Lethal Guinea Pig

Question
QUESTION: We have a 3 day old lethal guinea pig. He is blind deaf and has missing teeth, but we hand feed him on kitten milk. Although we wipe his bottom, we have not seen any droppings or urine. Could his gut be blocked? What kind of gut problems do lethal guinea pigs get? What should we feed him on? And as he gets older how can we asure that he gets enough nutrients? Are his gut problems curable?

ANSWER: Lethal guinea pigs are most commonly known to have blindness,missing teeth,lack of color in their fur, and can also have missing eyes, and GI track problems. It is a long and hard process to take care of them and I am glad that you have chosen to give your guinea pig a chance. You will need to continue to use a syringe and keep feeding him milk. You can use baby formula or kitten formula and make sure it is warm. Always keep your guinea pig warm and feeding him every 3 hours is recommended for 5-7 days. With a lethal you may have to do longer because of the missing teeth. Oxbow's Critical Care food is a good choice for your guinea pig and can be ordered online or bought at pet stores. It is a soft food for herbivores critters so is easier for your guinea pig to eat and digest. It ranges in a lot of flavors and is about $10.00 a bag.

As far as the digestive problems this is something that will need to be evaluated by a vet. It is something very common in lethals and I cannot say if it can be treated or not because it all depends on your guinea pig health and specific problem. However, the Oxbow's Critical Care food is great for getting the nutrients that guinea pigs and other critters need and matches what you would get in regular guinea pig food only its a soft version.

I hope that this helps and here are some websites about the food you may wish to look into:

http://wunderchins.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=30

http://www.only4pets.com/product_info.php?products_id=362

http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/kitchen/4190-lethal-guinea-pigs.html

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

QUESTION: Is it okay for me to trim his teeth? Because they may get too long since he cannot have hard food. Is it better to give him evaporated milk? Should we feed him milk for the rest of his life as well as the special food? Plus i wanted to feed him with  some kind of fruit juice so that he can get his vitamin C would that be okay?

Answer
I would recommend that if you do not know how to trim the teeth that you allow a vet to do so just as a precaution for the guinea pigs safety. But yes since he cannot eat hard foods then it would be necessary to trim his teeth. As for the evaporated milk that will not have as much nutrients as formula or cat formula so this I would not recommend. Once he begins eating the special food he will need water instead of milk since the ingredients in the food contain calcium.
Juice is something that you can feed him just as normal guinea pigs get oranges, apples, ect. Just make sure to get no pulp and dont over feed the vitamin c. You can also buy vitamin c for guinea pigs that goes in the water that may help you as well. Here is a list of ingredients in the Oxbow's Critical Care food. Also a website for the calcium for guinea pig water.

http://www.petco.com/product/110018/Oasis-Vita-Drops-Guinea-Pig-Multi-Vitamins.a

http://www.oxbowanimalhealth.com/vets/products/critical_care


Ingredients

Timothy Grass Meal, Soybean Hulls, Soybean Meal, Wheat Germ, Xanthan Gum, Calcium Chloride, Cane Molasses, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Hydrated Sodium Chloride, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, Soybean Oil, Papaya, Pineapple, Natural Flavor, Oat Groats, Wheat Middlings, Yeast Culture (dehydrated), Limestone, Vitamin E Supplement, Choline Chloride, Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Copper Sulfate, Selenium Yeast, Vitamin A Supplement, Folic Acid, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Copper Proteinate, Riboflavin Supplement, Manganese Proteinate, Biotin, Manganous Oxide, Thiamine Mononitrate, Magnesium Sulfate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cobalt Carbonate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Calcium Iodate, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Bacillus coagulans, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus plantarium, Lactobacillus bulgaricus.
Guaranteed Analysis

   * Crude Protein (min) 16.00%
   * Crude Fat (min) 3.00%
   * Crude Fiber (min) 21.00%
   * Crude Fiber (max) 26.00%
   * Calcium (min) 0.40%
   * Calcium (max) 0.60%
   * Phosphorus (min) 0.20%
   * Digestible Energy 24 kcal/tbsp

Additives

   * Vitamin A 19,000 IU/kg
   * Vitamin D3 900 IU/kg
   * Vitamin E 190 IU/kg
   * Vitamin B12 13 mcg/kg
   * Ascorbic Acid 10000 mg/kg
   * Niacin 60 ppm
   * Iron 300 ppm
   * Zinc 100 ppm
   * Copper 18 ppm