new babies born :D

Question
Hi gorgeous !

My guinea pig gave birth to 3 cute babies last night. On the net it says that there were supposed to be 3 placentas (blobs of blood) for 3 babies, but I only spotted two. I was there when she gave birth, and there were only two. Maybe the mum ate one of them?

Also...she looked really tired after labour and doesn't move much as she used to. she still eats and drinks normally, but she hasn't squeaked or jumping around until today. Is it normal?

I also haven't seen her breastfeeding the babies, how do you check if she does? Because the babies are always hiding underneath the mother and I don't know whether they're sucking or not!

Are all these things normal?

thank's gorgeous!I hope you can reply ASAP..i'm such a paranoid person !! I love them to death!

Answer
Sometimes 2 of the placentas are stuck together when they come out or the mother has already ate one, if she is continuing to bleed though and you smell a foul odor then you should worry about a retained placenta. Sometimes moms will be really tired after labor, I would make sure to use a lot of vitamins in her water, and even better fill her water bottle up with unflavored Pedialyte and vitamins, this usually helps out a lot with getting the mom back on track.If the babies are under the mom they are suckling, sometimes you can't see it because they hide their little heads behind the leg, but they should be fine, just watch out for signs of the mother pushing them away so they can't feed. The nipples should be elongated if she is feeding them, also babies usually don't start feeding until about 2 hours after they are born. Also only 2 babies can eat at a time so you will always see one out away from mom or beside her. Just make sure to have plenty of hay and pellets in the cage for the babies and mom to nibble on. Baby pigs also like uncooked oats, either regular oats or the fruit and cream varietys. I know it is very frustrating to not know if things are going ok or not, just trust the mom and make sure to take good care of her with vitamins and she will take care of the babies. I always handfeed my babies now so I know what is happening, but a long time ago I went through the same things with leaving the pig babies with their mother. Good luck with the new babies!!
Brittany