Orphan guinea Pigs

Question
My sow died last night suddenly and left behind five 2 week old babies. What can I do to supplement milk for them? And is there anything else I need to be cautious about? I don't want to lose another piggy!

Answer
Hi Tara,

First of all, I'm so sorry for your loss.

Were they still drinking from their mother? Guinea pigs wean at 2-3 weeks of age, so you may not have to feed them a lot of milk. They will have been eating solid food from the day they were born (as well as drinking from their mum) so make sure you put lots of hay and fresh veggies in the cage for them, and move the water bottle down so they can reach it.

And watch them.

If they seem to be losing weight or to be in ill health after 24 hours, then you will need to feed them some milk. Most owners syringe feed a low-lactose milk (guinea pigs cannot drink cows milk), but there is a risk that they will inhale it onto their lungs. So, you could try putting some in a saucer for them (I recommend doing this out of their cage, or it will be messy!) and watch them lap it up. You could soak a little bit of bread in there, too, as a gentle introduction to solid food if they don't seem to be eating much on their own.

Make sure you get them out for lots of cuddles, as although losing your sow will have been hard for you, it will be even worse for them. It's good that there's five as they'll be able to huddle up at night, but they may not be fully capable of looking after themselves yet. There are a number of health checks that you will need to perform daily as their surrogate mother:
* Check to see if they are pooping and weeing - they should be, but if there is a runt he or she may not yet be capable of passing stools entirely on his/her own. You will need to gently squeeze or rub its tummy to make sure they pass.
* Check to see if they are eating some of their poo! They usually do this directly, by ducking their heads between their legs. Guinea pigs produce special stools that they need to injest as they contain a very high dose of vitamins and minerals. If they aren't, try offering them some of their droppings. They will know the difference, and will eat the ones they need to.
* Make sure their eyes are bright, that there's no gunk in them, and that they havdn't got any hay or woodshavings stuck in them.
* Make sure their noses and ears are clean and free from blockages.
* Make sure their mouths are clean and that their teeth are not broken.
* Check their coats are healthy and free from mites. Brush them once or twice a week if short-haired, and daily if long-haired.
* Make sure their nails (front and back) aren't too long.

As they are two weeks old you should be able to tell by now which are boys and which are girls. At three weeks of age the boys become sexually mature, so you will need to separate them. Even if you want more babies, the females will be too young to successfully carry a litter. If you want to breed them, wait until they are 2-3 months old, and never breed a female for the first time if she is older than 6 months.

Good luck and if you have any other questions - just ask!

Jenny.