Three weeks ago a very pregnant piggie we rescued gave birth to five (5) little piggies. Five is a lot of babies for a guinea pig normally three to four is more common. A female guinea pig only has two nipples so feeding five is quite a chore.
Little Edward was the runt of the litter, weighing in at only 20 grams when he was born. Baby guinea pigs are born fully furred, eyes open and running around from day one. As you can see Edward is half the size of the other babies. 😯 He would snuggle with his mother but was not feeding, the other larger piggies always fed but he wasn’t strong enough to push the others out of the way. His eyes were not fully open and he had trouble with his back legs although he could get around.
Without help, he would not survive. So bottle feeding started right away, every two hours. At first he resisted being bottle fed but once he got a taste for the warm milk substitute, he loved it! I set the timer on my phone so he could be fed around the clock. Weighing him twice a day to make sure he was gaining weight daily, and he was. It’s always touch and go never knowing if he would make it. Every day he was alive meant he had a better chance of surviving. He came to absolutely love being fed and just couldn’t wait time get it in his mouth.❤
A week old was the first milestone giving me hope he would make it. Baby guinea pigs start nibbling on hay and veggies at a few days old. At a week old I saw Edward nibbling on a lettuce leaf, this was a great sign. 🥰 He continued to gain weight and even became chubby. He is now three weeks old, his back legs are fine now. He runs around with his brothers and sisters, eats all on his own and is a happy piggie. Time to separate the girls and boys at this age as baby boys can be known to try to breed their mother at three weeks old.
A happy ending for the whole piggie family. Stay tuned for updates and photos of Little Edward as he grows up! 🤗
Caroline and the buns (piggies too)
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