Go and see a vet?!

[esjay]

I notice that you advocate visiting a vet on most health enquiries....what do you do if your vet keeps you waiting 3 days to tell you how to administer the treatment he has charged you for?

I am just awaiting a reply to my 5th phone call 3 days after a visit to my local vet with my two 8 week old peruvian girls who have a possible fungal infection.

I apologise in advance for a very long post and would add that I asked the receptionist to make an appointment with a vet who was experienced with Guinea pigs...she assured me he was.

He hardly looked at them and refused to hold them because I'd put some Ekoneem on their sores and he didn't like the smell! One of them wasn't even seen as he didn't seem to think it necessary! I asked if it could be ringworm and he told me it was very rare in Guinea pigs and was probably mites. I told him they had been treated the week before with ivermectin and he told me to do it again.

He prescribed Imaverol and charged me £8 for 3mls! I asked how to use it and was told that full instructions would be on the bottle. They had none in stock and I was told to go back to fetch it the following day.

The only instructions on the tiny bottle were to dilute it 50 parts water to one part Imaverol. It also said 'For large animal use'.

I rang and asked how to use it...a different vet told me he wasn't sure and would get someone else to ring and tell me. After a few hours I rang and asked if he'd found out...he said the vet I'd seen was off for the rest of the day and to sponge it on and rinse it off....I asked if I had to leave it on and he said yes but not for too long......I asked how long and he said he didn't know! I asked him to find out...that evening yet another vet rang and said nobody there knew much about Imaverol for guinea pigs but she thought it should be left on. I complained that it was now 2 days since seeing the vet and paying for a consultation and prescription and the pigs still hadn't been treated...she said she'd ring another vet practice and ask them what to do. A day and two more phone calls to the surgery later and I'm still waiting....meanwhile the babies have more sore patches and all I've been told is to pick the scabs off! They scream when I do this and I'm very upset anxious and annoyed

I found your forum after searching for advice online and I'd like to know what others would do in this situation please.

 

[Suzygpr]

The treatment regime for Imaverol is to dilute it 1 part Imaverol to 50 parts water - so to treat two piggies it would be 1 ml Imaverol to 50ml of warm water.

Soak them with the solution, be sure to wet inside their ears and get in all the folds of their skin - from the tip of their nose to the tips of the toes.

Do not rinse off, stroke out the excess and allow to dry naturally, no hair dyer or towel drying.

Repeat gain after 3 days, repeat once more 3 days later. If there is any residual fungal infection they may require another round of treatments but this is not needed usually. The normal sign of ongoing fungal issues is a dry white powder look on their ears.

Hair regrowth should start soon, they are no longer considered contagious once this happens.

HTH

Suzy x

 

[Amanda1801]

Firstly, welcome to the forum. It's a shame that it's not under nicer circumstances!

Unfortunately, "Cavy Savvy" vets aren't all that common. I think you're right not to treat just yet as you don't know how. Hopefully someone with fungal experience will come along and tell you.

Your profile says you're in Yorkshire, if you're happy to say where abouts in Yorkshire you are, someone may be able to recommend a cavy savvy vet that you can get your girls seen by, or at least speak to about the treatment that you've been given.

 

[esjay]

Thank you so much for your fast response...I shall do it now without waiting any longer for the vet's advice as they obviously have no idea.

I'd still love to hear members comments about my experience and all advice will be very welcome

 

[flintstones]

I would also recommend checking out the recommended vet sticky, so if you need a vet in future you have one recommended.

Problem is when you call and ask if they see a lot of guinea pig's they mostly say yes unfortunately it doesn't mean they are good.

Hope your little one's get well soon!

x

 

[esjay]

Firstly, welcome to the forum. It's a shame that it's not under nicer circumstances!

Unfortunately, "Cavy Savvy" vets aren't all that common. I think you're right not to treat just yet as you don't know how. Hopefully someone with fungal experience will come along and tell you.

Your profile says you're in Yorkshire, if you're happy to say where abouts in Yorkshire you are, someone may be able to recommend a cavy savvy vet that you can get your girls seen by, or at least speak to about the treatment that you've been given.

Hello Amanda...I'm sorry I was posting my reply to Suzy before I saw your post.

In future I shall make a 40 mile round trip to an exotics vet I know with my pigs.... I didn't think I needed to on this occasion as I was told the vet was experienced with pigs......I'm so angry that I've paid £40 for a tiny drop of imaverol and the only advice I've had is from strangers online No wonder people are so reluctant to take small animals to a vet.

Thanks very much for your help

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome!

I am very sorry about your bad experience. It can be difficult to find a decent vet (as bad ones usually won't admit that they are) and even more difficult to find a piggy savvy one.

One good way to find a piggy vet would be to ask local guinea pig rescues who they use if you have any within a reasonable reach; as guinea pigs are classed as exotics, any exotics vet should have better knowledge. The next best option is to find a general vet who would be prepared to consult an experienced piggy vet if necessary.
Here is a link to a facebook page that contains a google map with recommended rescues in Britain. There are some in Yorkshire. https://www.facebook.com/piggybank.gpr

 

[Amanda1801]

Hello Amanda...I'm sorry I was posting my reply to Suzy before I saw your post.

