Hello All

[piggie-fan]

Hi all. I am new here. Looks like a great forum!

I am a fairly recent piggie owner. I have three little bundles of fluff. They are great. Got them at easter so we called them after chocolates..... Bounty, Crunchie and Jaffa.

I have a problem with one though. Jaffa has recently started to have what can only be described as "seizures". She was really bloated and I took her to the vet and she got some antibiotics and anti-gas medicine and it started to go away. But now she started having these "seizures" where she just flops over sideways and does this running motion and then jumps back up and continues doing whatever it was that she was in the middle off (usually eating!).

Does anyone know anything about this sort of thing? I would love any advice! Thanks!

[MetallichicA]

Poppy used to do something very similar to, if not just like, what you're describing. We never were able to figure out what was going on, but it didn't last long. I'd also like to find out what it was, if anyone has any ideas!!

[Bellebelle]

The first thought is mites, I had a sow with severe mites and she'd often have siezures. even afterwards she was so sensitive from it she would fit if you pressed to hard on her back.

Emma

[MetallichicA]

I wonder if that was related to Poppy then. She did get treated for mites just before we moved to Cali a few years ago... the seizuring was before that. It definitely wasn't a severe case though.

[piggie-fan]

Thanks for the tip about mites. Jaffa doesn't appear to have mites....no hair loss or scratching or anything. Would you expect to see those types of symptoms with mites?

[Fluffball]

Some pigs will not present the symptoms of mites initially but later on.It is best to get them treated for mites just to be safe.

Its best to get three treatments, many vets suggest two but three should be at least the minimum. First to get rid of the mites, second to get rid of the eggs, and third treatment to get rid of any hatchlings.

Please read this: http://guinealynx.com/mites.html

You can also post on the guinealynx forums. They know alot of medical information and you can also ask your question there: http://www.guinealynx.info/forums/

Did your vet give simethicone as the bloat medication?

Welcome to the forums as well : )

[enchantingcavy]

Hi Piggie-fan

I would say either mites or fungal related with regards to the fits/seizures. Several external mites are hard to see with the eye and you have to look very closely to see them. External mites won't nessessarily affect the appearance of the animal sometimes a little hair loss can be seen but most just live on the coat/skin debre so a piggy with mites won't nessessarily look unhealthy but they can still be there.To treat external mites the product mose Aussies use is called Fido's free-itch concentrate. It's between $12-$14 a bottle and basically you dilute it in their bath water. It will kill static mite, running lice and walking dandruff and most external parasites. Pyrethrin is the active ingredient that kills the mites. For sellnick mange you'd be noticing hair loss, excessive sratching, weight loss in the later stages, wounds caused by scratching etc and for internal mites your two best options would be Ivomec or Revolution but I don't think your pigs have internal mites as you havn't mentioned any hair loss etc?

If your piggy had a fungal related condition they'd have either alot of noticable dandruff or flaky skin, slight hair loss...?

With the bloat do you feed alot of lettuce or cabbage or water based vegies? Some vegies contain alot of water ( mostly the green ones ) and if fed in excess can cause bloat so feeding in small amounts in moderation is the way to go.


Jess

[floey]

Would there a be a possibility of it just being "pop corning"? Because as piggie-fan said the "siezures" occured AFTER the bloating and going to vet etc.

Also Jess aka enchantingcavy from other threads i recall you have your own rescue in QLD so must be very experienced with cavy treatment in Australia. I just wanted to ask how much and where would you get your Ivomec from in Australia? (excluding vets) Also i see you recommending Revolution, is that the same as Advantage? Because I usually use Advantage but if Revolution is the better choice in australia i'd definately give it a try!
Thanks heaps
Florence

[enchantingcavy]

HI Florence,

Sadly Ivomec in small amounts can only be purchased from a vet although it can be over the counter if they know you know what you're looking for and why you need it. Produce/feed barns and stores sell the cattle injectable and oral ivomec although it dosn't come any cheaper than $40-$500 depending on the size bottle you buy and it can be a little strong for the piggies in my personal opinion although I know other piggy owners that use it no probs.

The one I use is the Ivomec for sheep. You can buy an external one or an oral one from your local vet. You'd just need to let them know why you need it e.g. worming/mange mite treatment and then how much you need. The dosage is .25ml per kilo administered once a week for four weeks so you'd be able to work out how much you need. Ivomec is very inexpensive I usually buy 90ml bottle from the vet for around $19.00 and it does more than 100 guinea pis so for only a couple of piggies you'd be looking at well under $10.00.

With the revolution it has an ingredient not found in most of the other dog/cat treatments called " selamectin " selamecting works in the same way as Ivomec ( Ivomectin ) with treating sellnick mite/mange and it's why people use revolution rather than advantage etc. I would say advantage would still work on your average mite and worms as it contains the ingredient Imidacloprid which is an insecticide but I can't be sure it'd work on your mange mite as it dosn't contain the ingredient selamectin which is the active ingredient for the mange mite in piggies.

Hope that helps
Jess

PS: We sell Ivomec and/or single Revolution tubes through the sanctuary now as it saves people buying entire packs of revolution at enormous prices. The revolution here is 9.20 a single tube ( same price for any size tube ) .40cents per 1ml Ivomec, $1.85 per syringe. I'll have to review those prices but that's what it sais up on our little board. Would be happy to ship some to you but yeah you also have the vet option.

