Lethal guinea pig physical traits

Question
QUESTION: We just got an approximatly 9 week old female abbasidian guinea pig... She is black and white(1/2 & 1/2)
Noticed a slight tilt to her head...she eats and drinks but is quiet.. She will purr when petted and will chatter
When our others get going.  I have been reading they can have some serious
Health problems... Can't get a straight answer from many people.  Or am I being  paranoid?

ANSWER: You're probably worrying more than is necessary. She is not a 'lethal' baby. What we refer to as a lethal white is actually an incorrect definition when referring to cavies. That's a term that is present in breeding certain colors of horses, most commonly when a Palomino is bred to another Palomino.

The foal is born pure white, and because of genetic incompatibility there are serious deformities and they seldom live more than a couple of days.  In guinea pigs the 'lethal' gene is sometimes present when crossing a roan colored pig to another roan colored pig. The litter may have a white baby that has certain characteristics that define the genetic problem.

They are always white, their eyes are typically very tiny. Their intestinal tract is not properly functioning and they have an odd look overall.  Your Abyssinian is not a lethal. The head tilt may be from an injury at birth. If so it will likely not go away. That doesn't necessarily mean she can't survive. She will just have a head tilt and may or may not have a problem with balance.

The purring when you pet her is a good sign. And eating and drinking is an indication that she's feeling fine. She's just a quiet pig. When a guinea pig is ill they stop eating and drinking. They will typically put their head in a corner and stay there until they die.  That 'head in the corner' posture is usually a sign that they are giving up.

Your Aby doesn't sound as though there's anything really wrong. I hope this helps you a little bit to reassure you that you're probably just being a bit paranoid.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank your for your responce to the lethal question... We ended up taking her in due to a 2 1/2 ounce weight loss and this head tilt that forced us to hand feed her... She ended up having meningitis and was severely dehydrated...unfortunately we had to put her down and are having her sibling monitored in an isolated environment for any signs of meningitis.  So sad!!! Never thought I would encounter something like that with our smallest of family members.

Answer
How very sad. I am so sorry for your loss.

I am interested in how they determined that she has meningitis. It typically takes a spinal tap and examination of the spinal fluid to make a true diagnosis of meningitis, which is an inflammation of the lining of the brain.

It seems more probable that his was an injury at birth. It's very sad when we lose a pet. And these little guys dehydrate very quickly, which may have contributed to the weight loss. Hopefully you will find better luck should you decide to get another pig.