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5 month old Guinea Twitching

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Bia

Bia

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Hi guys,

I have a 5 month old guinea pig, a recent present from my parents. I have had 4 guineas so far, making Trica my fifth...I could say I am aware of most behaviors but I have never seen any of them acting like this. I was holding her last night on my belly, she yawned, stretched, purred, licked my hand, stretched again and then, all of a sudden, she started twitching to the point she was laying on her left side with her belly pointing at me and throwing her hind leg in the air.

I stopped touching her for a second, she went back to a normal position, I started petting her again, she stretched and yawned and then started twitching again....I can not describe it exactly, it's like popcorning but with more twitching, as if she was fooling around.

She doesn't seem to be in pain, she's eating and popcorning....

This morning she was asleep when I got up, I fed her and then she started popcorning and while at it, the twitching again but less obvious than last night when holding her.

Do you think there's something wrong with her or is she just happy and she has a freaky way of showing it? She doesn't seem ill.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum :)
I would be personally getting your piggie to a vet for a check over, i'm just a mum of two little girls but if mine had shown anything like this i'd be phoning for an appointment......i'm always on the careful side :)
You might like to write down just what she's done....... so your vet can assess........
Hope you can figure out what she's doing......
Please put up some pics we'd love to seem them :)
and let us know how your little one is

Glynis, Velvet and Onyx x
 
my cheeky has a certain part where * touch her she goes mad twitchin, i just figured she has a tickly bit just like with a dog if * scratch it in a certain part their leg goes crazy. I might be wrong tho so if * are worried best get it checked x
 
I'll be taking her to the vet later today, just to have her checked out, even though I already double checked every inch of her body, ears, nose etc. and there's nothing suspicious like parasites, red patches of skin, bald patches.

As I am writing, she's sitting in a corner of her cage after having been 'violently' pet on her nose after biting my finger:0. As soon as I came from work I picked her up and held her, going through her routine: stretching, yawning, licking my hand, arm, nose, glasses, nose again.x). I kept on caressing her and she turned to one side with her belly half up. she's acting like a dog rolling over. someone said it might be a seizure due to mites and I don't know what to believe, because guinea pigs are so different. My first one 'waved' his behind as if he had a tail to wag.:))

By the way, Trica is new to me, I've only had her for two weeks now.
 
Hi, sorry for the delay.

The vet applied Stronghold spot-on, said there weren't any mites but just in case. She kept on scratching and sneezing, wiping her nose, even though no discharge or teary eyes. Took her to the vet again, asked about ear mites or maybe allergy or URI. No ear mites, nothing wrong with her lungs but gave her something for allergies. Trica kept on scratching, jumping and moving her head: another trip to the vet who checked her ears again, cleaned them with NaCl solution and then checked again. She has some sort of simple ear infection so she'll be on antibiotics for the next 3 days. Ever since the antibiotics, Trica acts like a normal guinea pig and her ear has been left alone....

I still wonder though about the black dirt in her ear (her ears are black-skin color).....despite the absence of mites. I was thinking of getting Ivermectin, weighting it in order to apply it myself. The dosage says 0,5 mg per kilo, she's half a kilo, so I was thinking of 0,1 mg behind her ears...but I still wonder if that's a good idea.
 
Hi thanks for the update........... i wouldn't be doing any other treatments unless your vet has seen her.......just to be safe :)
I'm sure one of our lovely more experienced people will help you!
So pleased little Trica is more like herself again :)

I think maybe why she bit you was cause she was in pain or very uncomfortable :{, they don't mean to hurt....... i have been bitten by my girl Velvet i only ever say NO in a stern voice but not too loudly......they do get the message.
 
Hello,

My other piggies got the message when I said no, but Trica is definitely the most suborn of them all pow-pow, so I tapped her nose with my pinky a couple of times. She didn't actually bite, she just added more pressure than usually while being carried and I don't want this to turn into a biting habit when things just don't go her way. I've noticed that she doesn't nibble when I pick her up from her cage for some TLC time, just when I want to take her back.:)p.

As far as her condition goes, I do tend to worry a lot. We do have vets here, they are kind and know their job, but they don't get to see too may 'exotic pets' and there's always a chance of as mis-diagnose.

Someone asked for a picture of Trica, but I don't have one of hers' so I'll post one of my first piggy, Rontzi who used to think he was a dog, wagging his imaginary tail, knew my dad had come home by telling cars apart in the parking lot and who helped me study all through my student years- all my school books are chewed, and he only chewed at least two of the subjects I eventualy got at exams.-c
 
Just came back from the vet.

Trica's ear is better, she doesn't scratch it any more and no sign of mites.

Had a little trouble getting a sample from her ea r8..., she cried and cried, but everything is okay now.....

But she still won't drink mallethead
 
Is she eating plenty of veggies? Like cucumber etc, if she is then the drinking thing isnt such an issue. Sorry i have just saw this thread and have only skimmed through it.
 
Yes, she only likes cucumber, apple, lettuce, parsley, fresh grass and green wheat, banana and red, sweet peppers....

I also feed her hay....she's still getting used to that, but hates carrots and tomatoes......

I got her from a breeder who didn't provide water or other foods, just pallets. I have no clue as to how to convince her to have more diversified meals or to drink....I am currently trying the 'teaspoon method' aka I give her water with a teaspoon and she's so impressed by the teaspoon that she does swallow something (don't worry she won't choke, I don't hold her chin high or force her to drink the water)....

A suggestion is more than welcomed.... The 'rub her fav foods on the bottle tip' didn't work.

Regards
 
She will be getting liquids from the juicy veggies so dont worry too much about it, non of the piggies i have had have used the water bottle for the 1st few weeks, they got enough fluids from the veggies, They need unlimited hay and dry food. If she has never had a water bottle before she probably doesn't know what it is.
 
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