Signs of inbreeding

[HairlessWillow7]

Hi everyone.

A few years ago, I adopted a piggy (later named Mama Pig) who was abandoned in someone's apartment and pregnant with what I think was a badly inbred baby. She gave birth to baby Josephine a few months after I got her. Josephine was a lovely little piggy. She just seemed a little different than other piggies. Her ears were really thin, thinner than regular piggy ears. She also had a smaller mouth and feet than a typical guinea pig. She also lived to be 3 years old, but it appeared that she died of old age. Do you think the strange things she had was a sign of being inbred.

Josephine's been gone for 2 years, but I'm still wondering about her inbreding. Thanks

 

[CiaraPatricia]

I don't know sorry, but did she have any symptoms before she died or any illness during her life.

That's a sad story but you gave her a good life which is great

 

[HairlessWillow7]

Thanks

She never had any illness during her life. She was only 3 when she died, but she acted like she was a 6 year old piggy. She started sleeping a lot and moved much more slowly. It was almost like she had "premature old age" if that makes any sense.

 

[pretz]

imbreeding usually shows up as extra toes, sometimes blindness guinea pigs actually cope very well with imbreeding, to me it sounds like she could of been stunted due to lack of nutrients whilst she was forming just throwing ideas out lol.

 

[CiaraPatricia]

Maybe she was stunted because of inbreeding though. My two kittens are probably quite inbred, they came from a house where people started with two cats and ended up with 30 (the ISPCA rescued their moms) and they're very small. My vet said it could be from inbreeding.

Inbred pigs are generally not as healthy and prone to lots of things really, so it could be why.

But I think it could be other things too, like cancer or other illnesses. It's so hard to tell.

Poor piggy, but I bet she had an amazing 3 years