[piggie-fan]

Thanks for all the replies.

Jaffa doesn't have flakey skin or dandruff....although she did have a little bit of generalised hair loss which the vet said was probably due to stress from the bloat.

For the bloat the vet gave me peptosyl...this pink liquid which is supposed to get rid of the gas....which it did.

I am very aware of what I feed them....in terms of what will cause gas etc. My other two are fine.... They mostly get capsicum, parsley, cucumber, pumpkin, carrots, beans, tomato, corn on cob, apple, orange, pear etc, plus always have hay and also a dry mix at night.

Finally, it is definately not "popcorning". My little Bounty loves jumping about so I'm used to seeing that. But what Jaffa does is entirely seizure-like....like what would happen to a person....falls over sideways, makes running motions, goes limp and then pops back up and continues on her way. If it is a longer one, she is a bit dopey when she "wakes up" and she staggers about for about a minute.

Apart from the mites prob that has been suggested the only other thing I can think of is that it is some sort of reaction to either Baytril or the Peptosyl that I gave her...like a build up in her system or something? because it didn't start right away.

Also, enchantingcavy, is that revolution like what we put on our dogs? Have never heard of doing that....bit confused!

[floey]

That sounds great Jess! I'd love to order some from you. Well I just give them Advantage as a precautionary treatment once every one month or so. I also wanted to use Ivomec as a precautionary treatment too.
A while back my piggies did have a case of lice (the vet says.) Unfortunately I do not have a cavy savy vet near me, she's not that experienced with cavys but she has a lot of patience to try to find out whats wrong etc.
Though she is very insistent in her ways, eg. she did a skin scraping as much as I insisted she shouldnt. Also she gave Ivomec injections to my piggies rather than the topical treatment I'd prefer.
She's charges $50 dollars for a visit, excluding the Ivomec which costs $5 per pig each time! I have 4 pigs!!! When I asked her if she could sell some ivomec to me, she refused to take that responsibility because Ivomec is not listed for Guinea Pigs etc. Also probably because if I kept going back every few months she can charge me for it!
Jess how do I contact you to arrange this? Thanks so much!!

Piggie-fan sorry for kind of interupting your thread! But unfotunately the system at cavy cages has changed, and I'm currently not qualified to send Private Messages yet. Hence I just had to continue on! So sorry!
Oh I must have misunderstood your siezure explanation i thought you meant she'd have a siezure then jump up and keep running, instead of lying on the floor! Poor thing!! Hope you do end up finding out the cause and cure!
All the best!

[Aertyn]

floey, do you live anywhere near Crows Nest?

This is a link to an exotics vet in Crows Nest, who would be happy to answer any questions you have about pigs.

http://www.davidvella.com.au/

[floey]

Hi Aertyn, unfortunately I live in the Penshurst/Mortdale area. I have read online about David Vella he does seem very experienced (and charges highly) and he's the first vet in Sydney to stock Critical Care I think! Unfortunately it's too much of a long drive for the piggies to go there, they'll probably get car sick by the time they arrive!

[Aertyn]

You could always email him, the only reason I know about him is because I drove past his clinic on the way to my Aunts house.

And I have no idea where Penshurst is, I live in Shepparton, Vic (I would not be surprised if you've never heard of it)

[floey]

Really? We can email them? I thought that would be sort of like... cheating his consultation fees, wouldn't it? Yeah I've heard of Shepparton! Because I use to live in Victoria too! I use to live in East Doncaster (well my parents still living there).

[Aertyn]

Really, some people who live in Melbourne still haven't heard of Shepp, honestly without us, they wouldn't have SPC or Campbells.

My mum grew up in Doncaster, how weird is this...

And I don't think he'd mind, you could tell him your pigs symptoms, and he might be able to give you a phone number/address of an exotics vet close to where you live.

[floey]

Oh really, Campbells is made there in victoria? That's cool! I love Campbells soup, especially now that its winter! Yeah he seems like the one and only great and known guinea pig vet around Sydney that i can dig up! I'd definately give him a buzz when the time comes!

[Aertyn]

Yeah, mum and I went out to the factory a couple of weeks ago to stock up soup for winter, it's so cheap.

We got a pallet of Ravioli Bolognaise for like $12.

And your lucky, you have an exotic vet close to you, I think the closest to Shepp is in Melbourne, the Vet we go to knows his stuff, but isn't a specialised Exotic Vet, in the country you've sorta gotta be a jack of all trades, capable of treating anything from goldfish to goats.

[floey]

At least you'd have a nice supply of Ivomec!! I don't know if I'd call that vet close! Probably take more than 45minutes drive, got to cross the bridge and all.
I'd definately make and mental note of Campbells being in Shepparton, if I ever visit there I'd definately go to Campbells too!
Aertyn, I'd definately turn to you for help in my Guinea Pig crisises! You have so much experience with animals.
Guinea Pigs are the first pets I've ever had in my care. So I worry a lot a lot!

[Gunnedah]

Foley

We use Mortdale Vets for all our pigs. There are 2 vets that specialise and they are Alex Rosenwax, he is at Green Square and David Vella at Crows nest (or over that way)

Em