My babie piggie is very ill

[nessie]

Hi,

I am new here. I found this site because I have a baby piggie that has stopped eating and drinking.
The baby piggies are 8 days old now and about 3 days ago the first one to start eating and drinking on his own, stopped eating and drinking. I have done a lot of research and could not find anything that could be wrong. His teeth are fine, he was going potty and his mom was taking good care of him.
Last night when I was trying to hand feed him, I noticed a small bug near his eye. I promptly started researching that and I think they have lice

Could lice be the cause of the baby being so sick? He is still alive today, but he is so weak that he can no longer hold his head up. I am still trying to hand feed him in hopes that he will recover. But, he is about a third of the size of the other baby piggies.

Thanks in advance,
Nessie

[Foggycreek]

What are you using to handfeed him?

Baby guinea pigs start eating solid food the day they are born. What diet are you giving them?

It's possible there is something internally wrong with him. I think he needs a vet visit, or else he may not make it. Lice shouldn't cause him to stop eating and drinking.

You'll need to treat the lice, which means a vet visit. I'm not sure how old the babies should be to be treated--check out Guinea Lynx :: A Medical and Care Guide for Your Guinea Pig .

[nessie]

I feed them pellets, hay, veggies and dried treats. The other 4 babies and the mom are all just fine. The sick one was eating and drinking just fine for the first 5 or so days. Then I noticed that he was not eating as much and the others had gained a lot of weight, but he had not. I was feeding him some baby food (carrots) and some mashed up pellets that were soaked in water, with an eye dropper. I never squeezed it into his mouth to force him to eat. I just put it next to his mouth and most of the time he would just eat from it. He had started gaining some weight back.

He was drinking from the water bottle on the cage before he became ill. I wonder if he could have got some water in his lungs from that. Anyway, I was going to take him into the vet tonight, but he has now passed on. I will be sure to take the other piggies in to get treated for the lice.

Thank you for the reply,
nessie

[sus4rabbitsnpigs]

What color is the baby?

edit: I'm sorry you lost him. Some babies just don't thrive. At least the mom and others are well. Yes, treat them for the lice. A wellness check up is a good idea. Remove any male babies at 3 weeks.

[Pennsylvania Pigger]

Sad. I'm sorry he didn't make it.

[jbelley]

I'm sorry.

[Foggycreek]

I'm so sorry. It sounds like you were doing all you could.

[Baccalla]

I am very sorry for your loss.

[nessie]

The baby was white with black around his ears and face, with black spots down his back. He looked just like his dad.