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Canada My possibly lethal Daisy

Amsley246

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Our Piggie recently had 3 darling little babies (I'm almost certain all girlies), now giving us 5. They're 9 days old today. 2 of them are perfectly normal, but I'm suspecting one may be a lethal sadly. She seems fine with the exeption that one of her eyes are smaller and it looks as if one of her bottom teeth is growing crooked. She tries to eat what the others are but I find she rather drink from her mother and eats very little of the carrots and hay and pellets. When we let the little family out to play and run around the living room, she doesnt go very far and wants to stay by her mother (although her mother just likes to run and doesnt bother with the babies during playtime unless they really start to whine for her) She loves to be held and cuddled while the others play. I knew she was different at first, but coudn't really figure it out till I searched some more on the internet. She's all pure white like they say lethals usually are. Her eyes, other then one being slightly smaller look good, their dark with a slight tinge of blue and reflect red in light like they say heathly eyes are supposed to do. She doesnt seem blind but I think she may be a little hard at hearing but not too sure on that. I know her father is roan for sure, he's black with white mixed in like a graying older man lol (the salt and pepper look) but not too sure on the mother. She's all white with a touch of honey around one of her eyes (she's beautiful!) they both have sort of stiff, short hair. And also if anyone has any tips or info on how to take care of "lethals" I'm all for it as well. I already know how it happens just want to know about care and basically what to hand feed her if it becomes necessary (which by the sounds of it, most likely). They have an appointment with the vet on Tuesday, I'll be bringing in the whole family to be examined and possibly a teeth clipping for the little one's tooth. I'm all in for the complete care and everthing it takes to make my piggies comfortable, happy and heathly, even if it includes late nights and long hours (my 2 year old still doesnt completely sleep through the night anyways and I'm a bit of a night owl!) Thank you for anyone who's reading this and for any bit of imput that you may have!
 

AnimalHouse36

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I'm sorry but I can't offer much advice. I know quite a few members have experience. I do know lethals have a tendancy to stay in your heart forever.

Thank you for taking care of her.
 

Amsley246

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All the babes are girlies. The Dad was separated as soon as they were born (he was allowed to help out, which he did, under careful supervision and then was booted out). As I said, they have their fist vet appointment (check up and possible teeth clipping for the poor babe) so I'm hoping to get at least some good news that she's going to be fine with a few little defects (blind in an eye or perhaps deaf, etc.) Thanks for the feedback guys!
 

salana

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How do Daisy's front teeth look?

With lethals there are basically two obstacles to them having a long, pleasant life. One is tooth problems. You will want to have the vet take a good look at the molars. She may have them entrapping her tongue already, even as young as she is. Einstein had tongue entrapment at 3 weeks. I think in the womb baby piggies grind their teeth against each other to prepare for eating, and with deformed teeth they of course don't grind properly. If the vet feels comfortable sedating at that young age that would of course be best to get a good look at the teeth and do whatever work they need. If the vet can take dental X-rays at that age that would be good too as a baseline for how her teeth might change as she ages.

The other major problem lethals have is internal defects. A lot of them don't survive weaning, for whatever reason, some sort of digestive defect. Or as they grow they may have a problem that's not initially apparent, like Erin's Patrick who had a sinus deformity that basically began to asphyxiate him at 5 months old. There's not much that can be done for these problems, just to hope for the best. My Einstein lost the lining of his small intestines as he got older, which is probably a defect and eventually killed him, but he did have two and a half happy years before his body gave out.

So once you know what's going on with Daisy's teeth, and you hope she doesn't have badly deformed internal organs, the most important parts of lethal care are a) weighing, and b) feeding. You should weigh her every day, at the same time, before a feeding, for at least the first month of life. Also weigh her siblings as a comparison so you know how far from normal she is. She may gain weight more slowly, but she should gain weight, not stay at the same or lose weight.

If she stays at the same or loses weight you will need to handfeed. Pellet mash is good as long as you have a high-fiber pellet like Oxbow or Kleenmama's. Critical Care is good too. She may be resistant at first but if she is hungry, she'll learn that it's food. Unlike a sick pig, a lethal will generally eat happily once they understand that mash is food they can't get elsewhere. You may be able to transition her from handfeeding to free feeding a plate of mash in her cage, for at least some of her meals. A baby pig needs frequent meals, and if Daisy is like Einstein you will know when she's hungry! Be very careful and go slowly, use the stiffest mash you can, no more than 1/3cc at a time, so she doesn't aspirate.

And post pictures!
 

Toadies

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Best wishes for success and bless your buttons!
 

salana

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If you need help finding a good vet in your area, you can join GuineaLynx and ask Evangeline for her vet recommendation. I see you live in the same place.
 

Amsley246

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So we vrought the piggies in to the vet today(Summerside animal hospital) and things were good. She weighed them all and clipped Daisy's teeth (he poor teeth were a mess). There are unfortunatley no exotic animal vets on Prince Edward Island or anyone who specializes in guinea pigs, but she researched as much as she could before the appointment. They have done piggie teeth clipping before so it didn't worry me as much. She was going to get in touch with the Board of Veternarians and talk to someone who was an Exotic animal to get me some more help.

Daisy is doing much better since this afternoons visit. She's able to eat what the others are eating now besides drinking from her mother all the time. She's still having a little bit of trouble chewing so I have to get her her food grated into slivers but she's got a big appetite! Thank you everyone for your advise and prayers! :)
 

Amsley246

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Can anyone please tell me how to post pictures?
 

guineapigluver1

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When you post, click on "Go advanced" if you aren't already there. Scroll down a little and under "Additional Options" it says "Manage Attatchments" click on that and it will come up with 5 slots that say "Upload file from your computer" click on the browse button beside one of them and select the picture you want off of your computer, then click "Upload" then post it. Also, if you have a photobucket account you can use the IMG code and paste it into the message box and it will show up when you post, or use the URL link and when you post everyone can click on the link and see it.
This is an example of an attatched image doing what I expained (not using photobucket):
 

Amsley246

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Sorry guys, it wont let me, it says all my pictures are too big but I would love for you guys to see them!
 

AnimalHouse36

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What if you posted them in the gallery and then just sent us the links?
 

salana

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Does Daisy have any front teeth at all?

She will probably have badly overgrown teeth again in a month or so.
 

Caviekisses

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You have to keep having their teeth clipped? Poor girl.
 

guineapigluver1

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Do you have Microsoft Office Picture Manager? If you do (or something that you can re-size pictures on), you can try to re-size it and see if it will let you then.
 

Amsley246

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She has 3 teeth. The 2 on the top grow almost normal but then kind of separate a bit as they grow out. The bottom only has one and it kind of just grows out (it kind of looks like a snaggle tooth as some people call it). We will have to get them cut every so often. Does it hurt them at all when they do it (like after or anything?) She didnt seem to want to eat for the first little bit after they were done. The vet gave me the option of getting her bottom tooth and root surgically removed. I'm not sure if I want to go that route or not because I dont want to anesthia (I think that's how you spell it :S) to harm her or how expensive it will be. Whatever happens I hope someone is watching over her from above and makes life easier for her, she means the world to me! Thanks for the Ideas by the way, I will try them out!
 

Amsley246

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