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Injury Advil & Zyrtec's Medical Thread

advil zyrtec

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Is it possible the flat poops have simply been stepped on?
I originally believed that, but I've started seeing flat poops out of the blue, and there seems to be too many flat poops to be stepped on.

What's weird is that I never actually saw my pig poop out a flat poop, but then again, I never really see my pigs poop often in the first place, I don't get to spend time with them often with my busy schedule. Do you have any guesses on what the cause of this is?
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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Just as a first guess, most likely too many veggies. I have a boar with malocclusion issues who won't eat hay, and as a result has significant issues with his poop. Small poops followed by large ones, very soft ones all stuck together, you name it. Me personally, I would cut back on their veggies and feed more hay. You can always syringe some extra water to your pig with concerns about hydration.
 

advil zyrtec

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Has anything at all changed about their diet? Are you checking his anal sac routinely to see if it needs to be cleaned?
I stopped feeding romaine lettuce, and I ran out of radicchio about 2 weeks ago, but I never fed a lot of radicchio to begin with. Everything else in diet is the same. Green lettuce, cucumber, carrot, green peppers, and pellets. As for their anal sacs, they look fine from what I can see. Am I supposed to look deeper to see if a cleaning is necessary?
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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Just as an addendum to my previous post, too many veggies and not enough hay can lead to malocclusion issues. It MAY have been the cause of Slys malocclusion, but at this point it's impossible to say for sure. Fresh water and hay should always be your pigs dietary staples.
 

advil zyrtec

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Just as a first guess, most likely too many veggies. I have a boar with malocclusion issues who won't eat hay, and as a result has significant issues with his poop. Small poops followed by large ones, very soft ones all stuck together, you name it. Me personally, I would cut back on their veggies and feed more hay. You can always syringe some extra water to your pig with concerns about hydration.

I feed 2 leaves of green lettuce in the morning, 1 slice of cucumber and 1 baby carrot for each guinea pig after school, and more or less 1/4 of a bell pepper at night. I have reduced the veggies I feed them compared to a month ago. It does seem to make my piggies eat more hay. Atm I'm not sure what veggies I should reduce.

Wow I didn't know too make veggies could lead to malocclusion! I believed that these things were mostly caused by bad genes and some other factors.
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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If you had to remove one more thing, I would take out the cucumber.
 

advil zyrtec

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I did hear from somewhere that removing cucumber would help, but it's getting hotter by the day, and my pig does not drink water, so I'm trying to make sure my pig gets as much water as possible.
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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I feed 2 leaves of green lettuce in the morning, 1 slice of cucumber and 1 baby carrot for each guinea pig after school, and more or less 1/4 of a bell pepper at night. I have reduced the veggies I feed them compared to a month ago. It does seem to make my piggies eat more hay. Atm I'm not sure what veggies I should reduce.

Wow I didn't know too make veggies could lead to malocclusion! I believed that these things were mostly caused by bad genes and some other factors.
The long strand fibre is what keeps a guinea pigs teeth properly ground down and in check. Too many soft things to eat can cause them to eat less of what they should be eating and that can cause their teeth to become overgrown, and that will lead to malocclusion. Granted, thats not the only cause for a pig to develop malocclusion, but it is one of the reasons.
 

equinox96

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You say you feed them Sherwood pellets, have you read the science behind it? Dr Sherwood says that if you cut all vegetables from their hay diet, water intake will increase by 400%!!!

How many bottles do they have? I have 3 bottles available for my 4 piggies. They easily empty 2 per day. You can try putting them in different locations and at different heights. All your problems seem to stem from the fact that they don't drink enough water. I would try attacking this problem straight on.
 

bpatters

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I'm going to interject something here. The "science" behind the Sherwood pellets isn't really science. It's anecdotal results from the founder, and as far as I can tell, no scientific studies have been done on those pellets. I'm not recommending them until more information from someone other than the founder and a few guinea pig owners is available.

We need to see some long-term comparative studies on how pigs do with Sherwood pellets, with an emphasis on stone/sludge formation, before they get a wholesale recommendation.
 

equinox96

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I'm going to interject something here. The "science" behind the Sherwood pellets isn't really science. It's anecdotal results from the founder, and as far as I can tell, no scientific studies have been done on those pellets. I'm not recommending them until more information from someone other than the founder and a few guinea pig owners is available.

We need to see some long-term comparative studies on how pigs do with Sherwood pellets, with an emphasis on stone/sludge formation, before they get a wholesale recommendation.

I agree with you interjection but it does sound convincing. It's not just about the pellets, it's also about giving them too much/many veggies. It's also not just about stone and sludge formation. I have a girl that bloats at anything other than hay. If feeding better quality pellets and by that I mean unnecessary stuff like wheat and soy, helps her stomach and pooh problems... I'm all for it.

People have to use it to be able to assess long term comparative results because what a lot of us are doing is just not working for our "delicate" pigs with ussues. I'm sick of pumping her up with meds and just want her to live a normal and pain free and happy life.
 

advil zyrtec

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@equinox96 yes the pellets do make my pigs drink more water. One of my pigs always drank water, and the other didn't. Just the other day my pig finally took his first sip of water, and he has been drinking ever since. No, my pigs don't drink as much water as you say they should, but for 2 pigs they finish a small bottle in about 4-5 days, which is something I never thought could happen with my pigs.

I'm with you on sherwood pellets. The the changes with my pigs were something I thought could never happen. When I switched back to oxbow to experiment with pellets, my pigs' poop dropped less than half in size. That was when I realized how much sherwood was doing for me. When a switch of pellets can take a pig completely off of medication, I think these pellets are worth taking the risk for.
 

advil zyrtec

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Hi guys,
I noticed my pig has hair loss in the corner of one eye. There are no other problems. No other bald patches, flakes or crusty eyes. Could this be mites or a fungal infection? Should I go to a vet, or could I buy something to deal with it myself?
Here is a picture of the eye:
IMG_3969.jpg
 

bpatters

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It's not mites. It may be a fungus. If you can avoid the eye itself, you can use a bit of Nystatin or Lotrimin, applied with a q-tip and rubbed in well. But if you can't do it without getting it in the eye, you'll have to see a vet for an ophthalmic antifungal medicine. There's nothing suitable that you can buy over the counter.
 

advil zyrtec

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Could the vet supply me with an antifungal medicine that won't hurt my pig if it goes in his eye?
 

bpatters

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Did you actually read my post just before yours? "you'll have to see a vet for an ophthalmic antifungal medicine."
 

advil zyrtec

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Whoops sorry. Could that also explain why my pig blinks in that one eye with the fungal infection a lot more than the other eye?
 

advil zyrtec

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Hey guys,
Just a question, I came across a lotrimin ultra in my home that I don't know how old it is. The active ingredient is butenafine hydrochloride %1, and I got curious. Is there any difference between lotrimin ultra and the other lotrimin with an active ingredient of clotrimazole %1 and are they both safe to use on guinea pigs (if I ever need to use it)?

Thanks
 

advil zyrtec

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bumping this thread up
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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We already know the active ingredient in the regular lotrimin is safe. The active ingredient in the ultra is different and from what I gathered in a little googling, the effects on pigs are not known.

Just on that basis, personally I would not use it. Too many unknowns for me.
 
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