Newspaper & Mites/Sores?

[valerie]

Hello. I'm a newbie here. My pig & I need some help...

My pig, Daisy, has been biting and scratching herself pretty violently and is starting to get open sores and scabs on her body (mostly on her sides)- I did take her to the vet about 10 days ago and the vet said she has pneumonia and that the sores could just be associated with that? She gave her a shot of Baytril (sp?) and we've been feeding her antibiotics twice a day. We are bringing her back to the vet tomorrow for her check up and to see if she's better (I think she is doing a lot better breathing/respiratory wise), but she is still scratching and has sores on her body. =( I really want her to start feeling better.

I'm wondering if using newspaper under her CareFresh could be causing her to have mites-although I'm not sure this is mites, but from what I have read on several websites it does sound like that- because occasionally she likes to dig at it and chew on the newspaper...?

I've had her for almost a year now, and she is my only pig so I dont think she could have gotten it any other way, at least that I know of.

I feel like a terrible mother to my pig. This isn't an emergency or anything, but I'd really like some advice or if anyone knows that newspaper (since its a wood product) could give a piggy mites. Any and all information would be helpful.

Daisy & I thank you!

 

[TheAlmightyMiko]

Hi Valerie, welcome to the forum!

From what it sounds like, Daisy definately has mites. I just found this out recently, but mites are not something your pig "catches," but are actually something that lies dormant, and in cases of extreme illness and stress, become active. The newspaper is absolutely NOT the cause of the mites, but probably what has happened is that her respiratory infection has caused her immune system to lower its defenses and therefore the mites have become active and are causing your pig extreme discomfort. What you need to do is treat with ivermectin to kill the active mites. Info on how to treat can be found on Guinea Lynx: https://www.guinealynx.com/ivermectin.html.

You are NOT NOT NOT a bad mother; this can happen to anyone, and pigs are very suceptable (Sp?) to URI's and mites, this is not your fault, so don't worry that it is--just worry about treating Daisy so she's at 100%! You can get the ivermectin either from your vet or online, and since you're going tomorrow you may as well ask them for it. You will need enough for two doses, one right away and another in 7-10 days. Full dosing instructions are on the GL link I gave you.

Good luck, and keep us posted on Daisy's condition!

 

[Ly&Pigs]

Welcome to the Board!

If you can, when you take her back to the vet's office, have them treat her for mites, but don't let them do a skin scraping. Most of the time, the skin scrapings are useless and won't tell anything and they are painful for pigs to endure. If the vet won't dose her with ivermectin you can easily treat yourself at home by following the directions on the link that Miko gave you. Daisy will need at least 3 doses of ivermectin(maybe more if she has a severe infestation) given 7-10 days apart.

As far as her digging and chewing on the newspaper, pigs just love to do that.

Also I would like to ask what type of cage she is housed in, are you feeding her unlimited hay and giving her veggies daily? She could also benefit from some extra Vitamin C since she has been sick.

 

[TheAlmightyMiko]

Ack...I can't believe I said two doses. Glad you came by Ly, I guess I'll use the excuse that "I read somewhere it was only two."

 

[dagwellismypigy]

You may also want to look for a different vet, I haven't ever heard of pnemonia causing scabs and itching.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

In very mild cases or used as precautionary measures then 2 doses can be given, but for pigs with more severe cases then 3 or more doses are needed.

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

You need to find a cavy savy vet. There is a vet thread at guinealynx.info and advice on treating for mites. Where did you get Daisy?

 

[valerie]

Thank you all for your answers & useful information!

We just built Daisy a nice new C&C cage, she's been a little freaked out, but I'm sure she'll start to love it once she gets used to it.

I'm taking her to the vet tomorrow morning, and I'm going to make sure to ask for/demand Ivermectin - does anyone know how effictive this is? What are the chances of her getting better? Also does any one how expensive this is?

The vet I saw a few weeks ago has had some experience with guinea pigs although their practice deals mostly with cats and dogs, but the closest place I could find that specializes with guinea pigs was quite a long drive from here. =(

I got Daisy at (brace yourself) a pet store. I know now that it wasn't the brightest idea, but last year I knew all of nothing about pigs when I got her. This past year has sure been a learning experience. But I'm still glad I got her. Hopefully we will be able to get her 100% better.

And then I'm hoping to find a breeder/rescue shelter/something but the pet store nearby (Chicagoland area if anyone has any ideas.....) to find her a (girl)friend. But my main priority is to make sure she gets better so that I don't sicken a healthy little piggy.

I'm trying to figure out how to attach a picture of her in this thread... hmmm, I'm going to try and figure this out ('cause she's so darn cute!)

 

[Ly&Pigs]

Ivermectin is very effective. But please like I said earlier, don't let the vet do a skin scraping. I had figured pet store because of the mite problem. Most pet store pigs have mites. Don't worry, we won't bash you because you didn't know any better.

