one pup that doesn't survive. So don't feel like you missed something. It just happens.

They will try to eat the pellets and hay within a few days. Let them have what they want. They know how full their tummies are and will stop when necessary. Don't offer any fruits or veggies until their about three to four weeks.

Good luck to you and the babies.  Send pictures when you can.