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Dear All,
We would REALLY appreciate any advice.
In the last 10 days my wife and I have lost 5 adult sows and and 90% of all babies born (Still born or within 1 week after birth even the ones that have been running around and looking healthy). There are a number of other little cavies that are also looking really unwell.
We are worried that we have made mistakes and have so far, after research, have found that the bedding (shavings) we were given at the petshop may be toxic as it is scented with eucalyptus oil. Now it is spring we have also noticed buttercups in the garden. There has also been stress on the pigs as we have introduced a few newbies recently and we have had a move around in the shed.
They are all fed a normal high quality mix (not pellet, but thinking of changing to pellet so they can't be picky), they also get out on the grass and are given veg. The pregnant mums have been given Lactol to try and give them a boost, as have the weak babies.
It may be a mixture of bad luck and a few mistakes on our part but all of the symptoms seem to be similar and the vets think it may be a virus and have given us Baytril (We have read that this can stunt growth of young). Our vets have said that autopsies are very expensive and often don't show anything so have said to try antibiotics first. They are really good to us, but we are a bit concerned that they don't know that much about guinea pigs. We live in Northamptonshire and wondered if anyone could recommend a specialist?
Here is a list of events and symptoms:
Case 1
8 months old, first litter, very healthy had just given birth to a litter of 4.
Day 1 - Babies are 10 days old, mother shows fatigue passes away over night.
Babies still with us at 3 weeks old
Our thoughts - Possibly pregnancy toxemia or organ failure.
Case 2
8 years old, always very healthy but weight fluctuated towards end of life.
Day 1 - diarrhea, lethargy and dull eyes
Day 2 - laying on side and then died
Our thoughts - Possibly old age, Stress (from introducing others), poisoning or infection etc
Case 3
Approx 3 months old (came to us pregnant).
Day 1 - gave birth, one still born and one weak and very small
Day 2 - mother not feeding baby so gave it lactol and kept it warm
Day 3 - mother unable to stand and died hours later
Day 4 - baby died (hand fed every 2 hours) had been getting better
Our thoughts - Too young to be pregnant, Stress (Travelling in early stages) and all thoughts from previous 2 cases
Case 4
8 months old, first litter, very healthy had just given birth to a litter of 2.
Day 1 - babies found dead, untended to and still in birth sack
Day 4 - mother dies suddenly without symptoms
Our thoughts - Possible all of previous thoughts except too old and too young
Case 5
Approx 3 months old (came to us pregnant).
Day 1 - gave birth to 2 still born babies. She looked like she was still having contractions and trying to get something out. She became very weak and tired.
Day 2 - had given up with contractions, very hunched up, couldn't feel any other babies inside but she was bleeding from vagina. Not sure whether she passed placenta. She died later that day
Our thoughts - Baby died inside, didn't pass placenta, too young to be pregnant, Stress (Travelling in early stages) and all thoughts from previous cases
General
We have had a few mums give birth and are still alive. They are up and down and looking lethargic. Approximately only 10% of the babies have survived; most have been still born or very week and underdeveloped, but worryingly roughly 30% have died when they were 4 - 5 days old, strong and running about fine but have died instantly at different points
There is one mum whose babies died that has been falling over and struggling to get up and often flicks on to her back, but she is improving and walking around again
We have checked that they all have milk and all seem fine in this respect other than one whose babies were still born
We have heard a few of the guineas and especially babies grinding their teeth, which suggests that they are in pain and sounds like it could be scurvy. The vets doesn't think that a lack of vitamin c would have such drastic and sudden affects and we have been supplementing their diets with veg.
One of our boars, 2 years old, has sounded rattly for months; he has had antibiotics but it has not shifted. We have read that you can get similar noises when the nose is shortened and squashed up during growth but is perfectly safe. We are hoping that its is this but are aware that it could be a respiratory infection and could be passed on generically. We don't think it is the cause of the major problems as he has not been close to or mated with a lot of the girls that have died, and non of the girls have similar symptoms
One of our males has a flaky patch on his nose. We are hoping it is not ringworm, but have tried to keep him isolated and have bought some Imavrol. The same male and most of the other females are also showing similar signs to the guineas that have died but are still with us at the moment.
Up until the last 10 days everything has been fine and everything has been averagely healthy. The rate in which everything has happened over the last 10 days in alarming. We have been keeping guinea pigs for 8/9 years and had them as kids as well. We love our little cavies and are absolutely distraught.
We know that guinea pigs are vulnerable during pregnancy and that survival rates are lower than rabbits etc, and it may just be a culmination of a lot of things and may be coincidental, but we are really concerned that this is spreading and we are not going to be able to save the other cavies.
We was hoping for some advice and was wondering is anyone had heard of any contagious diseases etc that can affect an entire group?
