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Eating A Slug!

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xxaimeexx

xxaimeexx

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Why would a piggie eat a slug! I opened the hutch to find Holly munching on a slug. I am horrified(can't bear slugs) but why would a piggie eat one! They harbour so many diseases too! Has anyone elses pig eaten a slug?
 
Mother Hubbard said:
That's a really good question...I recently found slug trails into the hutch...mortified, but probably not as much as you. Would love the answer to this.
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I know slugs go into the hutch and believe me i have tried to keep them at bay but they just explode there are 100's. I'm just absolutely horrified that holly was EATING one! I feel sick eww.
 
xxaimeexx said:
I know slugs go into the hutch and believe me i have tried to keep them at bay but they just explode there are 100's. I'm just absolutely horrified that holly was EATING one! I feel sick eww.
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Yeah whilst not wanting to horrify you, but flipping heck that's pretty weird...I do hope that Holly will be okay...I would be wanting to keep a very close eye on her. I need to try and keep the horrid things away...yuk.
 
She is very strange shes just had a steroid injection idk if thats making her nuts, she never usually runs away or tries to jump out my arms. and i have no idea about the slug. i know shes dying and i feel maybe theres a bit of a "dog eating grass" thing. Not sure but maybe she is trying to die. wow this is getting sad now.
 
yyyyuuuccckkkkk :xd: that is gross
but acrding to a google slugs and sails arnt poisones .

:xd::xd::xd::xd:
 
eeeewwww!
I don't mean to alarm you but I would definitely keep an eye on her & get her wormed too, as @gizzy said they carry all sorts of nasties,
also gardeners etc put down pellets to kill them off, if they ingest any of this then it could be very dangerous.
try putting a copper strip around the base of your hutch etc. they don't like copper &allegedly wont cross it

(you can buy the copper strips from garden centres, etc to go round flower pots to stop the slugs eating plants).

hopefully furball had a chew & thought yukkkk rubbery slime & spat it out! don't forget the slugs & snails, share & slime their way across our loved ones green spaghetti & have no adverse effects on them generally. but if the slug has been swallowed get it checked out. xx
 
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GPTV said:
eeeewwww!
I don't mean to alarm you but I would definitely keep an eye on her & get her wormed too, as @gizzy said they carry all sorts of nasties,
also gardeners etc put down pellets to kill them off, if they ingest any of this then it could be very dangerous.
try putting a copper strip around the base of your hutch etc. they don't like copper &allegedly wont cross it

(you can buy the copper strips from garden centres, etc to go round flower pots to stop the slugs eating plants).

hopefully furball had a chew & thought yukkkk rubbery slime & spat it out! don't forget the slugs & snails, share & slime their way across our loved ones green spaghetti & have no adverse effects on them generally. but if the slug has been swallowed get it checked out. xx
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What kind of wormer would you use for a guinea pig?
 
xxaimeexx said:
What kind of wormer would you use for a guinea pig?
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i would seek advice from the vet because as @Dindypig says Slugs & snails are carriers of lungworm amongst others.
i think with dogs they have a different wormer to treat lungworm to other worms (tape or roundworms, etc),

here are a few links as it looks like this has been discussed on here a while back....
@TAN @Laura-CCC4 @Abi_nurse @helen105281 will probably have some good advice ref worming too.

Worming & Mite treatments.

Guinea pig worming

Treating intestinal parasites

i haven't ever wormed my guineas, i did back along however feed them a herbal treatment - Verm-x for rabbits, it says its suitable to prevent "intestinal challenges" but not allowed to class itself as a wormer due to unpublished research papers & EU law wordings, etc.
although i think its meant to be a long term, preventative product as opposed to treating already infected pets anyway.
(also i'm not sure if lungworm is specifically included in its claims)

http://www.verm-x.com/pdfs/verm-x-brochure.pdf
Verm-X | Product - Verm-X For Rabbits


here are a couple of products which come up as general (broad spectrum ) wormers- i think i would get the vets recommended worming product that would include lungworm in this instance if the vet thinks it is needed. Especially as you seen your piggy eating the slug.
but it does look like generally its personal preference whether guineas get wormed generally or not.


