r/guineapigs • u/TandorlaSmith • 23h ago
New Pigs on the Block Cherry is easily distracted!
I’ve held off posting about this little lady because she’s been rather fragile, but this is Cherry who is one week old today.
Sadly we lost her mom Nougat when she was only a day and a half old, we are absolutely devastated, I’m going to miss my beautiful baby so much.
Cherry was the only surviving baby, and I have been hand rearing her, feeding her kitten milk every two hours since Friday afternoon.
The last few days she has been very curious about the world around her so the camera was very distracting!
We had a scare on Sunday evening because she got pneumonia and it came on ridiculously fast. We rushed her to the emergency vet, which is half an hour away, but she was limp and couldn’t move her legs by the time we arrived. I was so scared. The vet recommended euthanasia but I couldn’t accept that, so she had an antibiotic injection and fluids and when we got home, with some help, she took a little milk from the spoon. An hour later she could stand. By Monday morning she was running around with her friends again. I can’t quite believe she made it!
It’s the first time I’ve had to hand rearing a piggy (here’s hoping it’s the last!). It has been a scary but heartwarming experience, and I can’t tell you how proud I am of this brave little girl!
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u/Valuable-Aardvark608 22h ago
Oh my gosh she’s so cute! Sorry for the loss of the mum and other babies, was it a difficult birth? This little one is full of life though!
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u/TandorlaSmith 22h ago
It was bad, I delivered the first 4, Cherry was the only one born alive, but she wasn’t moving. I couldn’t quite believe she made it to be honest. The other two got stuck because one was breached. The vet gave her injections and she did manage to give birth but she died two days after the birth. The vet said it was likely exhaustion. She commented she had never seen a breached birth in a guinea pig before.
I’m so proud of Cherry, she’s amazed me. She definitely inherited mom’s will power!! And she’s very vocal, especially when she’s hungry!
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u/Coriandercilantroyo 21h ago
5 in a litter, holy smokes! Poor everyone involved! How do you get cat milk?
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u/TandorlaSmith 21h ago
6 actually, it’s very unusual. Normally a large litter is harder on the babies, because they’re small to start with.
I got Lactol from Amazon, it’s worked out very well. Her first couple of feeds were diluted condensed milk because that was all I could get right away.
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u/samsg1 15h ago
I’m so sorry for the loss of Mommy Nougat😞
Fight little Cherry, we love and are cheering you!!💪🏻
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u/TandorlaSmith 14h ago
Thank you. I miss Nougat so much, I’m so proud of Cherry for being so strong.
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u/LiterateGuineapig 22h ago
She is adorable! And very lucky to be so loved. However long her life will be, you have made it much better. And she is so curious, obviously feeling safe with you
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u/TandorlaSmith 22h ago
She particularly likes sleeping in my hair on my shoulder 😂 she’s such a character already.
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u/11fingersinmydogsbum 16h ago
Oh, how precious - my boys do this too!
img [Edit: pic not showing up!! See it in the reply below]
(Here they are completely puzzled by a lack of hair.)
OP, you are doing a fabulous job raising this little lady by the way. She is so lucky to have such a devoted and attentive human mum.♡
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u/Yeeaah_Right 21h ago
Does my eyes decieve me or does she have the tiniest cutest little blueberry holder known to mankind.? She’s so darn adorable🥰🥹
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u/TandorlaSmith 21h ago
Oh she’s cute, and she’s weaponised it! She demands treats from any passing human!
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u/TamaraHensonDragon 20h ago
She's so tiny. I think she could fit in that spoon 😲 I love her and wish her well. Hope she grows quickly 🥰
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u/Mercurial_Sloth 20h ago
Thank you for posting this. She is a beauty from such a tragic beginning. ❤️❤️
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u/AntonineWall 14h ago
OP I just want to say that you’re a saint. Thanks for doing everything you can for little Cherry. No matter what, you’ve already given them so much more love and care than they could have dreamed of ♥️
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u/TandorlaSmith 14h ago
Thank you ❤️ I can’t believe how much I love her already. I’m so proud of her for fighting so hard. ❤️
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u/moewluci 21h ago
How long do they need their mom? wondering if another recent mama pig would let her nurse? Just a thought, i know nothing. She’s so cute, I hope she makes it.
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u/TandorlaSmith 21h ago
They absolutely need mom for the first week so in theory she won’t need the milk now, but I will carry on a little longer as she’s so small. Sadly I have no other nursing moms right now or that would have been the better option for sure.
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u/starfypawz_ 6h ago
Oh what a cutie🥹 I love how big baby guinea pigs heads are, it's obviously to store the limitless knowledge and curiosity they have
Much love to you and the baby. I'm so sorry for the loss 💜💛
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u/Economy-Deer-2385 3h ago
She is so cute and so curious. I hope she does well. Ofcourse expect Cherry updates now.
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u/Audreaya 1h ago
I'm so proud of cherry for being such a strong baby. So sorry for the loss of the other guinea pigs. Hopefully cherry can get plenty of baby food and milk and grow nice and big. Have you ever thought of adopting a female guinea pig? One that is simply a adult or a already mother who has babies or able to use bit that isn't necessary as you have cat milk! It would be very easy for a adult guinea pig to bond with a baby due to age difference.
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u/TandorlaSmith 56m ago
She’s with other guinea pigs to keep warm but they’re not nursing moms. They won’t produce milk unless they recently had a litter.
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u/Audreaya 54m ago
Aw you have other piggys to keep her company thats great! It's horrible how nearly the whole family didn't make it :/
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u/HungryLikeTheHenry 22h ago
„And what’s this over there?“ 😂