2 Baby girls just not right.

[xxxkeashxxx]

I bought 2 little girls from a 'personal family' yesterday. 11-12 wks old. There were 8 in a tiny cage and if i could have taken them all then i would have. (Remind me to never get from anyone like this again)
Anyway i got them home and the smaller one (piaff) has a bluey eye, I'm 99% certain that it is a cataract and she is in fact blind in that eye. Other than that she is totally healthy.
The bigger one (pixie), we noticed is limping. She puts no weight on her back right foot at all. She is running around and happy enough just wont put her foot down. I would say shes been like this for a while as she has adapted to making fast movememnts even without the use of that foot.

They were sooo dirty, scruffy and nails were black so gave them a bath last night, put some tea tree cream on pixies foot because both back feet are swollen and red and cracked. Looks itchy.
After looking a little more closely i have noticed theres a long hard line at the bottom of the said foot, like theres an extra toe trying to go through ?!?! Weird, i know.

The guy said he was just feeding them grass from the garden and i dont remmebr seeing any water bottles close.
I gave them hay and a little grass on top of their pellet food bowl to try and wean them on to pellets so they're all eating the same( i have 2 boys too)
They're eating the pellets ok, seem to have forgotten what grass is and the hay is going down slowly but i havent seen either of them touch the water. I put a full bottle up and a bowl too incase they were struggling with the bottle but it hasnt moved.

Vet appointment booked for tonight but just wanted to see if you guys have any ideas.

Thanks guys

 

[helen105281]

If the eye is blue, it is possible that she has some kind of injury, such as a hay poke. At the appointment later ask the vets to put some dye in it to extablish if there is an injury there.

 

[*Nibbles&Nugget*]

God those poor babies. I would just like to say well done for taking them and please report the person you got them from so this never happens again. I think the vet check is the best thing to do and without having seen them I wouldn't like to make guesses.

One suggestion is wet their pellets a bit to encourage them to eat them. I sometimes add in shredded grass and spinach to make it interesting.

Bless the poor little things.

Amy
x

 

[xxxkeashxxx]

Thanks guys! Hopefully it is an injury and she's not blind. Figured at 12wks it was a little young.
FXd

 

[xxxkeashxxx]

Update

So just back from the vet and it turns out.... one is a boy Have to get him neutred now. Also turns out the guy that told me 12 weeks. Lies! 5 weeks max!
The guy i got them from must've been an idiot!

Anyway, pixie had a knee injury, its all swollen. Thinks it could have been a twist or a break but he said it seems to be healing and she doesnt seem to be in any pain. He gave me AB so fx'd she'll be fine.
Piaff (girl/boy) is blind at the moment, its a cyst from some sort of injury or scratch. Got AB for that and some eye drops. THEY ARE NOT EASY TO PUT IN! lmao
Vet says he may get his sight back but it's not 100%, just have to see. No changes after a week and we have to go back.
So good news all in all, need piaff to get neutured though when he's old enough.
£25 for the consult and medication
£45 for the neuturing.
For a specialist, i found it quite cheap.
FX they get better

 

[Shellza]

Aww, bless them both. At least you can treat them now and help them get better. Have you separated the boy? He will be sexually mature by 5 weeks of age so will need to be separated to avoid unwanted pregnancy. Keep an eye on your girl just in case.
As for the water, I wouldn't worry too much. I remember mine at that age didn't seem to drink much at all. If you are worried you can pop some cucumber or watery veg in the cage (not too much though as they can cause diarrhea, especially if they aren't used to veg).

I hope they get better soon and your girl isn't pregnant. It would be a good idea to weigh them regularly to keep an eye on her weight.

 

[Claire1973]

Hi - can you weight them both? Your girl could well be pregnant now. You will need to separate them until your boy is neutered, but keep them close so they can still have company. So glad they have you - that man should be reported - its disgusting! Look forward to hearing their updates! X

 

[xxxkeashxxx]

The vet told me he was too young for castration at the minute. Hes a little underweight and boney too so I have to bulk him up and wait for his testicles to drop. I thought about separating but as soon as I lift one out, the other screams the house down so don't think it's the best option. He thinks it would b about a month before its necessary to castrate.
Anyone have any ideas how to get the Ab into them. They don't know how to use a water bottle or a bowl yet so I've tried hand feeding with a syringe but its a 2 ppl job and it takes an hour each piggy and I have to go to work so my bf can't do it himself. Thinking about putting the mix in a bowl then adding the food pellets on top to soak it up?
Piaffs eye already looks better, only had 3 doses of drops so far. And pixie is scratching with the bad food so her knee must be getting better slowly

 

[Toffeewoffee]

Hun, sorry to jump in here, but you need to separate them, if not by separate cages, then by some sort of divider in the cage, if the girl is not already pregnant - which i suspect she will be anyway, she will soon end up being pregnant being kept with him, Yes its horrible to hear them screaming for each other, but if they cans till see and speak to each other they will soon settle down. xx

 

[lauralucy]

he is too young to be neutered but he is still sexually active (most vets wont neuter until 4 months old) you need to seperate now and weight the girl.

some people put the antibiotic onto cucumber and let them eat it.

which antibiotics are they on?

