My guinea pig's labor stalled for 36+ hours. What should I do?

Normally guinea pig labor should be short, around 40 minutes, so if an hour has passed since Elsa has her baby with no sign of the other, I would take her into the vet immediately. It could be that her second baby is too big to come out, and she may need a c section to deliver that baby safely. I would take her into an ER vet or find a vet on call to see her now.

You are right that the typical gestation of guinea pigs is 63-65 days. If she is showing no indication of entering labor, there could be a problem. The Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians (AEMV.org) probably has a "Find the Vet" section. Otherwise, not sure where the closed veterinary school is to you. A small animal veterinarian with an ultrasound might be able to determine if there are any fetal heartbeats. Many small animal veterinarians could have oxytocin, which could be given to stimulate uterine contractions.

I am very worried about Bebe. If she hasn't had any puppies for 6 hours, but still has puppies inside, I would definitely recommend to take her to a veterinarian. Sometimes a puppy can be stuck in the birth canal or the mom gets so tired from pushing that her uterus is no longer able to contract to push the puppies out. Both of these situations are dangerous for the puppies and Bebe. The veterinarian will examine her to see if there is a puppy stuck in the birth canal and will most likely recommend taking and x-ray to see how many puppies she still has inside. Depending on what they find, they may recommend doing a c-section. In most cases, this is the only way to try and save the mother and the puppies. I am so sorry. I know this is a very scary situation.

You can observe just in case there are any problems. It should be a relatively quick process. If Coco is labor for more than hour, you need to take her into a vet immediately. If you see a lot of blood, she should see a vet right away. I hope this helps!

Hello. You should really consider having Sweety evaluated by your veterinarian to make sure there are no more puppies inside. If there are, your veterinarian should ultrasound them to see if they are showing any signs of fetal distress. This will determine if an emergency C-section is necessary, We can see a bitch take up to 24 hours to deliver, but with such a small litter, & one non-viable pup, I would want to make sure all is well with Sweety. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thanks for reaching out about Story. If you do not have access to a veterinarian, which is recommended, then monitor food and water consumption, activity and demeanor. She just might not be full term yet. Good luck.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If she has been having active contractions for more than 4 hours with out the delivery of a puppy this is an emergency. Greater Swiss can have trouble giving birth and we have many in our area then need C-sections. Below is a handout I give clients. I would call your Vet as soon as possible to discuss. Whelping and When to be Concerned Stages of Labor: -Stage 1 tends to start 10-24 hours after temperature drop (usually below 99 F). -Stage 1: nesting. Can persist for 3-24 hours before abdominal contractions begin -Stage 2: Visible abdominal contractions. FIRST PUPPY SHOULD ARRIVE WITH IN 1-2 HOURS. -Stage 3: passage of placenta. Usually occurs within 15 mins of passing puppy. If it does not happen, don’t worry. When to worry/Call: -Strong contractions > 45-60 mins without birth of a puppy -Weak and infrequent contractions >4-6 hours without birth of puppy ->4-5 hours between puppies (after birth of first puppy without birth of the next puppy). On average a puppy is born every 45-60 mins. HOWEVER, the mother can often rest for several hours between puppies. This rest period is NOT associated with contractions and usually doesn’t exceed 4-6 hours. -If one puppy is born and she is having VISIBLE contractions for >2 hours without 2nd puppy. Recommend calling around 1 hour mark to talk to someone. -Failure to enter active labor (contractions) 24-36 hours after rectal temp falls below 99 F -Mother is in obvious pain: biting at vulva, crying) -No puppy within 2 hours of seeing green vaginal discharge -No puppy within 1 hour of seeing clear fluid from vulva (rupture of allantochorion) -No puppy within 1 hour of seeing a clear/water filled balloon at vulvar lips (puppy is in birth canal)