Please look for a pig in a shelter or rescue. Don't go to a breeder. You can look on www.petfinder.com, www.gpan.net and https://chicago.craigslist.org/ to find a buddy for your Daisy. You can get a neutered male or a sow. There is a 3 week quarantine period, preferably in a separate room, before any introductions can be made. So if you started to look now, maybe by the time you find a buddy for her and the quarantine is over, Daisy will be healthy enough for introductions. If not, you can always keep them separated a bit longer.

You didn't answer the questions I asked about hay and veggies.

 

[valerie]

Thank you Ly&Pigs. I will make sure there is no skin scraping whatsoever tomorrow. She always has a stack of hay in her cage (I'm working on getting an actual hay rack for some of it because she loves to push it around and jump through it in her cage) along with her pellets and other guinea pig (dry) treats and I give her fruit & veggies 3-4 times of day. She always gets oranges (her favorite) every day and she also enjoys eating shredded carrots and Romane lettuce.

I am off to look at those links right now... =)

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

You may want to cut back on fruit and carrot, other treats. Too much sugar and fruit can be acidic. Try different greens like Italian parsley, cilantro, etc.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

Some other good greens are red or green leaf lettuce, turnip greens, mustard greens, green beans and bell pepper (great source of C). I agree on cutting back on carrots. Carrots have a lot of Vitamin A in them and can lead to liver disease. I feed one baby carrot per pig twice a week. Spinach is good for Vit. C but has a lot of oxalic acid and should be fed a couple times a week. I don't know what kind of "dry" treats your giving them but if they are those store bought treats they aren't really good for piggies. The best treats are veggies. Oranges and other acidic fruits can cause mouth sores so it is best to give fruits once or twice a week.

She sounds like she is having a blast with the hay. If she is enjoying playing in it, you don't really need to put much in a hay rack. As for the pellets, she needs plain pellets and not a pellet mix. I don't know what brand your feeding but Oxbow Cavy Performance is great for pigs under 1 year and Oxbow Cavy Cuisine is best for pigs over 1 year old.

 

[valerie]

thanks for all of the food suggestions. I'm going to go pick her up some greens & peppers after I leave work this evening. We feed her Nutriphase or somethinng like that. Is that okay? Where could I get Oxbow? I want only the best for my piggie. hehe.

I took Daisy back to the vet yesterday and we saw a different vet (one that has had experience with guinea pigs, and used to own them- she was very knowledgeable). The vet gave me another 10 day round of Baytril for her URI just to make sure it has really cleared up. After she looked her skin over (which wasnt easy because Daisy was really figity) and then gave her a shot of Ivermectin (sp?) I think she said it was a .02 dose with .01 parts of the actual medicine. I could be wrong, but that is what I think she said. We are going to bring Daisy back to the vet in 10 days so she'll check her over again and give her another injection of the mites medicine. She didn't do a skin scrapping (she also said that wouldn't show anything, most likely) and she did a very through examination, she check her ears and eyes- which one of her eyes she said might have an injury (just another problem to add to the list), because her cornea (sp?) was a little cloudy and she had a small sore on the lower lid of her eye. This eye has been having a bit of trouble for awhile now, kinda milky and pussy once in awhile. Poor pig. But yeah anways the vet gave us a topical antibiotic gel to put in her eye twice a day. Already by the mornign only after having 3 doses put in her eye, it is looking MUCH better.

I really like this vet.

Will I notice a difference in Daisy's scratching herself over the next few days? Or will it take a few more doses of medicine before I notice her not biting her skin and the scabs healing..???


Does anyone know if these medicines cause pigs to poop A LOT more? Because yesterday Daisy was really going to town with her #2s, it wasn't diahrreah, but at one point while she was sitting under her blanket for all of 5 mintues, I picked her up out of it and low and behold, there are were literally two dozen poops sitting on the floor. And I think she seemed to find it humourous or something. Goofy pigs.

One more question (sorry this is like a novel), are cucumbers good for pigs? I'm just curious....

 

[t_rose]

I noticed green beans on the food list above. I have read in several books that green beans should not be fed to guinea pigs. Is that accurate?

 

[pennick]

I feed fresh green beans every so often. Nothing wrong with it as far as I know.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

Fresh green beans are fine and not toxic. It's raw red kidney beans that cannot be fed. Don't trust everything you read in books as at least half the info is inaccurate.

Valerie, Daisy should stop scratching some over the next few days. It all really will depend on how bad of a case of mites she has. The ivermectin dose depends on weight. But with the treatment of ivermectin it will clear up over time. I am glad you saw a more cavy savvy vet this time than last. The only thing I didn't see you mention that the Vet should have told you is to feed acidophilus tablets or capsules to Daisy about 1-2 hours after she has her AB's. The acidophilus helps to restore the gut flora. AB's will upset the natural balance. You can get acidophilus at health food stores, vitamin stores, etc. Just either crush a tablet and mix part of the tablet with water or break open a capsule and mix about half with water and syringe feed.

At least she is pooping normally, it seems. I don't know if the AB's will cause an abundance of poos. I am also glad your Vet found the eye problem. It could have been caused by a piece of hay although it's hard to tell what exactly did cause it.

Nutriphase isn't a very good pellet. You can get Oxbow from www.oxbowhay.com and sometimes Vet's will carry it too.