Rat
Rescue :: Guinea
Pig Healthcare
Guinea Pig Healthcare
Abnormalities.
Abnormalities are more likely to occur as the result of inbreeding,
a practice I, and any true animal lover must regard as inexcusable.
In the wild, particularly amongst pack animals, as soon as
a young male becomes fertile he is hounded out of the family
group by the dominant male. His motive is to defend his right
to mate with the females, but the effect is to avoid the risk
of inbreeding, a fundamental requirement for the health of future
generations.
We only have to look at the British Bull dog, the squashed nosed
Pekinese or the German shepherd dog to see the disastrous results
of humankind's intervention in animal breeding to it's own particular
specifications. In these cases, appalling respiratory problems,
poor immune systems and weak hips are the result.
The kind of abnormalities seen in guinea pigs, caused by inbreeding
are weak immune systems and in the main, problems in the head.
Undershot jaws, maloccluded teeth and cataracts being the most
common, the latter being most common of all in the Abyssinian
breed. Cleft pallets can occur but are less usual and crook
feet. Do not confuse the last problem with quite a few young
who are born with these feet, which are usually twisted inwards
at the ankles, as a result of laying in an awkward position
in the womb. You can soon tell the difference by gently manipulating
the feet a day after birth. Those that are deformed will be
firmly set in that position while the others will be quite flexible
and can be made to straighten by lightly binding them in micropore
tape for a week.
There is nothing that can be done to correct deformed feet,
including euthanasia!. Many vets are keen to go down this path
when any animal is not perfect. These animals cope very well
and have as good a quality of life as their straight limbed
companions. I am certain than an animal's abilities to cope
with disabilities are far superior to human being's for the
simple reason that they cannot asked the pointless question,
'Why me?.'
Where euthanasia is the only merciful answer is in all cases
of cleft pallets for I have never known an animal to survive
for more than a few months with this problem and those months
could not, in any way, be regarded as of good quality. Most
young with cleft pallets die within a week. Either because they
cannot suckle properly or the milk finds it's way into their
lungs