Rabbit and Guinea Pig Wormer - Pet Drugs Online (looks like both are Panacur but in either liquid or paste form)

"guinea pig wormer" search on VioVet

i expect veterinary advice on the telephone would be adequate on this occasion, as wormers can be bought online/over the counter for many species without a prescription, unless a recommended lungworm version is only available with a prescription-if that makes sense?

why do our piggies worry us sick? :soz:

xx
 
Please please get her wormed with panacur ASAP. Especially as she will likely have a lowered immune system as you've said she's had a steroid injection. Steroids are very much contraindicated in Guinea pigs and other exotics. I would do at least a three day course of panacur 20mg/kg once a day but potentially longer. I would also find a knowledgable exotics vet just to ask the question about this.

x
 
As far as I know Xeno isn't a wormer. You will need to speak to your vet about dosing for Panacur if she is tiny.
 
It is said that you cannot be infected by the rat lungworm (the one found in snails and slugs) via the slime trail, but by ingesting it. I remember looking into this very closely at one time as I used to keep both slugs and snails, snails especially (mainly exotic ones), and this is something the snail community got a little concerned about at one stage. The rat lung worm has a life cycle and part of that is to be digested by a mammal (preferably a rat) whereby it can move onto the next stage of its cycle, mainly in the lungs of the rat, then traveling out via the urine tio be picked up by snails munching on plants..... In rats it affects the lungs as mentioned but doesn't really damage the host. In dogs it can affect the spine, and even the brain, where the lungworm causes cycts to form around it to protect itself. In humans this may also happen in the brain, causing meningitis. This however is Usually not fatal and often sorts itself, BUT fatalities have and do happen from ingesting undercooked or raw snails, caused by the meningitis, caused by the lungworm.
What affect it would have in a guinea pig I have absolutely no idea what so ever, so indeed it would be best not to chance it, and to treat the piggy with an anti-parasitic drug as suggested.

Slugs are apparently as edible as snails, but with piggies being herbivores I don't know if eating one would cause a stomach upset?
 
If anyone keeps Giant African Land Snails don't be put off by this information, the vast majority are captive-bred and due to the life cycle of the parasite it cannot be passed from snail to snail, e.g. hatchlings cannot get it. A snail can only pick up the parasite from eating wild plants with rat wee on!
If you do purchase an adult snail it is worth checking though, as some are imported wild-caught from Africa, mainly as food, but some are bought from these dealers as pets.
 
helen105281 said:
As far as I know Xeno isn't a wormer. You will need to speak to your vet about dosing for Panacur if she is tiny.
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looks like Xeno 50 & 450 do roundworms only as far as worms go, xeno 200 parasite treatment does roundworms & hookworms.

but the xeno ultra spot on doesn't do any internal parasites or worms of any kind.
doesn't look like any of them cover lungworm.

Think i would go for the Panacur as it sounds like a tried & tested specific wormer, i used to use a form of Panacur on my previous dog& cat i think too.
i know my cousins dog was really ill when it was a puppy as it had a slug/snail eating habit, think they had to muzzle him for a while to stop him eating them it was so bad, he was a real mollusc junkie!
the vet would know if lungworm was covered in any of the above treatments, if it was deemed necessary seeing as it was only one slug.

crumbs @Critter your a mine of information :nod:
xx
 
GPTV said:
looks like Xeno 50 & 450 do roundworms only as far as worms go, xeno 200 parasite treatment does roundworms & hookworms.

but the xeno ultra spot on doesn't do any internal parasites or worms of any kind.
doesn't look like any of them cover lungworm.

Think i would go for the Panacur as it sounds like a tried & tested specific wormer, i used to use a form of Panacur on my previous dog& cat i think too.
i know my cousins dog was really ill when it was a puppy as it had a slug/snail eating habit, think they had to muzzle him for a while to stop him eating them it was so bad, he was a real mollusc junkie!
the vet would know if lungworm was covered in any of the above treatments, if it was deemed necessary seeing as it was only one slug.

crumbs @Critter your a mine of information :nod:
xx
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tee hee, only on a select few things. I was sitting there trying to remember the details... and which way round the cycles of the parasite were (the immature phase and the adult egg laying phase). One occurs in the snail, the other in the rat. Think the egg-laying happens in the rat and the rat excretes the eggs in the wee, but I really can't remember. I sat there thinking about all the things I had actually forgotten about this topic! Ask me most things though and I'll just go "duh?" :) x I'm not good at pop knowledge at all, or that much general knowledge really. Invite me onto a quiz show and I'd be rubbish.

Do you like Pointless? It's one of the few quiz shows we like, but we can very rarely answer any of the questions. But like anyone else, when we know something we're on a roll! :) (just doesn't happen much)
 
eeeww :vom:…..honestly put a trail of salt around bottom of hutches…it does kill them but die rather that then have them getting into hutches
 
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