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Lethal Boy

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Sgraft

Sgraft

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi all.

Sorry if I am posting in the wrong place but I am pretty concerned that my boy is lethal. He is 2 weeks old tomorrow and I think he is blind and death.

I have seen him feeding off mum and he has a good appetite and seems fine in himself. He seems to get confused and he is pretty loud compared to the other babies. He is so loving and loves to be cuddled we adore him already!

I know it is probably hard to tell by picture but thought I'd post a few.

Is there anything in particular I should be looking out for? Is there anything else I can be doing?

Please any advice is welcome and appreciated!

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I could be totally wrong but don't lethals have red eyes?

Hope he is actually 100% healthy and it's just a worry. He is gorgeous.

I hope some other people can help you more!
 
thank you. He does have red eyes but for some reason the photos haven't picked it up x
 
Oh I can add that I'm 99% sure he's blind because I can wave my hand in front of his face and he doesn't even know I am there. Also he doesn't jump or run from any sounds which is why I think he is also deaf.

I think he makes so much noise because he feels lost/looking for mum and siblings. It is so upsetting to see I can't bear it just making sure he gets lots of cuddles every day. Don't want him to feel lonely or sad :(
 
Aww he is just so adorable. How could you not fall in love with him :love: :drool:

I think I will have to get my pig napping outfit from the cleaners :bal: :dri:

Sorry I do not have any experience with a lethal but hopefully someone who does will come along soon.
 
Oh sorry, as you say it doesn't show up red. I can't help, but I hope someone can soon. I would love to have the chance to look after a lethal, it must be extra special!
 
He looks pretty normal to me. It's difficult to tell at that age, as they are still at the scrunched up baby stage! Normally, lethal pigs are smaller than normal pigs. His eyes look to be normally formed - sizewise, it'll be easier to see as he gets bigger. Lethal pigs will generally have malformed or missing eyes on one or both sides.

Does he have a head tilt? (Again, difficult to tell at his age). Also, lethals will be using their sense of smell much more than normal piggies, and tend to have their heads up in the air a lot more. They can be very vocal and are generally either asleep or on the go.

Keep an eye on his weight and monitor his eating habits. As he grows, there is no reason to treat him any differently to any other pig, should he turn out to be a lethal. At this moment in time, I'm not sure, but it might be helpful to post updated pictures over the next few weeks.

We currently have ten lethal piggies under the care of TEAS - all of whom are very different!
 
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:D Some recent issues of Guinea Pig Magazine feature very good articles about Lethal piggies, what their problems are and how to look after them. They also have an ongoing true story about a very precious Lethal piggie called Fairy who lived to the age of five years.
 
Thanks everyone for your help. He is doing ok but he is quite small for his age only 112grams! He has been feeding off mum and been eating pellets and hay (seeing this a lot) but quite concerned they are 3 weeks old on Tuesday and I don't want any more pregnancies! I have been advised to fatten him up a little and mix full fat goats milk with some pellets. Anything else I can do to fatten him up so he's ready to be separated from his mum?

I read that they should be about 300grams before separating and he is no where near that weight. Quite worried now.
 
It is possible that he is only mildly affected and has normal (or near normal size) eyes but has little to no vision. The lack of hearing is an indicator too.

Unfortunately it is something most vets have no experience in or at best, very little (Simon @ Northampton being the exception) so there is not a lot of point in trying to get a vet diagnosis, you are best to just support him as needed unless he has a solvable problem like dental issues etc.

Keeping things in the same place in the cage, like water bottles and food, will help him find things more easily, moving things around can be confusing. Guinea pigs don't have great eyesight anyway so they don't tend to miss what they don't have.... Smell is an important sense for them so you often see them wondering around with their noses in the air :)

Size wise he might always be small, just as @MintyAndGarry (TEAS) says. I am not sure about the value or help of goats milk, but if he is eating pellets and feeding from mum (and gaining weight) then he might just be slow to grow. They can have gut and internal abnormalities too as part of their problems so often don't grow so well. The other concern would be teeth, if he isn't gaining weight. They can be missing teeth (front or back, you can only see the front ones) so it might be worth getting those checked out too. I'm glad @furryfriends (TEAS) has been tagged as she can advise further....

Lethal piggies can/are fertile and can reproduce so it would be wise to separate him from mum but maybe not yet. If he can go in with a brother or dad when he is separated then that would help so he has company, he will still benefit from another piggy around.
 
Thank you so much for the reply! I think I will separate next Wednesday / Thursday. They will be just over 3 weeks old then. He will be living with his little brother (profile pic).

Nigel is very special and gets lots of cuddles! He's spoilt rotten

When I move them to their new cage I will try to arrange it as his current cage is. Will also keep an eye on him to make sure he's eating drinking etc
 
He is geogous, l don't know about leathel , ?. but he dos look fradgile
 
The thing that would concern me the most in the short term is why he is so tiny? Are you weighing him regularly? How much was he when he was born? Is his weight increasing, even if slowly? I would leave him with Mum a little while longer.
 
Really sorry have been so busy at work didn't get a chance to reply! He is doing really well thank you. In about 3 days he put on around 30grams so he is going in the right direction ;)

He's so loving and loves cuddles and a fuss. Such a good boy.

Decided I am going to separate the boys tomorrow but will keep a close eye on him. :)
 
Hi my names debra, and my first pig ,Patrick was a lethal. I have to say your little boy does show some signs of being a lethal too. However I had Patrick for 4 years and enjoyed every minute with him and all things considered he was in pretty good health. He was blind and deaf, and had a head tilt and later a Boney growth in one eye, but he put on weight well and had a full set of surprisingly good teeth(which no doubt helped when he was stealing the dried cat food and toast!) lethals do have amazing personalities , incredibly affectionate and real characters I hope your boy is as strong and as healthy as my pat was . Good luck! If you need any advice I'd be happy to help.
 
Tabybim said:
Hi my names debra, and my first pig ,Patrick was a lethal. I have to say your little boy does show some signs of being a lethal too. However I had Patrick for 4 years and enjoyed every minute with him and all things considered he was in pretty good health. He was blind and deaf, and had a head tilt and later a Boney growth in one eye, but he put on weight well and had a full set of surprisingly good teeth(which no doubt helped when he was stealing the dried cat food and toast!) lethals do have amazing personalities , incredibly affectionate and real characters I hope your boy is as strong and as healthy as my pat was . Good luck! If you need any advice I'd be happy to help.
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Thank you that is really kind :) they are very special indeed
 
Glad to hear your special boy is doing ok.

I also have a mildly affected lethal boy who is partially sighted, partially deaf and has recurrent dental issues. He was 4 in September and loves causing chaos with his brother (who isn't affected).

I have a soft spot for these happy characters and their problems, it's great to see so many of them live happy, full lives with owners who care for them so well :)
 
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