Injury In Need Of Major HELP!!

[Noa123]

I just adopted two amazing piggies from my mom both males Yoshi and Stinky. She told me she can?t take care of them anymore that she trimmed their nails by putting them on their enclosed concrete porch and letting them run around! After telling my boyfriend that, we immediately went to pick them up so we can take better care of them. When we got home we noticed that almost all of their nails were curly o_o and immediately fixed that. As we were cutting Stinky?s nails, we noticed one of them is FLAT! Like actually flat, my boyfriend touched part of the nail and it fell off! Another nail that seemed somewhat normal fell off once my boyfriend touched it too. After that we noticed a piece of poop stuck to Stinky?s anal gland, never having this happen to a guinea pig before, I did the only thing I could think of: I put him in a tub full of warm water and started to bath him hoping the warm water would help and that he was probably constipated and presumed bathing him with baby shampoo a local vet recommended(they had dandruff). After that I had noticed the poop was still stuck so I used a washcloth with warm water to gently massage his gland and try to work the poop out when I noticed the poop had been there for a while as his glands were and still are swollen. I did successfully remove the poop from his gland and used warm water and a q-tip to clean it better since I don?t have the proper mineral oil yet(I didn?t expect them to be this bad since my mom properly took care of 24 guinea pigs and 2 toddlers at the same time.). I did give Yohsi and Stinky both anal gland cleanings with warm water, they didn?t seem to mind, but their glands are still swollen and Stinky still has a completely flat nail due to my mom letting them run on freaking concrete. Everything else about them is great, she did feed them a lot, they had one to 2 stalks of celery every week and she cleaned the bedding weekly, but that was it. Is there anything you would recommend to help my furbabies? They?re not in pain or anything or showing signs of distress, but I know they?re feet aren?t ok nor are their glands.

 

[bpatters]

Thanks for taking these guys in.

Here's a video on cleaning the anal sac -- https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/85830-Awesome-video-on-how-to-clean-the-Anal-Sac

What swollen glands are you seeing? Are you sure they're not just his testicles? The only visible gland in that area is the grease gland, and it's on his back just above where his tail would be if he had one.

I'm not sure the flat nail is a problem, but nails falling off when touched could be due to a fungal infection.

It would be helpful if you could post clear, close-up pictures of what you're talking about. It's also very helpful if you'll break your posts into shorter paragraphs. It makes it much easier for others to read, and you'll get more responses. Many people will just skip a "wall of text.

Here's some recommended reading for new pig owners:

https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/113176-Information-for-new-guinea-pig-owners
https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/107827-What-NOT-to-do-for-your-guinea-pigs!

 

[Noa123]

Sorry I haven’t logged on in a while, we thought it was best to take the boys to the vet. The gland I was seeing was nothing more than a patch of fur that needed to be removed. They are also healthy for being 4 years old.

 

[spy9doc]

Glad to hear that they are both healthy!

Quite honestly, I wouldn't use mineral oil for anything! I clean the boys with coconut oil, jojoba oil, or in a pinch use avacado oil. Just don't ever use tea tree oil.......it burns like the devil! As an FYI we have a grooming day once a month. We do ear cleaning, nails, and genital check and cleaning.

Both my boys love to lounge in the litter box which has a layer of hay over the litter, and Sparky will often pee & poop there and lie on it. He has a white belly and often needs a belly/bum bath weekly. He loves his litter box hideout SO much that we don't even try to break him of the habit.