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Let me first make it clear, I am no vet, the following items
are from my experience only and if there is any doubt at all you MUST see your vet.
A Few preventative Measures
There are a few definite things that you can do to keep your cavy
healthy and fit.
YES
Always keep your cavy clean.
Always feed quality fresh food.
Hay is also essential to a cavies well being without it they
cannot digest their food properly
ALWAYS give your pet greens or carrots EVERY DAY , this is vital to their health
Get to know you pet, then you will know if its ill
Clean ears and claws regularly
NO
Never leave your cavy without water
Don't risk things, such as over age pregnancies
Never delay if you think your cavy is ill, speed is of the essence with cavies
Never leave your cavy wet after a bath especially in the UK
sometimes I get responses to this page
with added info, I always label these 'FEEDBACK' and I cannot guarantee its
correctness
Liver Disease
FEEDBACK ~ this information was
provided by Liz, many thanks. I personally know very little about it.
Hopefully many cavies' liver disease can be prevented, as
there is no cure:(
Here are the symptoms:
Runny/crusty eyes that look sunken (usually from
dehydration)
No eating or drinking
Little or no peeing/no pooping
No "wheeeeet" noises, or few at best
The cavy will lose weight very quickly
Breathing quickens
The cavy will move less and less, and when you pick him/her
up, he will feel sort of floppy and cannot balance himself in your hand
Eventually, the cavy will no longer be able to lie down (I
think from the pain) so he will put his forefeet relatively close to his
backfeet, so he may look like a little ball. He most likely won't move from
this position.
The only way to keep your pet alive for awhile is to give
him Critical Care (for small mammals) which is available from your vet. By
doing this you are at least making his death less painful.
There is no cure for liver disease, but it can be easily
prevented. DON'T use any kind of pine shavings EVER in your cavies' cage,
don't even keep them within smelling distance (the fumes are what causes
it, weird, huh?)
Even just a few months of exposure can be deadly, but the
cavy will not develop the disease for at least three years after the exposure.
Then again, it may all depend on the cavy. I have one left that has had the
same amount of exposure to the pine shavings as did her brother, father, and
mother (all died).
And so, some people may say that pine shavings are better to
use than the deadly Cedar chips, but they are equally as bad !!!
Hope this info was useful and you can put it on your site to
warn people of the dangers of pine shavings. Most pet shops seem to sell them
for cavies...I don't know why, maybe its an American thing.
Pregnancy problems
- Toxaemia
- Prevention of this killer is often the vital factor , always ensure pregnant sows have
loads of vitamin C and calcium. The later can be given using bread and milk if they will
take it. However if after all this you sow goes off her food, becomes listless and drools
you must immediately get her to a vet.
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- Stuck Baby
- If a baby gets stuck during the birth process, and the mother repeatedly strains, then
you can give her a 'helping hand' by greasing your finger well, with petroleum jelly or
even washing up liquid, and VERY GENTLY sliding your finger in and pulling on any
extruding part of the youngster. If you don't succeed at once, then get to a vet as soon as
possible.
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- Over Age pregnancy
- This is a very risky situation and always one for the vet because a caesarean
may be the
only means of saving the sows life !!.
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- Mastitis
- This is often just a blocked milk duct which should be bathed in warm salty water and
any 'old milk' eased out. However if it gets infected then the anti biotic Baytril will be
needed
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- Not Enough Room in The Womb
- This is a relatively new one to me, the baby is born with feet facing the wrong way or
curl back. Some breeders would destroy the animal but using tiny splints and massage DOES
WORK.
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- Prolapsed Womb
- This has now happened to 2 of my sows and is caused by a difficult birth, basically the
womb comes out, it need veterinary attention where they can put it back and place two
LOOSE stitches to ensure it doesn't come out again, but that there waste products can !!,
this should be left in for quite a while, around three weeks, in the meantime the sow will
need buscopan to stop contractions and antibiotics to prevent infection and a lot of love.
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Skin Problems
There are three main skin problems in Guinea pigs, one of which is avoidable and that
is cosmetic testing, however lets not get into politics. The second two are very similar
to each other, they are mange and Mycosis, fungus and mites. The pigs itch in the extreme,
tearing out their hair and often their skin too!!!. Because one often comes with the other
its best to treat for both, so a dose of ivomec, just one drop, is needed twice a year,
and a bath in any anti dandruff shampoo. On any open sores use hydro cortisone cream to
stop itching. If any should look yellow and infected then to the vets you must
go
- This rescued cavy has a sore caused by the selnick mite on her shoulder, this is
not as bad as some I have seen !
