Orphaned newborn puppies need a good source of heat because they can easily develop hypothermia, a condition where the body temperature dips
into abnormally low levels which can be fatal. When hand-rearing orphaned puppies, make sure to provide
alternative sources of heat such as heat lamps, incubators, heating pads, or
hot water bottles. Heat should be introduced gradually because when the puppies
are exposed to heat quickly, they can suffer from heat stress, another
life-threatening condition.
As a guide, the environmental temperature should be maintained at about
29- 32°C during the puppies’ first week of life, their . This can be gradually
decreased to 26°C after a week, and to 22°C by the time they are about 4 weeks old. However, the temperature can be
maintained at a lower range if there are several puppies they tend to huddle together and their combined body heat can add more
warmth.
Call your Marietta, GA veterinary clinic for
assistance on meeting the needs of your orphaned puppies.