diff --git a/.pre-commit-config.yaml b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
index a33473b72..d429bc6b8 100644
--- a/.pre-commit-config.yaml
+++ b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 repos:
 -   repo: local
     hooks:
-    -   id: mypy
-        name: mypy
-        entry: python3 -m mypy --ignore-missing-imports
-        language: system
-        types: [python]
-        files: ^litellm/
+    # -   id: mypy
+    #     name: mypy
+    #     entry: python3 -m mypy --ignore-missing-imports
+    #     language: system
+    #     types: [python]
+    #     files: ^litellm/
     -   id: isort
         name: isort
         entry: isort
diff --git a/litellm/exceptions.py b/litellm/exceptions.py
index f55c0914d..04558e437 100644
--- a/litellm/exceptions.py
+++ b/litellm/exceptions.py
@@ -582,7 +582,7 @@ class APIConnectionError(openai.APIConnectionError):  # type: ignore
         message,
         llm_provider,
         model,
-        request: httpx.Request,
+        request: Optional[httpx.Request] = None,
         litellm_debug_info: Optional[str] = None,
         max_retries: Optional[int] = None,
         num_retries: Optional[int] = None,
@@ -592,9 +592,10 @@ class APIConnectionError(openai.APIConnectionError):  # type: ignore
         self.model = model
         self.status_code = 500
         self.litellm_debug_info = litellm_debug_info
+        self.request = httpx.Request(method="POST", url="https://api.openai.com/v1")
         self.max_retries = max_retries
         self.num_retries = num_retries
-        super().__init__(message=self.message, request=request)
+        super().__init__(message=self.message, request=self.request)
 
     def __str__(self):
         _message = self.message
diff --git a/litellm/utils.py b/litellm/utils.py
index 411d2509d..ddbd039fe 100644
--- a/litellm/utils.py
+++ b/litellm/utils.py
@@ -7866,6 +7866,14 @@ def exception_type(
                         model=model,
                         litellm_debug_info=extra_information,
                     )
+                elif "Connection error" in error_str:
+                    exception_mapping_worked = True
+                    raise APIConnectionError(
+                        message=f"{exception_provider} APIConnectionError - {message}",
+                        llm_provider=custom_llm_provider,
+                        model=model,
+                        litellm_debug_info=extra_information,
+                    )
                 elif hasattr(original_exception, "status_code"):
                     exception_mapping_worked = True
                     if original_exception.status_code == 400: