A Very Distressed Guinea Pig… Please Help

[BartyBoy]

Hello all

We need some help and advice please…

We bought 3 female guinea pigs from a breeder 3 weeks ago. As far as we know, the girls were 9 weeks old and sisters. We then names them PoPo, NoNo and SoSo.

When they first arrived at our home, they were all nervous and scared, but after a week they all seemed to settle down well and we handled them every evening for an hour or so.

Then a week later, we discovered PoPo had something very very small between her hair, and when I looked closer these little things were moving. I did a proper check on PoPo and found a lot of these little things located in her lower back by the bottom of her hair. We at first thought it was fleas, but they didn't jump. So we thought it could be lice instead.

We went to our local Pets at Home store and bought two packs of spot on which was for small animals such as guinea pigs less than 750g. We treated all girls with 1 dose of spot on and separated them for a short while after the treatment.

We put all girls back together but then PoPo started to act very strangely. She started hiding in a corner under the hay all the time. And if there was not enough hay for her to hide, she would bury herself under the wood shaving. In several occasions, I thought PoPo went missing or even was dead. She looked very upset and distressed to me.

She has been acting the same for the whole week, we were very concerned about her, so we took her to see a local vet on Saturday. The vet checked on her, he couldn't find anything wrong with her. We told the vet PoPo still ate her food but not as active as her two sisters. The vet decided to give PoPo an injection to boost her appetite. The vet warned us when the needle was injected, she would scream like mad. But PoPo didn't scream, in fact she did not even make a noise, the vet was very surprised too.

We really don't know what makes PoPo act the way she is now. We are very concerned and we are desperate for some help please…

Many thanks in advance!

 

[helen105281]

Hi, welcome to the forum. It sounds like your girls had running lice. Do you know the name of the spot on treatment you used?

Does her skin look red or inflamed at all? is she scratching?

 

[BartyBoy]

Hello Helen

Thanks for your message.

The spot on is called 'Anti-Parasite Ivermectin Spot On for Rabbits and Guinea Pigs by Beaphar'.

Her skin doesn't look red or inflamed at all. And she is not scratching.

We just don't know what to do next…

Thanks

 

[helen105281]

Thanks for the information. Beaphar is usually not strong enough to deal with an infestation and tends to be appropriate for preventative purposes only. Does it seem to have cleared up or can you still see things moving?

I am wondering if she is brewing a different illness maybe or she has had a reaction to the Spot on treatment.

 

[helen105281]

She could even just be completely freaked out by the whole situation and needs time to settle again.

 

[BartyBoy]

Hello again

Since seeing PoPo looks very distressed, we haven't handled her as much as we used do, as a result we don't know yet if she is completely cleared from lice.

We did wonder the whole treatment thing has scared her, we try to give her some time to settle down and to feel home again. But by hiding herself under the wood shavings, she really makes us feel sad and helpless…

Many thanks again!

 

[helen105281]

Is he is the same in a few days you could get her back to the vets for another check but it does sound like she is traumatised. Does she have many things to hide in in the cage? like pigloos, tunnels etc? I would think the vet would have noticed if the lice were still there.

Keep an eye out for anything like a crusty nose, watery eyes and laboured breathing just in case she is brewing a respiratory infection.

 

[BartyBoy]

Thank you so much for the advice, we will keep our eyes on her.

She is in her own box currently and there is nothing for her to hide apart from a pile of hay. We covered 3 quarters of her box with a towel, trying to give her a calm and cosy atmosphere.

Going back to the visit to the local vet, does it sound odd to you that PoPo didn't make any noise when a needle was injected to her?

It seems like she didn't feel anything at all...

 

[helen105281]

Not necessarily, my Toffee screams if you even look at her, but she had a mite injection last week and didn't make a sound. She has the second one tomorrow so we shall see what she does. Sometimes they just freeze at the vets. My Sophie even used to go all floppy and her eyes would glaze over but she has stopped doing that now thank goodness as it used to freak us right out.

 

[helen105281]

Has she been like this since being separated from her friends?

 

[BartyBoy]

PoPo was very nervous when we separated her from her sisters after the treatment. Then she went all quiet and hardly moved her body again.

I had some guinea pigs in the past and I have never seen anything like this to mine before.

 

[helen105281]

Would it be possible to put her back with them? You may need to reintroduce on neutral territory if it has been a few days.

 

[BartyBoy]

I can move her back to the main box, but the vet suggested to separate her from the others. I shall see how she is doing today, if she is brighten up, then I will move her back with her sisters...

 

[Wiebke]

HI could you please add your location?

Thank you so much for the advice, we will keep our eyes on her.

She is in her own box currently and there is nothing for her to hide apart from a pile of hay. We covered 3 quarters of her box with a towel, trying to give her a calm and cosy atmosphere.

Going back to the visit to the local vet, does it sound odd to you that PoPo didn't make any noise when a needle was injected to her?

It seems like she didn't feel anything at all...

Hi! Your poor girl is very traumatised. Have you considered that she may show acute signs of pining from being separated from her companions? Some guinea pigs take it very hard. Could you try and see whether she is immediately better when in the same room. In that case, you may want to consider waiving quarantine.
Acute pining: Looking After A Bereaved Guinea Pig
Understanding your traumatise girl: How To Understand Guinea Pig Instincts And Speak Piggy Body Language

 

[BartyBoy]

Hello Wiebke, thank you for your message. She was hiding herself in wood shavings when she was with her sisters. It looked like she wanted to be on her own and not to be disturbed by any sisters. I shall have a look at her tonight to see if she is happy to go back to the main box with her sisters. Thank you

 

[Wiebke]

Hello Wiebke, thank you for your message. She was hiding herself in wood shavings when she was with her sisters. It looked like she wanted to be on her own and not to be disturbed by any sisters. I shall have a look at her tonight to see if she is happy to go back to the main box with her sisters. Thank you

It is more likely that she is totally frightened by her new surroundings and company. Please see whether she is happier with company.

 

[BartyBoy]

A quick update... we have put the girls back together in a fresh setup box, they seem to start playing with each other again. PoPo was running around inside the box, they were all chatting to each other, we think PoPo is back to what she is now. We will still keep our eyes on the girls, hopefully everything is back to normal again. It has been a very stressful and worrying week...

Thank you again for the advice and information!

 

[Wiebke]

A quick update... we have put the girls back together in a fresh setup box, they seem to start playing with each other again. PoPo was running around inside the box, they were all chatting to each other, we think PoPo is back to what she is now. We will still keep our eyes on the girls, hopefully everything is back to normal again. It has been a very stressful and worrying week...

Thank you again for the advice and information!

Fingers firmly crossed! Please be aware that the hierarchy needs to be reconfirmed at first. I would also recommend to continue weighing your little girl once daily at the same time in the feeding cycle for the next few days until you are sure that she is putting on weight as she should and then switch to the regular weekly weigh-in that we recommend for all guinea pigs.

Please make sure that they have all got one hidey each where they can feel safe.

Things have changed a lot in the last few years in the guinea pig world; welfare guidelines have also shifted quite a bit. You may find our information guide bundle for new owners helpful in catching up and in understanding what your little girls are about: " Starter Kit" Of Information Threads For New Owners