Lethals

[vegan]

Not sure if this post goes on this forum Clover

Oh my goodness I was reading about lethal guinea pigs and I found a lady who had one and he doesnt have any eyes i was like "oh my god! poor thing!!" he is also deaf
www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?p=519169

[kitty]

I don't understand what you mean by "lethal"!? Are they DANGEROUS or something?!

[cavy13]

Yeah, how are they lethal?

[Bellatrix]

A lethal is a guinea pig that is born from two roans or two dalmatian guinea pigs. They carry the lethal gene and when bred to each other it can cause blindness, deafness or pigs with no teeth or eyes It's called the lethal gene because the poor piggies don't usually live long at all.
Piggies with the lethal gene are also called micros

[Susie]

Isn't it sad? It just goes to show what damage can be done if you don't know what you are doing & you breed. Roans & Dalmations are lovely piggys... I have seen both but not for breeding with each other as Bellatrix says

I feel horrible for that poor piggy. He has never seen anything. He probably can't eat properly. He is very lucky that people have allowed him to live I suppose... it breaks my heart. Thankyou for bringing it up... I think its important we all know the rule on Roan to roan & dalmation, dalmation... and pass it on to prevent this kind of tragic thing.

[kitty]

That is horrible! I guess it's like some white cats being deaf-just poor breeding.

[Alix]

Some 'lethals' lead completely healthy lives, with eyes, and hearing. It is irrisponsible for anbody to breed Dal to Dal or Roan to Roan. I disagree with Roans and Dals being sold in pet stores as anbody could breed these to each other and produce Micros.

[Clover]

It is very sad, I know some piggies can live quite happily being blind, but suffering from deafness and other possible problems, must be awful.

[cavy13]

Wow, I never know that.

[Alix]

I understand that some breeders prefer to have the cavy put to sleep if they do occur in litters. I think it also depends on the quality of life the pig can have.

Although having said all these things, even a few scattered white hairs that are undetectable to the human eye can mean that a pig is 'genetically' a roan, and can produce micros.

[vegan]

For you guys that are a little still confused it is generally the result of breeding a roan X roan or dalmatian X dalmatian. These white guinea pigs are known as "lethals". They may also have disorders of the digestive system and the animal may be missing one or more teeth. In a roan X roan or dalmatian X dalmatian mating, there is a one in four chance of breeding a lethal. Severely affected guinea pigs will die. Responsible breeders will never intentionally mate these breeds.

Lethals can be affectionate pets. They require extra medical care and may require hand feeding. Lethals tend to live shorter lives, depending each pig's particular genetic problems.

[Clover]

I really don't know how any breeders could take the risk of a poor 'Lethal' piggy being born, when most would know of the high risk.

[jennawing]

That is very sad. The same thing occurs in syrian hamsters- called Anophthalmic whites, or eyeless whites. They are born with tiny sightless eyes or no eyes at all and very often toothles as well. I am not sure about the deafness, though- very likely. Their projected lifspan is only a few months. White-belly, banded, spotted, roan- not absolute, but very likely as these types carry the Anophthalmic gene. In hamsters, there are ways of testing the eyes before mating- some black-eyes look red in light- and those are carriers- two bred together have the eyeless consequences. It can occur in campbells as well in the red-eyed mottleds.

But I didn't know about this in piggies. How sad. It's amazing that guy has survived this long!