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Sick Please help, my piggy is sick & vet has no openings until Wednesday

SpazNMeos momma

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Hi everyone,
We havent been on the board lately, but I desperately need help. One of my boars has been ill for about a month and a half now. When we first noticed he was ill we immediately went to the vet. The vet prescribed Ivermectin and an increased Vit C supplement. We did that for about a week and he seemed to get better. While he was taking his meds we had the boys separated. When Meo improved we then took out the barricade and they both had full run of the cage. They are in a huge 4 by 2 cloroplast and grid's cage. They use fleece lining, and it gets washed once a week, with poops being swept out daily. This evening when I got home from work, my little man Meo's eye was swollen and crusty. He also has the baldness that originally sent us to the vet returning. Its on his back end only and then right around his eye. It was not completely grown back so its hard to tell exactly how much is missing now. The cavy savy vet in our area has no openings until Wednesday. If you have any ideas that may help, I would greatly appreciate it. These are my babies. I have my vet tech friend coming by this evening to see if she has any ideas but she deals mostly with dogs, and cats, so I figured Id give it a try here. Thanks in advance.
 

mommmyof2

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Maybe can be mites, or some kind of fungus. Maybe you can try and find another cavy savvy vet around and bring him there or find a 24 hr emergency vet. Good luck. Hope all goes well and keep us posted.

P.S. Pictures would help us determine what it actually might be.
 

CavyMama

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Ivermectin is a treatment for mites. When you said your pig was ill for a month, it sounds more like a URI or something related. Mites is something you can treat at home without a vet visit. How long did you use the Ivermectin for? It's usually dosed once every 10 days or so for 2-3 doses. If the bald patches are returning, it's possible you simply did not dose long enough.

No need to return to the vet. Just get some ivermectin (you can get it ovet the counter) and treat on your own at home.
 

pinky

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It could be a lot of different things. You really can't treat it unless you know what it is. Can you upload some photos? If it's a bad case of mites, it probably will take multiple treatments to treat them. It could also be conjuntivitis or ringworm. What was the original diagnosis?
 

SpazNMeos momma

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The original diagnosis was ringworm, I thought for sure that was it considering my son also got ringworm shortly after Meo was diagnosed. We treated with Ivermectin for 10 days and 2 times a day. Then i also increased his vit c intake. I was just feeding healthy veggies 2 times a day and the vet said that wasent enough so I started to crush Vit C and cover a carrot in it. After the week on the treatment hair started to grow back so we thought everything was ok. It was almost back and now it seems that in 24 hours he has gone completely bald again. I gave them their veggies this morning and to be honest didnt pay much attention since I was running late to work. Then when I got home I went to sweep the poop out and he is bald! It has really scared me! The other pig seems fine but just as a precaution Meo is in the containment pen. Ill try to take some pics in a few mins, Ill get my husband to hold him.
 

Critter guy

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One of my ladys was going bald on her back end and she went to the vet also was separated got better the I put her back with her cage mates in a couple days I noticed she was going bald again then in thee middle of the night and found one of the others munching on her fur so I seperated them again andhave had no further problem with it also a friend had the same problem once seperated her fur grew back also as for the eye I don't know perhaps it got poked if he is getting munched around his eye also hope this helps
 

SpazNMeos momma

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bald meo.jpgmeo eye.jpg

I dont know if you can see that all that well but the first one is of his rear end. You can see the little tuft of hair that is still there. This is the exact same spot that it was balding before. The second is of his eye. He is squinting in this but its normally more open than that. What should I do?
 

mommmyof2

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I would at least call the vet and speak with him or her. Maybe they will be willing to squeeze him in as an emergency. But I would definitely take him back to the vet just to be on the safe side
 

pinky

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I've never heard of ivermectin for fungal infections in guinea pigs. Monistat 7 can be used but I'm not sure what's best to treat the area around the eye. Ringworm is extremely contagious to anyone who comes in contact with him. You should wear gloves while handling him. Your other guinea pig is exposed now so you need to watch that one, too. It spreads by spores so you need to continue the treatment and completely disinfect the cage and everything in it and anything he's come in contact with.
 

SpazNMeos momma

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I thought the vet was a wacko! I think I need to try finding someone who deals mostly with pigs! Do you think he will be ok till Monday? Or should I try and do emergency vet. Also does that appear to be ringworm to you?
 

Lord_aperture

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I would find a new vet if they are suggesting Ivermectin to get rid of ring worm. Because ring worm is fungus. Ivermectin does nothing to it. This may help https://www.guinealynx.info/fungus.html

Or it could be something completely different.
 

pinky

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I think you can wait until Monday. Just be really careful handling him and find a vet that specializes in exotics. It looks like it could be a fungal infection to me.
 

SpazNMeos momma

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I found a rodentologist in Tampa. Its a good 45 mins from where I live but if she can get him fixed then ill drive there.
 

skinnyguineaus

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The original diagnosis was ringworm, I thought for sure that was it considering my son also got ringworm shortly after Meo was diagnosed. We treated with Ivermectin for 10 days and 2 times a day. Then i also increased his vit c intake. I was just feeding healthy veggies 2 times a day and the vet said that wasent enough so I started to crush Vit C and cover a carrot in it. After the week on the treatment hair started to grow back so we thought everything was ok. It was almost back and now it seems that in 24 hours he has gone completely bald again. I gave them their veggies this morning and to be honest didnt pay much attention since I was running late to work. Then when I got home I went to sweep the poop out and he is bald! It has really scared me! The other pig seems fine but just as a precaution Meo is in the containment pen. Ill try to take some pics in a few mins, Ill get my husband to hold him.
Ivermectine wont cure the ringworm... you need an anti fungal cream (Lamasil works well). Crusted eye sounds like URI and you need antibiotics plus probiotics. Your vet should be able to Identify this... maybe another vet would be a good idea
 

SpazNMeos momma

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Update on Meo's vet appointment, and advice needed

So we took Meo to the vet and the Doctor diagnosed him with Scabies. I thought that was contagious but my other boar Spaz has shown no symptoms what so ever. Meo got a shot of ivermectin and tomorrow im going to bring Spaz in for the same treatment and get the oral meds for after.

Then we come home and the vet calls to tell us that he gave him a decimal more than what was needed so watch out for signs of lethargy. This is the second vet that ive been to trying to find good piggy care. Im getting tired of trying new people. This vet was supposed to be great with exotics and have vst knowledge in them.

Then when i make the appointment for Spaz I find out that the vet that will be doing the appointment tomorrow is the vet that has the skill in pocket pets. It made me angry that they wouldnt schedule me with her in the first place. Do any of you know anything about Scabies in piggies. Is there anything else I can be doing at home? Maybe a shampoo, food, ect?
 
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foggycreekcavy

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Scabies are mites.

Ivermectin has a very high margin for overdosing. Most likely your pig will be fine.
 
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