Sick Chipper's Medical Thread

[bpatters]

From bpatters: This came via email to Teresa. I've edited it, and my response to her.

I think Chipper, my two year old Abyssinian Guinea pig has mites. He also has a cold and ear infection, (holds his head to one side). I've taken him to the Vet twice and he has been on two courses of a pink antibiotic which smells like strawberries. It has not helped his cold and he is still holding his head to one side. I will be taking him to a Vet who specializes in Guinea Pigs which is a four hour drive, but can't do it for two more weeks, unless you can tell me what antibiotic I should have the Vet order for him.

Also I read that for the mites the following will work. Can you comment about if it's safe or not. I hate to see him suffering: "You go to a pet store and get a tube of horse wormer called Ivermectin. Cost $12 Take a pea size amount and place on your finger and place inside his mouth, best to enter the mouth on the side. Give him a piece of carrot afterwards. Do this once a day for 3 days. The hair will grow back." Please comment. Can I do this? Have you heard of this?

Bear in mind my Vet in completely inept; I've paid him several hundred dollars now and Chipper still has a runny nose, cocked head, and is scratching his left ear a lot. I'm willing to travel and spend more money for the pet I love, but I wish I could just be told what to tell my Vet, who would comply, I'm sure without driving for 8 hours, (both ways).

My response:

Teresa forwarded your message to me. My answer is below, but for future reference, the quickest way to get help is to post a question on the forum. In fact, these questions have been frequently answered there, and someone would have seen your post last night and answered it.


You can treat with ivermectin the way you described, but it's dangerous. The ivermectin you're describing is for a 1000-pound horse or cow, and a pea-sized drop of it is way too much for a guinea pig. Ivermectin is a safe medicine, but it can be overdosed, and you're running the risk of doing that by giving it that way. Seehttps://www.guinealynx.info/ivermectin.html -- there are instructions for diluting the ivermectin there and for giving it safely.


However, the easiest way to give it is by using this: https://www.amazon.com/Ivermectin-Pour--Cattle-250-mL/dp/B00JAL3AAW/ref=sr_1_2 One small drop behind the ear, given once a week for 3-4 weeks, will take care of it.


But why do you think your pig has mites? Is it because he's scratching his ear? That's usually not a sign of mites in guinea pigs. They generally have a more widespread infestation across their bodies, and will be doing lots of scratching everywhere.


I have no idea what the pink medicine is that your vet has been giving. To know whether it's effective, I'd have to know what the medicine, what strength it is (how many mg/ml), and what dose (how much of it). Normally an adult pig is given Baytril for an ear infection. If it doesn't work, doxycycline may be added.


Baytril, in particular, can affect the appetite, and you have to make sure he's still eating. Seehttps://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html for instructions on how to do that.


Another possibility for his treatment is to ask your vet to consult with an exotic vet about treatment for Chipper. You'd probably be charged for the consultation, but it probably wouldn't cost much more than the eight-hour drive to see a better vet.


I'm going to post your question and my response on the Medical thread over at Guinea Pig Cages forum (www.guineapigcages.com). Let's move the discussion over there, if you don't mind. There are thousands of users over there, and only a very few admins and mods, and we just don't have time keep up with individual queries.


Hope he feels better.

 

[cathy b]

Dear Billie, here's sending heartfelt thanks for your good advice. I'd read about the antibiotic Baytril which was used successfully for ear infections. I made the mistake of trusting my Vet, and now I'm afraid Chipper's head with remain permanently tilted. I'm going to call the Vet on Monday and see if he'll prescribe Baytril, if you'll please let me know what size dose is usually used. I've used the amazon link you sent to order the Ivermetin-Pour--Cattle.Will I be dosing one small drop behind 'each' ear, or just one ear once a week for 3-4 weeks. Chipper does scratch quite a bit, and he has one bald spot. He used to get sores where the hair would fall out and it would even get a bit raw, but that stopped. He still has one spot where the hair is gone and it hasn't grown back. The Vet took a scraping and found nothing, but I read that 'false negative' results are common. My main concern, however, is the congestion, runny nose and middle ear infection which is causing the crook neck. I read that Mites can get worse when there is another illness occurring. I keep Chip's cage clean so I don't know how he got these. He was in a cage with a rabbit for a short time, but I stopped that after I read it's potentially dangerous. The rabbit is young and a small breed, they got along well. The ear infection started after he was outdoors on the lawn,(in a large protective enclosure, of course) and he was caught in the wind and rain for about five minutes before I realized and brought him in, toweled him off. I'm crazy about him, he's a very friendly guy who comes when I call him, and often stands up on the side of his cage to get my attention, wanting just to be held. Thanks in advance for your responses! Chipper must get well

 

[bpatters]

Pigs can get respiratory infections when housed only inside with no other animals around, so I would worry too much about how he got it.

The information you want about antibiotic dosage is here: https://www.guinealynx.info/antibiotics.html -- not only for Baytril, but for anything else Chipper might be given.

Skin scrapings are useless. They're painful for the pig and for your pocketbook, miss the mites half the time, and the treatment is the same regardless of the scraping result -- treat for mites. If you ever have more problems with them, just skip straight to the treatment step.

Here's the dosage chart for the kind of ivermectin you ordered: https://www.guinealynx.info/topical_ivermectin_pour-on.html.

 

[cathy b]

Pigs can get respiratory infections when housed only inside with no other animals around, so I would worry too much about how he got it.

The information you want about antibiotic dosage is here: https://www.guinealynx.info/antibiotics.html -- not only for Baytril, but for anything else Chipper might be given.

Skin scrapings are useless. They're painful for the pig and for your pocketbook, miss the mites half the time, and the treatment is the same regardless of the scraping result -- treat for mites. If you ever have more problems with them, just skip straight to the treatment step.

Here's the dosage chart for the kind of ivermectin you ordered: https://www.guinealynx.info/topical_ivermectin_pour-on.html.

Thanks so very much. Knowledge is power and I'm grateful to feel empowered in my care of Chipper

 

[cathy b]

Thank you SO much, spy9doc! It's frightening living in a rural area, so far from a good exotic animal Vet; your feedback is wonderful. I will follow the good advice you've embellished with no fear since those who know piggies best can be trusted most!