New born guinea pig, problem with eye

Question
We adopted two females some weeks ago and found out recently that one was already pregant from the supplier.  She's had a very healthy diet, lots of fresh grass, parsley for vitamin C, branded guinea food, plenty of fruit and vegetables (tomatoes, melon, carrots, cucumber, red pepper, banana, celery, spinach).  She gave birth to three babies (piglets?) but one of them was obviously not well, hardly moving from one spot, and died later the same day.  The other two are very active, feeding well, starting to eat hay and grass and still only 5 days old.  BUT, one of them has one eye almost completely closed for most of the time, and when we took a closer look, that eye seems pale and milky compared to its other eye.  Is it too young to say what the cause is, or is it likely to be blind in one eye?  Anything we can do other than making sure he/she has a good diet?  How old would a new-born guinea need to be before a trip to the vet was possible?  Thanks for any advice.

Answer
Hi Simon,

I'm sorry for your loss. Unfortunately the mortality rate when breeding guinea pigs is quite high, which is why there are several groups trying to make it illegal for guinea pigs to be sold in pet shops and garden centres where the staff are often completely clueless about the care of exotic pets. Whilst they are easy to look after on a day-to-day basis for their owners, they do not have the same health problems as cats and dogs, and as such vets do not receive any compulsory training on caring for them during their studies.


I don't have any experience in guinea pigs with sight problems, but the fact that the baby is holding the eye closed is perhaps an indication that it is an infection as opposed to blindness. You can take the baby to the vet whenever you like - just make sure you take mum and the other baby along too for company (and milk!). I'd advise you take the time to find a specialist small animal or exotic pet vet, or contact the Cambridge Cavy Trust to find your local rodentologist. You can use this link to find accredited RCVS vets in your area - it will list next to their details in the search if they have any small animal certified vets on their staff: http://www.rcvs.org.uk/Templates/system/FAVSearch.asp?NodeID=89660

Just a quick note about their diets; don't put fresh grass in the cage now you've got the babies as it may be too rich for their little systems and upset their tummies. Once they've been weaned off mum you can introduce them gradually. Similarly, limit spinach to 2 leaves per week for adult piggies (none for babies) as it is a natural diuretic, and fruit (including tomatoes and melon) to 1-2 portions per week as the acidity can cause mouth ulcers. Keep up the carrots, parsley and red pepper - they're all piggy favourites! You could try them on brocolli too and it's worth persevering with the other colours of peppers. My boys will now eat the yellow ones too, so we can keep the red ones for ourselves!

It sounds like you're doing all the right things - good luck, and I hope a vet can do something for the baby's eye, though he or she will of course be able to live a happy life if there is blindness.

If you have any other questions - just ask!

Jenny.

PS - I like to say piglets too because it's cute - but I think pups is the 'professional' term for guinea pig babies.