Lethal guinea pigs discussion

[nonamian_girl]

Poor baby. Is that also an effect of being a lethal?

[salana]

It may be, although it's not as well-researched as the tooth problems.

[Lil_Cavy_Girl]

Wow, poor thing. I can't understand how breeders can intentionally do this sort of thing to their guineas. I am a sucker for guineas, I always take in ones that breeders in my area don't want. I probably shouldn't or I won't have time to hold them all!
Anyway, I'm not sure but I think I may have a couple of Lethals. Tizzy has no eyes and really bad teeth. She's also deaf, she's the only one in her group who doesn't run up to me when I come with some carrots! Bumble has no eyes either and almost no teeth. He isn't very active either, he really just sits in the corner and barely moves. I keep him in the main house, to keep an eye on him.
If they are Lethals, is there anything special I need to do for them? I cut their food up into tiny bits and take them to the vet regularly because they seem so sick compared to the other guineas. I'm particularly worried about Bumble, inactivity isn't normal for a cavy. I'm scared that he's really ill. Sorry for the long post, by the way.

[Alanas]

Hello Salana and all the other slaves who read this forum, I haven't written for ages, because I was finishing my degree and my piggies have been really good and healthy. However, Symphony, my lethal guinea pig, will only eat certain things, these being:
Spinich (only the stalk, not the leaf)
Corn (only the actual corn)
Fresh grass (not hay)
Wheat Bix (An Aussie breakfast serial)
and All Bran (another serial)
oh and carrot
She won't eat anything else, when I put the food I give my other cavies in her bowl she digs and scrapes and only eats tiny bits out of it and then squeals for more. I have a vitamin supplement the vet gave me that I give her once a day, she has gained weight since I took her out of the cage with the rest of the girls because she eats so slow, is there anything you can reccomend that I can do to get all over her nutrients into her?

[KatsCavies]

Here is a pet shop dalmatian. He and his brother belong to a friend of mine who bought them from PAH.

Kat

[salana]

Lil_Cavy_Girl, are your two pigs white? Lethals are always white. You said that you take in breeder rejects. Are those two pigs both from the same breeder? Could you possibly try to educate that breeder about lethals? Do you weigh your pigs? Lethals especially need frequent weighing, to see how well they're eating.

alanas, are you feeding Symphony some kind of pellet mash? Einstein's main food was pellet mash, with various baby foods flavoring it (because he was picky and didn't want to always eat the same flavor of mash). Did the other pigs steal from her?

[Lil_Cavy_Girl]

Yes, they are both totally white. I adopted Tizzy from a shelter but Bumble was brought to me by my neighbour who is friends of a breeder. I actually phoned that breeder and shouted at them for a bit about not being responsible enough to find homes for their guineas and just dumping them onto others but now I'm going to phone them and start shouting about how cruel he is to his guinea pigs!
Honestly, guineas are living creatures. How would any of you like to be trapped in a tiny box and forced to spurt out countless babies for someone who is going to either abandon them, breed even more babies with them or shove them into tiny boxes to be oogled by strangers? It's disgusting.
I've never weighed them before because I have three other guineas which are about the same size but otherwise normal so I thought they were just small or runts of their litters.

[Susan9608]

I always take in ones that breeders in my area don't want.

That's nice that the breeders have such an easy solution to their problem.

[Alanas]

Originally Posted by salana

alanas, are you feeding Symphony some kind of pellet mash? Einstein's main food was pellet mash, with various baby foods flavoring it (because he was picky and didn't want to always eat the same flavor of mash). Did the other pigs steal from her?

Yes the other pigs always steel from her and kick her out of the hidey hole, she actually prefers to be by herself, except when she is in heat and won't stop screaming at me, so I put concerto in with her (my neutered boar) and she is okay then. As for pellet mash, well symphony can eat pellets, she has her top inscissors that are fine, she chooses NOT to eat pellets, even when I try to hand feed her them she turns away. I would like to try doing it with the baby food flavoring though if you could tell me how you make it up and portion sizes etc, please.

