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  • ONE THREAD per pig please!
    We really want your pig's history all in one place to help you. Please don't start a new thread for a new issue. Just reply to your old one. We can edit the title for you if needed.

Abby's medical thread

petluv

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Holy cow I’m in trouble!!! She has been nipping and cleaning her girly area all day, and she has gotten chubby on her lower belly. I was hoping she was just growing. Also she keeps going in her hidey and turning circles.

I never imagined this. I want to help her as much as I can but I have zero clue what I’m doing. Please help me help her and her babies. PLEASE HELP! PLEASE!!!
 

petluv

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Re: HELP my piggy is likely pregnant and getting close to time. No clue what to do!

Just to clarify...Her girly area and butt are clean, no hair missing. No redness or irritation. So very unlikely skin issues. She keeps going at her lower belly and vagina. Cleaning, nipping, not nipping other parts of body just her back end.
 

petluv

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Re: HELP my piggy is likely pregnant and getting close to time. No clue what to do!

Thanks always for the great info BPATTERS. :)

The vet is open 8-12 tomorrow, if she is still like this tmrw I’m going to take her.
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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Re: HELP my piggy is likely pregnant and getting close to time. No clue what to do!

I am also curious how Princess Abby is doing? I hope everything is all right.
 

petluv

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Re: HELP my piggy is likely pregnant and getting close to time. No clue what to do!

Thank you all for your concern! She now just seems to have a generalized itch. Still on her groin/hind end, but now on her sides and legs too. It’s not constant, but I’d guess it’s more than normal. We aren’t out of the pregnancy woods for a few more weeks. I would take her to the vet but she has no signs of irritation other than scratching. Hair is sleek and shiny and no bald patches, clumps or mats. Should I take her anyways to find the cause of the itch? My husband wonders if it’s anxiety related as she still is pretty nervous, or allergies (our dog would chew her legs until her skin showed and it was all due to simply allergies.)

She is so playful now, running laps, popcorning like crazy, jumping up on her hideys and burrowing in her litter or hay pile. But when I put her in her playpen she just hides in a hidey. She also still shakes constantly when I try to hold her. It’s like she’s brave in her cage, but not outside it. Still that is quite a bit of progress from when we first brought her home!

I read that that some Guinea pigs remain people shy. She easily might be one, but we keep trying. :)

Anyways does ongoing itching warrant a vet? Even before signs of irritation start showing?
 

bpatters

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Re: HELP my piggy is likely pregnant and getting close to time. No clue what to do!

Where exactly is she trying to scratch? Is she swinging her head along her back, trying to bite at herself, in what looks like a "V" pattern with the point of the "V" aimed at her head? If so, that's a classic symptom of mites, and yes, she can be treated with ivermectin while she's pregnant. See https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/111160-How-to-treat-for-mites-and-lice for how to do that.
 

MerryFriarTuck

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Re: HELP my piggy is likely pregnant and getting close to time. No clue what to do!

Glad to hear updates on princess Abby as well, [MENTION=45113]petluv[/MENTION] ! I have no experience at all with pregnant or itching piggies; and that's why I was also quiet.

My piggies and all my experience with them are exactly like [MENTION=17564]Kelsie[/MENTION] 's--- I couldn't have said it better! My Friar Tuck is so sweet and shy, though Robin Hood a little spunkier. I love just watching them be happy as well. :love:

I could totally be wrong, but I couldn't help but wonder if she's just enthusiastically grooming herself? ( Or eating some poop as piggies do? ) About once a day I'll see my piggies grooming by quickly licking, scratching, nibbling, and fluffing before smoothing their fur back in place. If you keep scrolling down until you get to it, there's a great video of a grooming piggy here: https://www.guineapigmanual.com/guinea-pig-behaviour/
 

petluv

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Re: HELP my piggy is likely pregnant and getting close to time. No clue what to do!

Thanks all for the replies!

How do mites get contracted? I’d hate that so much for her.:sad: Was it something I did or am using for her care? I use all small pet select products right now, pellets, hay and paper litter. I don’t see any bugs in her hay litter or on her, but maybe they are too small too see? Still no matted or missing fur. Smooth and silky as it has been. I want to help her, but if I don’t see a vet and don’t know for sure it’s mites, will the medicine hurt her? Should I treat her whether or not that’s the issue? Is it kind of like frontline for piggies and safe to use as needed? The itching isn’t increasing in intensity but is still there. She definitely still has anxiety too, but is really starting to come out of her she’ll just this past week! It’ll be interesting to see if her itching decreases then too! Who knows on the pregnancy, but like I said if there are no babies by the end of the month we should be in the clear.

Btw to the moderators: Can we change the title and make this Abby’s ongoing medical thread? Like you said having her history all in one spot is a great idea.
 
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MerryFriarTuck

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Re: HELP my piggy is likely pregnant and getting close to time. No clue what to do!

I don't know anything about mites, but I think symptoms are dandruff, lots of itching, and being very irritable. Are you sure she's not just grooming?
 

petluv

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Re: HELP my piggy is likely pregnant and getting close to time. No clue what to do!