Many Thanks
We would REALLY appreciate any advice.
In the last 10 days my wife and I have lost 5 adult sows and and 90% of all babies born (Still born or within 1 week after birth even the ones that have been running around and looking healthy). There are a number of other little cavies that are also looking really unwell.
We are worried that we have made mistakes and have so far, after research, have found that the bedding (shavings) we were given at the petshop may be toxic as it is scented with eucalyptus oil. Now it is spring we have also noticed buttercups in the garden. There has also been stress on the pigs as we have introduced a few newbies recently and we have had a move around in the shed.
They are all fed a normal high quality mix (not pellet, but thinking of changing to pellet so they can't be picky), they also get out on the grass and are given veg. The pregnant mums have been given Lactol to try and give them a boost, as have the weak babies.
It may be a mixture of bad luck and a few mistakes on our part but all of the symptoms seem to be similar and the vets think it may be a virus and have given us Baytril (We have read that this can stunt growth of young). Our vets have said that autopsies are very expensive and often don't show anything so have said to try antibiotics first. They are really good to us, but we are a bit concerned that they don't know that much about guinea pigs. We live in Northamptonshire and wondered if anyone could recommend a specialist?
Here is a list of events and symptoms:
Case 1
8 months old, first litter, very healthy had just given birth to a litter of 4.
Day 1 - Babies are 10 days old, mother shows fatigue passes away over night.
Babies still with us at 3 weeks old
Our thoughts - Possibly pregnancy toxemia or organ failure.
Case 2
8 years old, always very healthy but weight fluctuated towards end of life.
Day 1 - diarrhea, lethargy and dull eyes
Day 2 - laying on side and then died
Our thoughts - Possibly old age, Stress (from introducing others), poisoning or infection etc
Case 3
Approx 3 months old (came to us pregnant).
Day 1 - gave birth, one still born and one weak and very small
Day 2 - mother not feeding baby so gave it lactol and kept it warm
Day 3 - mother unable to stand and died hours later
Day 4 - baby died (hand fed every 2 hours) had been getting better
Our thoughts - Too young to be pregnant, Stress (Travelling in early stages) and all thoughts from previous 2 cases
Case 4
8 months old, first litter, very healthy had just given birth to a litter of 2.
Day 1 - babies found dead, untended to and still in birth sack
Day 4 - mother dies suddenly without symptoms
Our thoughts - Possible all of previous thoughts except too old and too young
Case 5
Approx 3 months old (came to us pregnant).
Day 1 - gave birth to 2 still born babies. She looked like she was still having contractions and trying to get something out. She became very weak and tired.
Day 2 - had given up with contractions, very hunched up, couldn't feel any other babies inside but she was bleeding from vagina. Not sure whether she passed placenta. She died later that day
Our thoughts - Baby died inside, didn't pass placenta, too young to be pregnant, Stress (Travelling in early stages) and all thoughts from previous cases
General
We have had a few mums give birth and are still alive. They are up and down and looking lethargic. Approximately only 10% of the babies have survived; most have been still born or very week and underdeveloped, but worryingly roughly 30% have died when they were 4 - 5 days old, strong and running about fine but have died instantly at different points
There is one mum whose babies died that has been falling over and struggling to get up and often flicks on to her back, but she is improving and walking around again
We have checked that they all have milk and all seem fine in this respect other than one whose babies were still born
We have heard a few of the guineas and especially babies grinding their teeth, which suggests that they are in pain and sounds like it could be scurvy. The vets doesn't think that a lack of vitamin c would have such drastic and sudden affects and we have been supplementing their diets with veg.
One of our boars, 2 years old, has sounded rattly for months; he has had antibiotics but it has not shifted. We have read that you can get similar noises when the nose is shortened and squashed up during growth but is perfectly safe. We are hoping that its is this but are aware that it could be a respiratory infection and could be passed on generically. We don't think it is the cause of the major problems as he has not been close to or mated with a lot of the girls that have died, and non of the girls have similar symptoms
One of our males has a flaky patch on his nose. We are hoping it is not ringworm, but have tried to keep him isolated and have bought some Imavrol. The same male and most of the other females are also showing similar signs to the guineas that have died but are still with us at the moment.
Up until the last 10 days everything has been fine and everything has been averagely healthy. The rate in which everything has happened over the last 10 days in alarming. We have been keeping guinea pigs for 8/9 years and had them as kids as well. We love our little cavies and are absolutely distraught.
We know that guinea pigs are vulnerable during pregnancy and that survival rates are lower than rabbits etc, and it may just be a culmination of a lot of things and may be coincidental, but we are really concerned that this is spreading and we are not going to be able to save the other cavies.
We was hoping for some advice and was wondering is anyone had heard of any contagious diseases etc that can affect an entire group?
Many Thanks
