Written by Alison.
Cover photo of Cheese and Crackers, our satin lethals at Mintie N Friends.
Welcome to Wheekly News, Issue 5. The news for Mintie N Friends.. Is sadly Chewie passed away after a fight with dental issues and old age. He was a very special boy and will be missed very much.
Photo of Chewie, gone but not forgotten.
Health Tip - It is always important to regularly check your guinea pig's teeth growth and watch for any kind of signs of dental issues if they become present. Excess drool around the mouth and a very distinct type of smell (this kind of smell is quite foul to the nose, so its quite clear) These two signs are very clear signs to dental issues being present. It is important to keep a guinea pig's teeth constantly moving and grinding, this can help prevent excessive amount of growth on a guinea pig's teeth. As there teeth are constantly growing, hay hay and more hay is the very best thing you can give your guinea pig to help with keeping teeth trimmed down. There is never too much hay for a guinea pig, it should actually make up 80% of there diet and be available to them 24/7.
We also also welcomed Toffee, Pancake, Cheese and Crackers into Mintie N Friends. Toffee came to me through someone who messaged me in regards to a guinea pig she no longer wanted. She had been living with two males for a few weeks before coming to me. She is on pregnancy watch and is showed clear signs of pregnancy. She and her pups will be available for adoption in the future, once she is healthy and weaned her pups and her pups once they have been weaned, healthy and doing well on there own etc.
Photos of Toffee when she first arrived.
Photo of Toffee's ever growing pregnant belly, not long before she had her pups.
With how long it has taken me to get this issue out, Toffee had her pups. She had two healthy and big Pink Eyed Whites. One male named Vanilla and one female named Cream. Once they have been weaned and old enough. They will be available for adoption. Adoption applications must be filled and approved first.
Photo of Toffee with her pups Vanilla and Cream the day they were born.
Pancake, Cheese and Crackers and found advertised and it was discovered that Pancake is a satin roan, being a satin and roan means two things. One satin being a carrier on the satin gene best known as Osteodystrophy or OD for short. Which means from 12 months old onwards she is prone to OD. Which causes issues to the guinea pig's bones, dental, joints etc. Also having the roan gene, means if IF she was bred with another roan or dalmatian there would be a 25% chance of her throwing off a lethal. Since she is permanently staying here, she will never be bred.
Photos of Pancake when she first arrived.
Cheese and Crackers are also both satins. But they are also blind and deaf, since there parents were discovered to be satin roans. Theres a chance they are satin lethals. Meaning they are satins with all the risks of being prone to Osteodystrophy as explained with Pancake. They have been assessed by someone highly experienced, they are in fact deaf and have very minimal sight. It has been confirmed by the vet they are in fact satin lethals. Pancake, Cheese and Crackers are housed together and are very close friends. Pancake acts as Cheese and Crackers eyes and ears, its very cute.
Photos of Cheese when she first arrived.
Photos of Crackers when she first arrived.
Sexing Tip - I think this is a topic, that we agree that some people have struggled with sexing guinea pig's for a long time. The best way to tell the difference between a male and a female. A male's genitals is it is distinctly shaped like an "i" with a female's genitals is it is distinctly shaped like a "Y"
Illustration by Alison.
Miss Snowflake also developed a lump behind the back of the ear and went to the vet to be assessed as soon as it could be. After some testing and check over, it was discovered it was a puncture to the skin from one of the other lethal white's nails, that lives with her. As they are blind and deaf they tend to run into each other and run over each other quite a bit. They have plenty of space, but prefer to huddle up close to each other. There nails have been trimmed back since to prevent it happening again. Miss Snowflake was put a round of antibiotics to reduce any risks of infection. This is even more important for a lethal white as they are prone to sickness and infections more then a normal guinea pigs, as they have a weaker immune system. She also had to have betadine applied to the wound a few times a day to help with healing and preventing it from getting infected. She has is fully recovered now.
Photos of Miss Snowflake.
Photo of Miss Snowflake's teeth.
Seems Miss Snowflake wants to be the centre of the stories this issue, haha. This is why I say lethal whites require regular checks and ongoing care. Upon doing check ups of the lethal whites teeth etc. I found Miss Snowflake had another top tooth coming in. Unfortunately as its further back and coming in on an angle it's gonna need to be monitored closely. Will most likely require ongoing trimming too. Will also be discussing a future plan for her with the vet too. If this continues to grow at such an angle it could be dangerous and run a risk of making it harder for her to eat etc. As she has never had bottom teeth and only ever the one top tooth. It's quite unusual for another tooth to come through suddenly. In all my years of doing this, this is the first time I've had another tooth come through when they are older then 1-2 months old. Miss Snowflake would be about 4 months old now.
Mintie N Friends also started a campaign on awareness and information on lethal whites out there. The goal is for the information about lethal whites to get out there and for people to understand just because they born differently it doesn't mean they should be put to sleep and not be given a chance to live a loved life. In the correct care they can still live good lives. There are rescue's like Mintie N Friends who will take them on and give them the care they require. We need to get the information out there to make everyone aware there is help and putting them to sleep is not the only answer. In the future, Mintie N Friends would like to look at offer a short care for lethal whites learning program to help educate others on the correct way to care for lethals.
Piggy Of The Wheek
This week's Piggy Of The Wheek is Gingernut, she was rescued from the big Logan/Slacks Creek rescue last year. She was with us on pregnancy watch and had her litter and weaned them. She was then adopted by Richelle who gave her a wonderful life. Until she sadly passed away. We don't know how old she was, but we do know she lived a great loved life in the end. R.I.P. Gingernut, your gorgeous face and personality will not be forgotten.
Photo of Gingernut.
Try MINTIE.
This wheek's favourite is Capy-Mint. Capy-Mint is a MINTIE. mix that contain's capsicum, mint and oaten chaff.
COMING SOON! Comics of Mint and more.
Wheekly News - Issue 6 coming out October - November 2021.