Snowflake - I think I have a lethal?

[lesahray]

My guinea pig had babies on march 2nd. There is one baby that isnt growing. Today I noticed he doesn't have any teeth at all. I read up and i think he is a "lethal" He is all white with red eyes and no teeth. How can I get some food into him as he is getting smaller everyday? Is there anything special I can do for him. As funny as it sounds, this pig is my heart.. please help me.:weepy:

 

[valerie k]

Re: Snowflake

how about baby food with either a spoon for him to lick it off or a sryinge? Its just a thought.

 

[WEAVER]

Re: Snowflake

This thread has a lot of information on lethals. It maybe of help https://guineapigcages.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4192

 

[lesahray]

I think I have a lethal????

:weepy: Please help me, I dont know what to do for my pig baby.. he is so loveable but shrinking everyday from lack of food. He has no teeth and the mother doesnt seem to nurse him very much. Is there vitamins or anything at all that can help him? He was born on a day that was probably the worst day of my life. He gave me something to smile about, i cant loose him. Please help me.

 

[WEAVER]

Re: Snowflake

If you were to contact Salana, you can find her by going through the member's list and leave her a message, she is very knowledge and unfortuntely knows first hand all about lethals. She just lost her piggie Einstein who was a lethal last month

 

[C&K]

Re: I think I have a lethal????

Grab yourself a coffee or your beverage of choice, set some time aside, and read this:

https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7156&highlight=lethal

Salena on this board had a lethal named Einstein who lived to be 2 1/2 years. He just passed away last month. The above thread documents his life with her.

Not all lethals will survive as long, some will only live a few days, most are born dead. It takes a lot of hardwork, determination and vet care to prolong the life of a lethal. From what I have heard, it is worth it.

Their is no magic pill or vitamin that is going to make him better. If the pig is not eating or drinking, then you are going to need to step in and hand feed.

Out of curiousity, did you breed mamma on purpose or did you get her all ready pregnant?

 

[Percy's Mom]

Re: Snowflake

lesahray - Please only ask your questions once. Posting the same thing over and over again often gets confusing. So far you have received a ton of very valuable information, including links to most of what you will need to know about lethals.

 

[SkinnyPiggys]

It sounds like you need to start syringe feeding the baby ASAP. Please call your vet and ask for some of the Oxbow's Critical Care. If they don't have it, have them call around for it. (broken link removed)

It's in a powdered form. Just mix it with water and syringe. It's very important to get some food inside of him. Otherwise he will not make it much longer. Good luck.

 

[SkinnyPiggys]

Also take a look at:

https://www.guinealynx.com/handfeeding.html

 

[salana]

Handfeed him pellet mash or Critical Care--he should be eating every 3-4 hours to be able to grow. Tomorrow, take him to the vet to have his molars examined.

Unfortunately, some lethals have, in addition to the easily visible tooth, eye, and ear problems, intestinal deformations that can severely impair digestion. Einstein gradually lost the lining of his small intestines, so no matter how much he ate, he lost weight. However, he was able to eat a lot and gain weight and grow somewhat normally, so I would definitely try with your little Snowflake. Good luck! I know how attached you can get to little lethals.

 

[lesahray]

Hi, Im sorry I am confusing some of you. I am new to this and dont know how to respond to individual comments. Thanks to all of you that have given me some suggestions.

I have the Critacal care food, and I mixed some of the crumbs from the pelet food with water and was giving him that too.. before I got the critical care. Someone told me to get a blender and blend veggies for him.. would that help?

To answer one of the questions, I got a male and female together thinking they were both males.. or so I was told by the pet store guy. Low and behold I have babies now. My male pig is all black and has some white spots and in his black is some white mixed in. Does this mean he is the carrier for what makes lethals? I don't understand. I have been all over the net trying to learn as much as I can but it is all so confusing.

My vet said that he doesnt deal with small animals and gave me the number of another vet that does but unfortunatly I cant get him in until the middle of next week. I am sooooo scared I might lose him by then.

I read all of the info about Einstien before I joined this group. That story is why I thought I could get help from you all. Thank you very much, and again Im sorry if I am posting this wrong

 

[salana]

Where do you live? The sooner you can get him in to a good vet, the better.

You can mix veggies in with the critical care.

Your male is definitely a dalmatian, which means he has one copy of the roan version of the gene. What does the female look like?

One thing you could do to get him to nurse from mom more is to take out the other babies and let him have some one-on-one time with mom.

How much are you feeding him, and how often? Aim for 5cc of food (about a teaspoon) every 3 hours, more if you can get it in him.

 

[lesahray]

I live in Taylor Michigan.

My female, Twisty looks a lot like a calico cat. A lot of browns and oranges. A streak of white here and there. I am going to try and get some photos on the computer so you can see.. just having problems uploading from my camera.

I did take out the other two babies yesterday for about 3 hours so snowflake could have one on one time, but when I put the other two back in, mama is attacking them. So now, I have one pig that cant eat, and the other two cant nurse becuase mama is biting them feircly. What can I do about that if anything?

How do you know how much is too much to feed? I am feeding snowflake with an eyedropper because he was choking when I tried with the surenge so there is no markings. He acts like he likes it, but then sometimes I think he is choking on it. I have never been threw this, I dont want to do more harm than good ya know.

Also.. he was born march 2nd, do you think mama still has milk? He is constantly on her trying to nurse but I didnt know if she still has milk.

 

[C&K]

Yes, mama still has milk, and will for probably at least 1-2 more weeks. I think though that you will still need to take him out at 21 days, because you don't want him having babies with his mom. Being a lethal, I think the age still stands, as if however unlikely he had babies with mom, you will probably get more lethals. Have you tried introducing mama to babies on neutral territory outside of the cage?

Are you weighing him? Is the gaining weight? this really really needs to be done, as it will tell you if he is getting enough. I think the fact he is still alive is a very good sign.

 

[salana]

If he's liking his food, he should eat until he's full. You want him to happily grab the eyedropper for food, and then when he turns away from it, he's getting full. How large a syringe did you try? If you use something like a 1cc syringe you won't be able to push in as much food at once so he'd be less likely to choke.

Mom should still have milk. She may get annoyed with him trying to nurse. Where do you have the other two babies now? And where is the dad? Are the other babies boys, girls, or one of each? I would try to put them back in with mom and see how bad the biting is.

I don't know anything about Michigan, but you should join guinealynx and post there for help finding a vet. Also check out the vets thread and see if there's anyone recommended nearby.

When he's 21 days old, move him in with Dad. Lethals really need loving companions and hopefully his dad (and any brothers) will be nice to him.

 

[PiggieMom]

(broken link removed)

This page give you information on a vet about 40 minutes from Taylor. They have two vets their that are good with exotics. Call and see if you can get him in sooner. Good luck.