 

[Toffeewoffee]

I would say, if they are on Baytril they wont voluntarily eat it from food, it tastes vile - trust me i tried it.

You need to syringe it, some people mix a tiny bit of ribeena with it to take the taste away, but the best way to do it and i know its not easy but when you have a technique you'll be well away, get them on the kitchen worktop, bend your left arm and tuck their body into the crease, using your left hand hold the mouth open, using gentle force if necessary and syringe it in with your right hand, you have to be quick, it does help if you tip their head slightly upwards so that they cant spit it out.

xx

 

[Suzygpr]

I agree with TW - you MUST separate them and not allow them time together again. The calling will subside, you need to be strong for the pigs sake as you have a chance to prevent a pregnancy if she hasn't caught yet. Leaving them together will almost guarantee that she will get pregnant.

You give the ABs by syringe using a 1ml size, so you can measure it accurately. Adding it to food or water means you cannot be sure they have had an accurate dose as they will not like to eat or drink it.

Wrap the piggy in a tea towel so only their head is showing and you can hold them more easily. Place the syringe in the side of the mouth and slide it in towards the opposite cheek, angled so it goes to the back teeth. Gently push the plunger so it doesn't squirt out too quickly. You can suck up a bit of blackcurrant squash or cranberry juice to help disguise the taste.

If you could give the weights of the pigs it will help age them - age/weight/health is a big factor in neutering.

Suzy x

 

[Toffeewoffee]

This thread id very good, and gives you demo pictures on how to towel rap and syringe feed. Where abouts are you? Someone near by might be willing to give you a hand?

xx

 

[Toffeewoffee]

Sorry forgot to post the link

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=36533&highlight=wrap+syringe

 

[xxxkeashxxx]

They r on baytril.
Piaffs eye has lost the blue tinge now and it seems like he can see us a bit better. It's hard to tell cuz he has black eyes and jet black head but he's not squinting and I think he's so much better!
Pixie on the other hand is no longer limping. Still a little maybe but she can stand on her back legs and she's popcorning all over. Only problem is she won't stop scratching!
I bathed them when I got them home the other day and piaff isn't scratching at all. She's drawn blood behind her ear from going at it so much. Any ideas why? I was thinking allergic reaction to the AB?

 

[Suzygpr]

The most likely cause of the itching and scratching would be skin parasites, considering the conditions they were living in when you bought them I'm not surprised that they have a few little visitors running around.

You can get the correct treatment from your vet, most use Xeno 450 for pigs weighing over 800g. Xeno 50 is for pigs weighing less than 800g.

The other possible cause is a skin fungal infection called ringworm - this would also require treatments from your vet.

As the early symptoms can be very similar and difficult to tell apart if you are inexperienced a vet will need to diagnose which is causing the problem as the treatments are very different.

Suzy x

 

[xxxkeashxxx]

So we just bathed te 2 babies and the vet gave us spot on to stop the scratching.had to weight them both and it turns out piaff is 175g and pixie is 250g does that sound about right?

 

[Suzygpr]

They are extremely small so will need lots of TLC and good food (not too much veg, as they get the body building nutrients from the pellets).

The average weaning weight at 3 weeks is 250g. The average weight for 6-8 weeks old is 400g - this is the standard age/weight for rehoming.

I will not comment on the person that sold these pigs to you at the age/weight that they are, nor the poor condition they are in. You can guess my feelings I'm sure.

Please double check the weights, as the weight and age given as 12 weeks do not match in the slightest.

Suzy x

 

[xxxkeashxxx]

Double checked the weights this morning. Same answer. They're still not drinking so were syringe feeding them water. The vet said there was no way they were 12 weeks. 5 max. Piaffs eye is fine now. Pixie tho has mites or something like that. Went and got a xeno 50 yesterday. Changed the cage and washed everything. They've had a bath in the lice shampoo and had the xeno on. Pixie has scratched a hole in her side, it's all red and she has fur missing but they've woken up in great spirits today. Wheeling away and playing. Constantly eating too. Scratching has stopped so hopefully she's feeling better. Can't see the specialist until Thursday but we've to take them back then for a check up.
I feel awful for them, feels like its my fault

 

[xxxkeashxxx]

Just wanted to see if i could post photos yet?

 

[xxxkeashxxx]

Yes i can! woohoo. Well in that case this is my little family

Piggie the first GP we ever had

Pancake the funniest GP ive ever met!

Piaff the beautiful

And Pixie, the little trooper

The previous picture was of the hole that pixie has scratched into herself but shes so much better after the ivermectin

Just wanted to put faces to the names. lol