Honey Bee (from Reddit)

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Obfuscated

Post   » Tue Jan 04, 2022 4:15 pm


Hi all, long time no see! I come to you today on behalf of a tiny newborn guinea pig whose owner has been posting in the guinea pig sub on Reddit. She had trouble registering here, so I offered to post on her behalf. Hopefully once she gets her account figured out she’ll be able to take over updating.

Background: Honey Bee was born on 12/30 at 68g, with one live sibling and two stillborn ones. Mom wasn’t letting her nurse and she couldn’t figure out how and didn’t have the energy to try, so she lost weight at first. Since then she’s been taking CC from a syringe and nibbling at veggies and alfalfa hay, but not a whole lot.



She’s improved somewhat but is still…slow, for lack of a better word. Owner’s username is blue:



Most recent update is that she seems to be getting the hang of being alive, but owner has a lot of questions about caring for a pup with challenges like Honey Bee’s:



Sorry for all the links to another site, but please help?

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Tue Jan 04, 2022 7:59 pm


What color is she? Is it possible she's a lethal white?

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Obfuscated

Post   » Tue Jan 04, 2022 10:29 pm


No, she’s a tricolor.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Jan 04, 2022 10:40 pm


Bpatters Will doubtlessly have better advice than I!

I think the continued feeding is making a big difference in keeping this pup going. Hoping it will turn the corner!

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Wed Jan 05, 2022 1:26 am


I agree on the feeding. I might add that a small amount of vitamin supplement may help. Is there a vet nearby that can check her out? I would have them look her over.

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Obfuscated

Post   » Wed Jan 05, 2022 4:13 pm


The owner was a little more worried about some of Honey Bee’s behavior, such as licking her mom’s butt repeatedly instead of even attempting to nurse (mom’s ignoring her at this point so she’s started doing it to her sibling), and just sitting and sleeping instead of exploring- she’s nibbling on her own and at least trying to groom herself, but has very little energy. Will that change if she’s eating more and gaining more weight?

Owner wants to take her to the vet to ask about her behavior when she’s gained a little more weight- should she do that now instead?

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Wed Jan 05, 2022 6:06 pm


I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't have some fairly severe abnormalities. Nothing about this pup sounds normal to me, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if she doesn't make it. But all I can recommend is to keep on feeding her as long as she'll eat, and to see a good exotic vet for his opinion.

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Wed Jan 05, 2022 6:08 pm


I would have already taken her to the vet if she was my guinea pig. If she's not getting enough food or probiotic, she may be getting after her mother and sister's hind end looking for their droppings to eat. She's probably looking for caecal (sp), not the normal ones. As gross as that sounds, it is a necessary part of their diet to maintain proper gut flora. Guinea pig pups don't nurse for long (usually 1-2 weeks) and some don't nurse much, if at all. Muffin didn't, and although she was smaller than her siblings, she has been healthy from birth. She went right to eating hay on her first day and lettuce within 3 days. The rest of the pups I have were weaned after about 10 days and eating plenty on their own. I was able to separate the 2 boys after the 4th week and all of them are thriving.

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Fri Jan 07, 2022 3:32 am


The only thought I have that hasn't been mentioned (and I have NO experience with this, so fwiw) is dehydration.

Are they making the fine grind CC fairly runny? If not, Honey Bee may not be getting enough water, and that will add to the lethargy.

Perhaps try offering -- do NOT attempt to force!! -- a bit of water along with the CC feeding sessions. Take it *very* slow to reduce the chance of aspiration (although they're probably already being super careful with feeding, if Honey Bee is still with us).

Very best to the little one and the redditor. It's hard work and I give her all credit for sticking with the pup.

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Fri Jan 14, 2022 6:28 am


Is there an update on Honey Bee? I hope she's ok.

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Obfuscated

Post   » Fri Jan 14, 2022 12:22 pm


There have been several updates, all of them positive! Honey Bee is thriving after a slow start.



It’s possible she was just very low energy for the first few days, but she started improving a little bit every day, and now she’s doing everything a normal baby guinea pig should do. The Critical Care feeds every few hours were likely instrumental.

I think it’s ridiculously adorable that she now popcorns while she’s running away when her owner chases her around with her pointer finger and makes “pspspsps” noises.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Jan 14, 2022 7:33 pm


“Pspspsps” noises! I think that's adorable too! I think there is something like a high alert nervousness that also happens to us humans - kind of tickles us and would make sense for popcorning!

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