[Matt & Guins]

Originally Posted by alanas

As for pellet mash, well symphony can eat pellets, she has her top inscissors that are fine, she chooses NOT to eat pellets, even when I try to hand feed her them she turns away.

Cavies dont eat/chew food with their inscissors - its their back molars that they use.

The front teeth are just there to help break food to get it into the mouth (pellets they just push straight to the back molars).

Have you had your cavy's back teeth checked out by the vets? Because maybe they are mis-aligned or overgrown and thats why hes not eating the more solid foods.


Matt

[salana]

Lil_Cavy_Girl, it would definitely help to weigh all your pigs weekly. Even normal, non-lethal guinea pigs can develop problems that can first be seen by a drop in weight.

You might wish to publicize that this breeder is doing something extremely unethical by breeding lethals. If they sell to a pet store, go to the pet store. Emphasize that if the breeder sells them a lethal which they sell to a customer, the customer could sue them for thousands of dollars in vet bills. (I'm not exaggerating about thousands of dollars, either.) If they sell to the public, write in to the paper and urge people not to buy from this breeder.

alanas, definitely have Symphony's back teeth checked out. Einstein could eat whole pellets at one point without any incisors at all, but then his molars got worse, and he lost a tooth, and he was only able to eat mash. He also had a number of ulcers on his cheeks, which made his mouth hurt more. I would mix about 1/3 cup mash (the amount that fit in his bowl) with about two spoonfuls of fruit or vegetable baby food or applesauce.

You can make mash by combining 1 part pellets with about 4 parts water, and either allowing it to sit, or microwaving it for about 30 seconds. Or you can grind pellets in a clean coffee grinder, and again, combine 1 part pellet dust with 4 parts water. Experiment with different textures of mash and different flavors of baby food (Einstein really liked peaches, blueberries, winter squash, fruit salad, and anything with mangoes; he was so-so on carrots and didn't like bananas at all) to see what she likes. Just make sure to avoid baby food with sugar added. The ingredients list should contain only fruits or vegetables (and no onions!), water, and possibly vitamin C.

[Alanas]

Originally Posted by Matt & Guins

Cavies dont eat/chew food with their inscissors - its their back molars that they use.
Matt

Duh really? I said that meaning that she doesn't have trouble picking up food i.e. pellets, her back teeth are fine, I have her checked regularly.

[Percy's Mom]

Originally Posted by alanas

Duh really?

There is really no need to be a smart alec. The "duh" was totally uncalled for. Matt was just trying to offer some information.

[Alanas]

Originally Posted by Percy's Mom

There is really no need to be a smart alec. The "duh" was totally uncalled for. Matt was just trying to offer some information.

I realise that, I actually didn't mean it to sound that harsh, I doubt Matt is going to go cry about it, Matt and I used to talk on here quite a bit so he knows I have had piggies for a long time, one would be quite ignorant if they had had piggies for several years and not realised they chew with their molars, I just wanted to make it clear I am aware of this. Sorry Matt, no hard feelings.

[Matt & Guins]

No offence taken - but you would be surprised at the number of people who DO think that cavies chew with their front teeth, and dont realise about the molars.

Many people have a huge stress attack when their cavy loses a front tooth - but they cope very well as long as they can get the food to the back of their mouth.

I hope for your cavy's sake that the back teeth are indeed fine.


Matt

[Alanas]

I take her for a check up every 3 months. I really think I have just spoiled her too much. The other day I took her in the car with me, she had her grass and spinich there for her to eat, I had a sandwhich for myself, I popped it on the seat next to her, when I stopped at a light I looked over and there she was eating my bread. Cheeky girl.

[Alanas]

The other thing is, my sandwich was wrapped in paper, and she managed to nuzzle her way in.