Baby Guinea pig born with tilted head.

Question
My sow had 5 babies 2 were dead, 2 are fine, 1 has a tilted head (side ways little bit). The sow had the babies the evening of Oct 19 2011. What would cause a tilted head? All babies are drinking moms milk & doing good. The one with the tilted head little slower but doing good. Should I take the baby to the vet & get it check out?

Answer
Head tilt in a newborn is what we call a 'mechanical' injury. The baby was either stuck in the birth canal with his head pressed over in an unnatural position, or it was injured by being twisted as he was born.

Sometimes it's temporary. It's called a "wry neck" and in many cases straightens out as the baby grows. Human babies sometimes suffer the same thing. It usually resolves with time and a little physical therapy that is taught to the mom.

There's nothing a vet can do for it. Basically the baby has a stiff neck and the muscles are in a spasm.

You may be able to gently massage the neck a few times a day in an attempt to help the muscles relax. It's a piggy physical therapy of sorts. I've seen a number of pigs who had this and although they didn't always straighten out they still lived a happy life.