No I’m not sure it’s not just extensive grooming, or itching from the hay, or anxiety or whatever. I’m not sure how much is really normal, but it seems she itches at least once when I check her every so often.

I would love for it to be nothing!

Still no flakes, mats, clumps, or bald spots.

Maybe I just a piggy hypochondriac. :eek:
 

petluv

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Re: HELP my piggy is likely pregnant and getting close to time. No clue what to do!

The saga continues....So i was checking around her pelvic area and genitals to see if I felt any movement of her potential babies. Not yet but I did notice she has a hard bump (felt almost like a tendon) directly above her vaginal “Y”. I felt it again several times and there indeed is a hard bump there. It’s not huge, and can’t be seen it has to be felt. Is that normal? Is something wrong, like a cyst or something? I know males can have a hard bump, and she surely could have been missexed (it was Petco after all) but she definitely has a very noticeable and slightly swollen “Y” and has no scrotum. My boy had a VERY noticeable scrotum. So does she need the bump checked or is “she” possibly a he? :eek:hmy:

I will see if there is any way I can get squirmy princess to let me take a picture. This might take a few.
 

petluv

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Re: HELP my piggy is likely pregnant and getting close to time. No clue what to do!

here hope it’s a good enough pic.
 

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MaiaBex

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Re: HELP my piggy is likely pregnant and getting close to time. No clue what to do!

Someone with more knowledge of guinea pig genitals can give you a better answer than me, but... there is the possibility that your princess is a neutered prince. I totally irritated Tannim by flipping him over to check his boy bits (he bit me for it eventually!) and he looks very similar down there. I also can feel a bump just above his genital area, although I couldn't get his penis to extrude. (That's when he bit me... I don't blame him; very undignified to have Mama messing with you like that.) So... maybe?

Someone else have an opinion?
 

LittleSqueakers

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Re: HELP my piggy is likely pregnant and getting close to time. No clue what to do!

The saga continues....So i was checking around her pelvic area and genitals to see if I felt any movement of her potential babies. Not yet but I did notice she has a hard bump (felt almost like a tendon) directly above her vaginal “Y”. I felt it again several times and there indeed is a hard bump there. It’s not huge, and can’t be seen it has to be felt. Is that normal? Is something wrong, like a cyst or something? I know males can have a hard bump, and she surely could have been missexed (it was Petco after all) but she definitely has a very noticeable and slightly swollen “Y” and has no scrotum. My boy had a VERY noticeable scrotum. So does she need the bump checked or is “she” possibly a he? :eek:hmy:

I will see if there is any way I can get squirmy princess to let me take a picture. This might take a few.

That picture certainly looks pretty female to me. However, a hard ridge anterior to the pelvic area could certainly be a penis. Male pups' testes don't typically drop until they are a few months old, and until then, they can definitely look like females. Do you have any guess as to how old your baby is?
 

ItsaZoo

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Re: HELP my piggy is likely pregnant and getting close to time. No clue what to do!

https://www.guinealynx.info/sexing.html

Here is a link to a site that has good info and photos to help determining the gender of guinea pigs from young to adult. The site also includes links to other info sites.

Your picture looks like a girl to me.
 

Soecara

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Re: HELP my piggy is likely pregnant and getting close to time. No clue what to do!

Very curious, the bottom looks very female, but the top where the penis would be looks quite male. Certainly might be worth getting him/her checked by the vet to see what they think.
 

petluv

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Re: HELP my piggy is likely pregnant and getting close to time. No clue what to do!

Thanks everyone for your input.

Lol I should take a poll! lol

Some females from what I’ve seen amongst dozens of pics Ive gone through are just more fleshy and pronounced. Lucky for me it doesn’t really matter (I have a single piggy) except that if she is a she I’m just concerned it might be a cyst, the ridge I’m feeling. She’s also not out of the pregnancy woods either so that could be too. She doesn’t seem to be in pain or discomfort thankfully. I think I’m just going to keep a watch on it to see if it changed any or if she starts showing signs of discomfort. The only other symptom she has is she is itching herself a lot. Who knows.
 

petluv

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Re: HELP my piggy is likely pregnant and getting close to time. No clue what to do!

Ok so she is still itching/bitting herself quite often. Still no irritation, redness, flakes, matting or hair loss. I’m considering giving the Ivermectin a try, even without the symptoms.

I hope BPATTERS or others expierenced with mites can answer these few questions.

Is it safe to use the Ivermectin if you only think it could be mites, but have not symptoms but itching? It doesn’t pose health risks if not clearly needed?

Should it be done under a vet supervision?

The link given was for Ivermectin for horses and cows. Was this a mistake or is the same thing used for GPs?

If it is the correct product how much would you have to reduce the dosage by?

Is it topical and if so how exactly is it used, how much and for how long? Is it repeated periodically?

If it doesn’t work do you then go to the vet?
 
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petluv

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Re: HELP my piggy is likely pregnant and getting close to time. No clue what to do!

Sorry one last question, I buy all Small Pet Select hay, pellets and litter. Do I have to throw out what I have is that what caused this? Do I have to change brands now and if so to what for all three.
 
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