NonNonHeinous
Member
Cavy Slave
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2009
- Posts
- 14
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2009
- Messages
- 14
Hi all, just thought I would introduce myself.
I have owned guinea pigs before, and rats before that. But I did not have any small animals after I moved north to go to college. Just my dogs and my horse.
The day before yesterday I stopped by the feed store to pick up a bag of feed for my horse. This feed store often sells puppies and kittens that are born locally. This time they had a little long-haired guinea pig all by his lonesome. He was in a totally inappropriate and dangerous cage that had parallel-only wire flooring that his feet could slip right through--a broken back leg just waiting to happen. He had no hay, just junky pellets, and he had large hairless areas on his flanks and entire belly where the skin was mottled, irritated, thickened, and flaky. He was lying there looking utterly miserable.
I asked the owner if I could see him, and she explained that his previous "owners" didn't want him anymore and were going to just set him free in their backyard. She convinced them to take him to her store instead so she could find a home for him. She commented that he needed some "TLC" (understatement of the year) and she put some lice powder on him already. He was free if I wanted him.
Well, I can't say I *wanted* him, but I couldn't in good conscience leave him there. He needed to see a vet YESTERDAY.
So I took him home, named him Gandalf (because he has long white hair), and got him an appointment with a cavy-savy vet the next day.
She was appalled at his condition. He has a severe mite infestation with a probable secondary fungal infection (we are culturing for ringworm). He is so itchy that he has seizures. His nails were so overgrown he didn't want to move, and he was a bit down in weight and showed very little appetite--almost certainly deficient in vit C.
The vet felt he was too debilitated for anti-fungal medication at this stage, so we decided to trim his nails, bathe him in a mild shampoo, and then apply Revolution. We'll repeat the bath-and-revolution in two weeks.
For his diet, I'm supposed to give him C-rich veggies, try to get him to eat hay, and she suggested Oxbow's Critical Care formula which I got today.
I don't think this guy has ever been fed hay, as he seems to show ZERO interest in it. I've bought some alfalfa hay and cubes, some orchard, and some botanical timothy. He has nibbled a bit on the alfalfa and I saw him nibble a bit on the botanical hay today. Still, he's not chowing down like I'm used to seeing guinea pigs do! They were feeding him Nature's Cafe Guinea Pig Buffet and he was just picking out the seeds and things and leaving the rest. I bought him some Cavy Cuisine and mixed it in, but he just picks at it. Thankfully, he will eat most of the veggies I've given him--loves the spinach, ate a bit of bell pepper. Will try a piece of carrot later and also have some freeze-dried strawberries. I got him some Vit C tablets too, but he doesn't seem thrilled with them.
The Critical Care I feed with a syringe, and he's very tolerant. I just wrap him in a towel and squeeze in a dab at a time in his mouth. It takes forever and I don't know how I'll get the full dose in him, but any amount has to help.
I want to do something for his skin to soothe it and maybe combat the fungus a little, but am unsure what is okay to put on guinea pigs. Suggestions? I was thinking of something like Calm Coat--it's made with essential oils and contains tea tree oil.
You can see photos of his skin condition on this thread:
https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/diet-nutrition/47654-wont-eat-his-hay.html
I have owned guinea pigs before, and rats before that. But I did not have any small animals after I moved north to go to college. Just my dogs and my horse.
The day before yesterday I stopped by the feed store to pick up a bag of feed for my horse. This feed store often sells puppies and kittens that are born locally. This time they had a little long-haired guinea pig all by his lonesome. He was in a totally inappropriate and dangerous cage that had parallel-only wire flooring that his feet could slip right through--a broken back leg just waiting to happen. He had no hay, just junky pellets, and he had large hairless areas on his flanks and entire belly where the skin was mottled, irritated, thickened, and flaky. He was lying there looking utterly miserable.
I asked the owner if I could see him, and she explained that his previous "owners" didn't want him anymore and were going to just set him free in their backyard. She convinced them to take him to her store instead so she could find a home for him. She commented that he needed some "TLC" (understatement of the year) and she put some lice powder on him already. He was free if I wanted him.
Well, I can't say I *wanted* him, but I couldn't in good conscience leave him there. He needed to see a vet YESTERDAY.
So I took him home, named him Gandalf (because he has long white hair), and got him an appointment with a cavy-savy vet the next day.
She was appalled at his condition. He has a severe mite infestation with a probable secondary fungal infection (we are culturing for ringworm). He is so itchy that he has seizures. His nails were so overgrown he didn't want to move, and he was a bit down in weight and showed very little appetite--almost certainly deficient in vit C.
The vet felt he was too debilitated for anti-fungal medication at this stage, so we decided to trim his nails, bathe him in a mild shampoo, and then apply Revolution. We'll repeat the bath-and-revolution in two weeks.
For his diet, I'm supposed to give him C-rich veggies, try to get him to eat hay, and she suggested Oxbow's Critical Care formula which I got today.
I don't think this guy has ever been fed hay, as he seems to show ZERO interest in it. I've bought some alfalfa hay and cubes, some orchard, and some botanical timothy. He has nibbled a bit on the alfalfa and I saw him nibble a bit on the botanical hay today. Still, he's not chowing down like I'm used to seeing guinea pigs do! They were feeding him Nature's Cafe Guinea Pig Buffet and he was just picking out the seeds and things and leaving the rest. I bought him some Cavy Cuisine and mixed it in, but he just picks at it. Thankfully, he will eat most of the veggies I've given him--loves the spinach, ate a bit of bell pepper. Will try a piece of carrot later and also have some freeze-dried strawberries. I got him some Vit C tablets too, but he doesn't seem thrilled with them.
The Critical Care I feed with a syringe, and he's very tolerant. I just wrap him in a towel and squeeze in a dab at a time in his mouth. It takes forever and I don't know how I'll get the full dose in him, but any amount has to help.
I want to do something for his skin to soothe it and maybe combat the fungus a little, but am unsure what is okay to put on guinea pigs. Suggestions? I was thinking of something like Calm Coat--it's made with essential oils and contains tea tree oil.
You can see photos of his skin condition on this thread:
https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/diet-nutrition/47654-wont-eat-his-hay.html
