How to care for orphaned guinea pigs in five easy steps

There is nothing more stressful than feeling responsible for caring for a litter of orphaned puppies in the event the mother dies or refuses to nurse for whatever reason. While this will take time and commitment, fear not, it’s something you CAN do.

Supplies you will need:

• shoe box
• water bottle
• Insulating materials such as towels, old socks, etc.
• Extra cloths to wrap babies when handling them
• wash cloths
• A scale, either postal or kitchen, to weigh babies.
• A chart to keep track of your weight.
• Special food like Oxbow Critical Care (can be obtained from a vet)
• A small syringe without a needle
• A selection of real foods such as hay, grass, vegetables, greens, etc.

Supplies you won’t need

Several resources recommend using milk, milk blends, or diluted evaporated milk as a replacement for breast milk. This is not necessary as babies can eat real food with help. Animal products are, as always, harmful to guinea pigs.

Step 1 – Set Up the Living Room

Take the hot water bottle and fill it with warm water, but not HOT. Place it along the side wall of the shoe box. Fill remaining areas with insulating materials. Don’t pack tightly as you want the babies to be able to dig. Be sure to check the water bottle regularly to make sure it’s still hot. Fill in as needed.

Step 2 – Weight of each of the babies

Immediately after birth each baby is weighed. This will be a task you do every day, so making a chart will help. A baby’s weight is going to be an indication of how well she is driving. Don’t worry if you notice slight weight loss over a couple of days, this may be normal. Just take the time to provide a little extra food and see if that helps. If not, please make an appointment with your veterinarian.

Step 3: Feed every two hours during the day for the first two days

Have the food solution prepared ahead of time. To prepare the food, take the Critical Care and soak it in water to soften it. Then grind into a liquid. Place in syringe without needle. Try to feed about one to two cc’s of solution per baby. Pick up the baby you plan to feed and wrap him in a cloth to keep him warm while you feed him. Gently feed them with the syringe (or if you like, a spoon is fine too if it works). It is important to be slow and gentle, not forceful, as it is easy for babies to choke or inhale food.

Step 4: Encourage removal

Young guinea pigs will not remove waste without help. All you need to do is clean each baby’s genitals with a warm cloth after each feeding. Then watch to make sure normal deletions are occurring. If shedding does not occur for a long period of time, this can be life-threatening, so you may need the help of a veterinarian.

Step 5 – Introduce solid foods

In addition to keeping a variety of adult guinea pig foods available in the baby cage, young guinea pigs also learn by modeling. If you have another guinea pig in your house, this can serve as a role model for the puppies. Let the pups watch the adult guinea pig eat.