Guinea pig defomity?

Question

When my pregnant piggie, Bella, had her babies a few hours ago. There were four healthy babies, and they were very cute!

=D

But, I noticed on one of them had a foot that wasn't really a foot..

The toes are detached and she/he can use it, but there is only really one toe there.

The others are hanging there.

We think that she was born with it that way 'cause it didn't have blood on it.

Any opinions on this situation?

What should I do/shouldn't do?

Answer 1

Dont worry,mine where born like that and as soon as they where 1 month the toes and foot was fine,Nothing really to worry about but if its 2 months and its still like that! go to the vet

Answer 2

Well, it's not anything to do with what YOU should do- until they're four-six weeks old, it's what the mum wants to do, and you shouldn't interfer because she'll feel threatened.

If she feels the baby isn't healthy, she will kill or eat it, and your reaction should be to remove the body.

If she doesn't kill or eat it, you can observe the baby moving, but you mustn't seperate from mum until at least four weeks. So you have a choice to haul them all down to the vets to ask what to do, or wait until the baby is older and see how well it copes and see if it does need to go to the vet.

***

And rabbits are herbivorus but they can still kill and eat their babies. We're not talking about them being hungry, but a rejection of their own kin.

They can kill their babies if they feel threatened or they feel the babies are unhealthy; the twice we've had babies of guinea pigs at work- I work in a pet shop- we are not allowed to open the cage for at least two weeks because the mother may kill the babies.

Answer 3

I'd be inclined to pop mum and the litter to the vets. Do a search on cavy forums and ask them some advice. Don't listen to people on Y!A when your animals need you. the sooner you see a vet the sooner you can sort it. Might be it needs this limb amputated, so the younger the better. It will heal over no worries.

Good luck

Answer 4

ew gross!

Answer 5

Congrats on the new babies!  Aren't they adorable?

First of all, guinea pigs do not eat their young.  They are herbivores (eat grasses/hay/veggies) and not carnivores.  I've heard of hamsters doing something like that.  I've also never seen nor heard of a guinea pig mom killing her babies.

How is the baby doing?  Can she move around?  Is she able to compete for her mom's milk?  Does it hurt her?  Does the *differently abled* foot get in her way?

Depending on the answers, she probably wil either be ok or you might have to euthanize her.  

I have a friend with a piggie that has a stiff, not really working hind leg as well as a deformed front paw (no toes, just a nub).  The guinea pig can move around though not as quickly as the other piggies.  She has no problems eating and her 2 different paws don't seem to bother her. On the plus side, she has really gorgeous fur!

You can watch her and see how she's doing with the other babies.  If she seems to act like the others and gets enough milk/food, then she will probably be fine.

After she's weaned, you can always take her to visit your vet just to make sure everything else (like her heart) is ok.

Good luck!

Answer 6

Bring all them in to the vet... it will be good for them anyway

but guinea pig foot deformities are not that uncommon. many are born without or with extra toes, so your situation is just like any of these to a bit more of an extreme.

it's probably nothing to worry about. don't get too much in the way, but try to find a way to get the baby and mom to the vet safely. you can't separate the baby from it's mother this young, but you should get it checked on as soon as it seems like you have a chance.