Hello there. I make the crappiest subjects ever.
Pictures will be included in a later response, but for now, since it's just me here, I have no way of holding my cavy (Stevie) still enough to take pictures.
A) Hair Loss
Stevie has a few bald patches on him, and by bald patches I'm talking about areas that are roughly the size of a penny, if not more in two places plus one other area that may be fungal. This includes the torso on the right side between his legs (it's very well hidden by his fur though), a spot about as large above his front right shoulder and behind the ear that has a red sore/scab (dunno which), and a small round area behind his left eye that one of my friends who worked in a vet clinic strongly believes is ringworm.
I looked at guinealynx and found good information. However, the pictures there seemed to be really severe. Can you all think of any reason why my pig might have such large clumps of hair missing? Keep in mind that I got him from a pet store 2.5 weeks ago and he got over a URI the past week.
B) Grooming
Ever since I got Stevie, he's been displaying what I feel is grooming behavior. He will occasionally scratch himself in different places and will bite things out of his fur. Is it okay that he does this often (like around once every minute or two if he's mobile), or is that a sign of skin irritation? What would be considered normal cavy grooming behavior?
C) Questionable Vet
I don't want to say too much because I know I will come off as biased and thus bias your opinion as well. However, I'm curious (especially once I post pictures) what you all would say is up with Stevie. His disposition is moral other than he's a bit more bitey than he was the past few days. He's still very friendly.
The vet feels that while it's possible that there could be a bacterial, fungal, or parasitic cause, the best course of action for the next week or so is to apply peroxide on the areas once a day and neosporen twice a day. It struck me as kind of odd, especially since I was not given other options and I am not sure if human over the counter products are safe for animals.
(Note: this vet also insisted (and got upset when I questioned it) that I put vitamin c drops in stevie's water everyday. they also wondered why I had such a large cage for him and if i had read the literature they gave me that included specefic breeder and non breeder size living specifications (100 square inches and 180 square inches respectively) Trust me...I know better, but this isn't the first time i've questioned my vet).
I know...I know...lots of questions.
Pictures will be included in a later response, but for now, since it's just me here, I have no way of holding my cavy (Stevie) still enough to take pictures.
A) Hair Loss
Stevie has a few bald patches on him, and by bald patches I'm talking about areas that are roughly the size of a penny, if not more in two places plus one other area that may be fungal. This includes the torso on the right side between his legs (it's very well hidden by his fur though), a spot about as large above his front right shoulder and behind the ear that has a red sore/scab (dunno which), and a small round area behind his left eye that one of my friends who worked in a vet clinic strongly believes is ringworm.
I looked at guinealynx and found good information. However, the pictures there seemed to be really severe. Can you all think of any reason why my pig might have such large clumps of hair missing? Keep in mind that I got him from a pet store 2.5 weeks ago and he got over a URI the past week.
B) Grooming
Ever since I got Stevie, he's been displaying what I feel is grooming behavior. He will occasionally scratch himself in different places and will bite things out of his fur. Is it okay that he does this often (like around once every minute or two if he's mobile), or is that a sign of skin irritation? What would be considered normal cavy grooming behavior?
C) Questionable Vet
I don't want to say too much because I know I will come off as biased and thus bias your opinion as well. However, I'm curious (especially once I post pictures) what you all would say is up with Stevie. His disposition is moral other than he's a bit more bitey than he was the past few days. He's still very friendly.
The vet feels that while it's possible that there could be a bacterial, fungal, or parasitic cause, the best course of action for the next week or so is to apply peroxide on the areas once a day and neosporen twice a day. It struck me as kind of odd, especially since I was not given other options and I am not sure if human over the counter products are safe for animals.
(Note: this vet also insisted (and got upset when I questioned it) that I put vitamin c drops in stevie's water everyday. they also wondered why I had such a large cage for him and if i had read the literature they gave me that included specefic breeder and non breeder size living specifications (100 square inches and 180 square inches respectively) Trust me...I know better, but this isn't the first time i've questioned my vet).
I know...I know...lots of questions.