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- To see our special fact sheet on the Selnick mite Click Here One
other skin problem that I have recently come across is that of hormonal problems, the
symptoms are similar, but always in a heavily pregnant sow, in which case just the cream
is often needed.
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Impaction
Only boars get this problem and it is when the muscle walls behind the anus stretch and
dropping gather in the void. Unfortunately I know of no cure or even a cause!!, although
it is commoner in older boars.
It is going to be a lifelong problem and the lump must be expelled by the owner by gentle
squeezing.
Some people find affected boars improve when they are running with sows or other young
boars.
- Feedback
- We had what I think was this problem with a couple of our boars (as they
got older) but it was always accompanied by a white, greasy residue in the
anus as well. We consulted the vet about it who informed us that it was a
kind of constipation caused by vitamin C deficiency. He gain us vitamin C in
liquid form to add to the water bottles which definitely seemed to help
unclog things. Additionally, we carefully removed the blockage in the way
you mentioned above.
Diarrhoea
A cavy can very quickly die of the scours so speed is vital, Immediately give the cavy a
small amount of a kaolin product such a a 1/4 tablet of Diocalm in the UK. If there is no
success then go to your vet immediately.
Constipation
This is unusual in guinea pigs but does happen, droppings are very dry and often joined
together, or just non existent. Try natural remedies like apple peel and dandelion leaves,
but if that doesn't work then give 0.3ml of liquid paraffin (or Imodium
Liquid or Senokot Liquid) JUST ONCE, leave it for three
days before re dosing and NEVER give more than two doses, as it will destroy the guinea
pigs stomach lining.
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Colds
When you suspect a cold, hold your cavy up with its sides pressed to your ear, if it
sound wheezy the a vet is needed for one of the reliable anti biotics,
Baytril or Septrin (Tribrissin). If however you
piggy just has a snuffle, then any decongestant rub, such as Vicks, on their chest often
does the trick.
One note of caution, if at any time your cavy seems to be 'gasping' for
air, or
breathing very fast, immediately go to your vet as it may be pleurisy, unfortunately I
personally have never known a cavy to recover from this.
Ear Infections
If a cavy repeatedly scratches its ear and circles it may have an inner ear infection,
the only cure I know for this is the medication Panalog. If ear mites are suspected then
clean ears and use dog canker drops.
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Stroke
Often people think a stroke is the end of the road for a cavy, not so I
have had one extremely tame cavy named Sherbert who had a stroke a few
years back, and whilst she was clumsy, and needed extra care she was fine in
herself and had a normal life span. I currently have a cavy, Suzie, who has
also suffered a stroke and is fine. The symptoms are like that of an
ear or eye infection, only worse with circling. The only cure is time and tender loving
care, if you succeed, its worth every minute!!
- Suzie ( at the front) with her friend Bella
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Eye Problems
- Sticky Eye
- very common in babies, just treat with any human eye drop such as Optrex
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- Foreign Bodies
- If something gets in the eye then try gently to remove it, NEVER yank it out, if it wont
wash or stroke out then see you vet. Often however the only sign you have that a foreign
body has been there is the eye has gone milky, this is the eyes way of recovering
- a picture of a cavy with a sore eye. This cavy made a total recovery
Abscesses
Abscesses are large puss filled lumps that often appear on the dewlap of a animal .I
believe that unless you are very experienced with cavies and abscesses they should be removed
or lanced by your vet. Sometimes if abscesses are very small and
pop on their own, carefully squeeze out puss and apply panalog ointment, be careful to
isolate the pig and wash your hands. Abscess puss is very toxic to humans and
cavies and also very smelly
A cavy with an abscess on her nose
Mouth and Lip sores
Often (but not always) caused by acidic fruit and veg. cut out the veg. responsible, but not all veg.
and treat the sore with panalog or gentian violet. Another recent product that
has come on the market is Colloidal silver. I have found this very effective
in treating cavies mouth sores as well as minor cuts, skin problems and many
other problems
This is Snowy and he has a bad case of Mouth Sores. In his
case it has been caused by beetroot, some cavies are susceptible to acidic
food such as beetroot, apple etc. Although it looks bad it doesn't seem to
bother him at all, although of course it must be treated
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