Deaf guinea pig

**no1spaz** · #1 10-25-08, 01:04 pm

Hi there!

We just adopted a little male guinea pig from the pet store a week ago and are about 98% certain that he is deaf. He never gets startled, blinks or turns in the direction of any noises. Plus, his ears don't twitch when sounds are made. We love him all the same and still talk to him, so it's not a problem. But how common is deafness in guinea pigs?

Also, I think he has an URI. He has a small wheeze when he breathes and sneezes a lot.

Any help for Linny is welcome!!

Thanks so much

**Deenanicole08** · #2 10-25-08, 01:18 pm

I dont know much about deafness but I really hope you found this site after you adopted from a pet store...but if you suspect hes sick, and he's wheezing take him to the vet immediately. Pigs can go downhill very fast and very well may not make it. So please take him right away.

I hope all goes well though.

**Ly&Pigs** · #3 10-25-08, 01:25 pm

Sometimes deafness in pigs happens.

He really needs to see a cavy savvy vet, an exotics specialist. Please see this link for safe antibiotics www.guinealynx.info/antibiotics.html.

**no1spaz** · #4 10-25-08, 01:48 pm

Thanks, all!

He's going to see a vet that specializes in cavvys on Monday at 9:20am. We also have two cats, but their vet only does dogs and cats.

Sooooo......we'll get a full workup done on him and get him all healthy. He's very subdude and I'm now starting to get worried. He is eating though. I've been giving him an orange wedge daily in addition to his other fresh veggies and he's been mowing it down.

**no1spaz** · #5 10-25-08, 03:25 pm

I feel so bad!! I just read up on pet store animals and feel terrible that I got mine from there. Had I known, I would have bought from a reputable breeder. :( Nontheless.........I know I've probably got a sick animal on my hands and the responsible thing to do now is to get him treated. I tried to get him an appointment today, but the vet is booked so I have to wait until Mon.

The guilt is setting in........

**Deenanicole08** · #6 10-25-08, 03:35 pm

No no, not a breeder either. Only a RESCUE or shelter or something along those lines. We here support adoption, as in saving a homeless guinea pig. Breeding is irresposible, and there's already an overpopulation of guinea pigs anyways. Sometimes accidental litters happen and it's ok to adopt those pigs, but never by from an intentional breeder, whether the can care for the pigs properly or not(but usually they dont, they're out for the money) It's ok that you adopted from the petstore since you did not know any better before, but if you get another, try looking at places where you can save a guinea pig. Try Petfinder.com, Guineapighome.com, Craigslist.com and newspapers (make sure it's not a breeder though, by not adopting from them it discourages them continueing to breed), also try humane societies even though usually they list their pigs on petfinder they might have some unlisted, and you can try local shelters.

**dra&pigs** · #7 10-25-08, 03:45 pm

Breeders are no better than petstores. Sometimes worse. The good thing to do is adopt from a rescue or shelter like Deenanicole08 said. If you only have one pig, after he is healthy again, you should really get him another friend. Cavies are herd-animals and are usually happier with a friend.

**starshine123102** · #8 10-25-08, 06:39 pm

I wouldn't feed oranges everyday. The acid in them can hurt their mouths and since they are fruit they are high in sugar. They can be given in small quantities but only once or twice a week at the most.

check out the diet chart in the diet/nutrition forum.
http://www.guineapigcages.com/food/Veggie-and-Fruit-Charts.pdf

**rabbitsncavyluv** · #9 10-25-08, 09:07 pm

Breeder sell to pet stores. Rescuing is the only way to go.

What color is the baby ? Is it the one in your avatar?

**no1spaz** · #10 10-26-08, 01:47 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by rabbitsncavyluv

Breeder sell to pet stores. Rescuing is the only way to go.

What color is the baby ? Is it the one in your avatar?

Yep, that's him! He's a beautiful reddish brown color with a couple of white spots on his nose. I had him wrapped up in a t-shirt on my bed while I was doing laundry and would reach in and pet him every so often and he actually purred!! :heart:

My youngest son is actually jealous and gets upset with me when I hold him because he feels put out. "You love Linny more than me! Hrumpf." LOL!! Sibling rivalry?! :silly:

I'll get some more pics of him to post.

**5guinea5pig5** · #11 10-26-08, 01:57 pm

Take him to the vet IMMEDIATLY!!

**no1spaz** · #12 10-26-08, 02:57 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5guinea5pig5

Take him to the vet IMMEDIATLY!!

He's going tomorrow at 9:20am. That was the soonest I could get him in to a cavvy specialist. I'll post the full medical write up tomorrow.

**no1spaz** · #13 10-27-08, 07:02 pm

Good news, everyone!! It appears that I'm being overly cautious because Linny's lungs were clear and he had a clean bill of health. We need to switch the bedding that we're using because it may be too dusty for him. It's that recycled newspaper stuff. I've seen that a lot of you here use fleece? How does that work in the way of cleanliness and upkeep?

The vet approximated his age to be about 2 months old, and said that he was a little on the thin side, but we'll be sure to fatten him up in no time. I'm going to go out and get him some carrot tops, cilantro and other things that were on the list of good things to eat. He weighed in at 13oz.

His deafness shouldn't pose any problems aside from the fact that he won't be weeting for his food when the refridgerator door opens! This particular vet has 2 guinea pigs of his own so that was comforting.

Thanks for all of the help.

**starshine123102** · #14 10-27-08, 07:15 pm

Check out the sticky called The Fleece Project. It has everything you ever wanted to know about using fleece in it.

http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...ect-study.html

**rabbitsncavyluv** · #15 10-27-08, 08:02 pm

Did the vet take an x ray or did he just listen to his lungs?

**Deenanicole08** · #16 10-27-08, 08:47 pm

An xray would have been a good idea, even though it may have that added cost, but if there was something blocking the nasal passage, causing the wheezing/stuffiness sound, it could be a problem, or maybe there is something wrong with his lungs but the symptoms are subsiding, being less noticable.

**suzilovespiggie** · #17 10-28-08, 03:34 am

So glad to hear this story had such a good ending. Now that you have him, it sounds like he will be taken good care off. Would a friend for him help with his deafness? I had a deaf cat and the other cats always helped him.

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