Rescued a pig, need medical advice

[Booth]

Hello!

I just rescued a shorthair named Snow (a name change is pending) from a house where she was bought for some spoiled kids. The kids lost interest, and Snow, 1.5 year old sow, is infested with mites. She's lost a lot of hair and has some pretty good scabs.

I took her to my great vet Saturday and she said Snow would be OK eventually, gave her a shot, gave me some cortizone/steroid spray for the itching, cut her obscenely long nails, and is having me come back Aug. 4 for the second shot. Everything else is fine: her weight is good, teeth are good, gut and heart sounds are good.

We've been spraying her down with the stuff we got, and she does seem to be chewing and scratching less. NOW, I've already placed a call to my vet this morning, but she hasn't called me back yet, and I thought you all could help.

This morning, when I woke up, Snow had chewed a huge bloody bare spot in her rump. It's probably 1.5' long by 1' wide.
* Should I get her a cone, like for dogs, or should I get her some kind of body sock like Peter Gurney suggests, and how would I make it?
* Can I spray the bloody spot to stop the itching?
* Can I or should I apply Neosporin to prevent an infection?
* Is this going to get better? Should the mites be dying off by now, and this will subside?
* Is she still biting because of itching, but the guilty mites are dying, or even out of force of habit?

If my good vet (45 minutes away) doesn't call back during early afternoon hours, I'm going to take her to the emergency vet (around the corner). But, if you have ANY advice, I'd LOVE to hear it.

Thanks from Snow!

[Booth]

Shoot! I put this in the wrong forum. Can someone move it? Sorry!

[mncavylover]

That sounds awful! Poor piggy. It's good that you're taking care of it. Ok, my advice would be not to spray the area as the chemicals may hurt the piggy and it could be bad if put in the blood. It probably would work instantly, either. I have heard and know from experience that sprays don't always work. I'm not sure about the Neosporin as I have never used it before. Just clean the wound with a damp washcloth and it should be ok until you see the vet. The mites take two or three shots of Ivermectin, spaced 7 to 10 days apart, to totally kill the mites in most cases. They take a little while to kill off because they burrow and reproduce constantly. It will get better though, with treatment. Sheis probably biting because it hurts and itches, not out of habit. You could try cutting out a part of a tube sock and getting it around the bitten area if you have one big enough that it fits the cavy comfortably. Good luck and I hope I could help! =)

[Booth]

Originally Posted by mncavylover

That sounds awful! Poor piggy. It's good that you're taking care of it. Ok, my advice would be not to spray the area as the chemicals may hurt the piggy and it could be bad if put in the blood. It probably would work instantly, either. I have heard and know from experience that sprays don't always work. I'm not sure about the Neosporin as I have never used it before. Just clean the wound with a damp washcloth and it should be ok until you see the vet. The mites take two or three shots of Ivermectin, spaced 7 to 10 days apart, to totally kill the mites in most cases. They take a little while to kill off because they burrow and reproduce constantly. It will get better though, with treatment. Sheis probably biting because it hurts and itches, not out of habit. You could try cutting out a part of a tube sock and getting it around the bitten area if you have one big enough that it fits the cavy comfortably. Good luck and I hope I could help! =)

Thanks! I think will try that tube sock idea, I want her to have as much fur as possible when this ordeal is over (but I'll love her either way).

The vet called. She said to use the spray AND the Neosporin. I tend to agree with you about the spray, so I stuck with just the Neosporin. It may still itch, but I think it's taste or greasiness is keeping her away anyway.

[CavySpirit]

You shouldn't use the Neosporin either. It won't really do much. I have mixed feelings about the sock. It just takes time for the ivermectin to kick in. Personally, in severe mites cases, I apply a little bit of ivermectin topically each day in addition to the oral dose for the first week until the very hurtful itching subsides.

Here is a photo album documenting the worst two I've had: http://imageevent.com/cavyspirit/cavyspiritpoorpiggies and here is the associated thread with the history (it's very, very long): http://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=558

See this link on Ivermectin: http://www.guinealynx.info/ivermectin.html

[Booth]

Originally Posted by CavySpirit

Here is a photo album documenting the worst two I've had: http://imageevent.com/cavyspirit/cavyspiritpoorpiggies and here is the associated thread with the history (it's very, very long): http://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=558

See this link on Ivermectin: http://www.guinealynx.info/ivermectin.html

Thanks, CS.

Snow looks a little like she's in Acorn's shape in those photos. But Snow has more fur on her, but more big scabs. It must be more localized.

We're kicking around names... What do you think of "Freja" (Freya) (to go with Thor, seen above) or Avalon, King Arthur's mythical island retreat, or Callista, just a pretty name.

[mncavylover]

=) Personally, I like Freja. That seems like it will fit in, too... good luck again!

[ChadWPB]

Originally Posted by CavySpirit

You shouldn't use the Neosporin either. It won't really do much. I have mixed feelings about the sock. It just takes time for the ivermectin to kick in. Personally, in severe mites cases, I apply a little bit of ivermectin topically each day in addition to the oral dose for the first week until the very hurtful itching subsides.

Here is a photo album documenting the worst two I've had: http://imageevent.com/cavyspirit/cavyspiritpoorpiggies and here is the associated thread with the history (it's very, very long): http://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=558

See this link on Ivermectin: http://www.guinealynx.info/ivermectin.html

Do you think a NSAID like Metacam or Rimadyl would help in this situation?

[CavySpirit]

Maybe, but I don't think Rimadyl is an NSAID. I'd have to double check. NSAIDs don't really help much in severe cases.

[ChadWPB]

I was just at the vet yesterday, and read literature on Rimadyl while waiting for our two pigs to be seen. It is indeed a NSAID, like Metacam.

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_rimadyl.html

But you're right, severe infestations might require something more potent.