In future I shall make a 40 mile round trip to an exotics vet I know with my pigs.... I didn't think I needed to on this occasion as I was told the vet was experienced with pigs......I'm so angry that I've paid £40 for a tiny drop of imaverol and the only advice I've had is from strangers online No wonder people are so reluctant to take small animals to a vet.

Thanks very much for your help

Ah I'm glad that you do have a vet that you trust! You soon realise that it's worth the extra cost and time traveling for their better care.

Earlier this year I drove 995 miles in one week, helping to get two different pigs to a recommended vet!

Hopefully now Suzy had cleared up your questions your girls will be ok. Any further questions/problems etc. just ask. Animal people are all nice, but piggy people are the nicest

 

[esjay]

Hi and welcome!

I am very sorry about your bad experience. It can be difficult to find a decent vet (as bad ones usually won't admit that they are) and even more difficult to find a piggy savvy one.

One good way to find a piggy vet would be to ask local guinea pig rescues who they use if you have any within a reasonable reach; as guinea pigs are classed as exotics, any exotics vet should have better knowledge. The next best option is to find a general vet who would be prepared to consult an experienced piggy vet if necessary.
Here is a link to a facebook page that contains a google map with recommended rescues in Britain. There are some in Yorkshire. https://www.facebook.com/piggybank.gpr

WELL! What a coincidence.......I was making a cuppa and I thought to myself...I know people who work for the local Guinea Pig rescue....why not ask who they see? I did and it's not too far away .... I visited once while staying with a friend in the area who had a poorly rabbit. The vet comes highly recommended and though expensive it's well worth it to get reliable treatment I feel I can no longer use my local vet even for my dog though I've been going there for 15 years
I'm much happier about the whole situation now...thanks so much for everything.......I'm not normally grumpy

 

[esjay]

Ah I'm glad that you do have a vet that you trust! You soon realise that it's worth the extra cost and time traveling for their better care.

Earlier this year I drove 995 miles in one week, helping to get two different pigs to a recommended vet!

Hopefully now Suzy had cleared up your questions your girls will be ok. Any further questions/problems etc. just ask. Animal people are all nice, but piggy people are the nicest

I agree.......I used to keep piggies years ago and now I've retired I realise how much I missed them.

I do have another question.....once the girls are dry can I put any cream on their sore bits or would it be best to leave between dips? One girl had crusts on her nose and the side of her face....I can't actually believe how quickly this took a hold...from one little crusty bit on one pig to both having several nasty scabby bits in two days! After shampooing last night I managed to get all the crusts off as I read the treatment would soak in better. But these are now bare and I have loads of different potions bought from Gorgeous Guineas in the last couple of weeks.

 

[Salt n Peppers mum]

Hi fellow Yorkshire Member p

It would be good if you could share information of the exotic vet you know about or a recommended trusted Cavy Savy vet. I feel they are lacking but any good vet in the Yorkshire area would be welcome knowledge

 

[flintstones]

When I moved back to Scotland, I called my local vet and asked about Guinea pig's they said they saw lots so I thought result, they did Xray without General Anestetic to. My pig got poorly she lost 1\10th of her bodyweight in a week she was a big pig though and she was bloated, they could not advise any reason for her bloat and I had to insist they Xrayed her, they gave her a vitmin C tablet and some charcoal but seemed unconcerned with the weightloss or finding the problem. The explanation for the bloat was possible hair balls, when I probed further the vet got narky and said they didn't know.

I soon found a wonderful vet but I learned the hard way, sadly my pig died. I think most animal owner's will have a few bad stories about vet's but equally there are some amazing vets. I travel on a bus, train and taxi to get to my vet but it's worth it. Recently my vet has did some life saving surgery on one of my pigs so I guess that's my silver lining!

x

 

[Suzygpr]

I agree.......I used to keep piggies years ago and now I've retired I realise how much I missed them.

I do have another question.....once the girls are dry can I put any cream on their sore bits or would it be best to leave between dips? One girl had crusts on her nose and the side of her face....I can't actually believe how quickly this took a hold...from one little crusty bit on one pig to both having several nasty scabby bits in two days! After shampooing last night I managed to get all the crusts off as I read the treatment would soak in better. But these are now bare and I have loads of different potions bought from Gorgeous Guineas in the last couple of weeks.

As Imaverol is a very effective treatment for fungal I find there is no need to layer up other treatments - this can be counter-productive and even too much for a little piggy body to deal with.

If you find that the wounds are still weeping and sore after the second treatment then it is likely that it is not a fungal infection after all - though from your description it certainly sounds like ringworm and should clear quickly.

Suzy x

 

[Wiebke]

Just make sure that you thoroughly clean your hands and anything that has come in contact with the piggies. Ringworm is highly transmittable amongst species, including humans and their pets!

When I had an outbreak of ringworm earlier this year, I used F10 for disinfecting the cage and F10 gel for my hands. Most disinfectants only treat bacteria, but this one is good against fungal, too. You can order it over the internet.

 

[Salt n Peppers mum]

F10 is a good product to use for destroying the Fungal spores from the enviroment. This will destroy the fungal spores so keep the fungal from reinfecting http://www.bigreptileworld.co.uk/f10-disinfectant-sc-200ml-143-p.asp

Fungal on the face can also be treated with Surolan and a cotton bud to dab it in place. Surolan is manufactured by the same company as Imaverol and is prescribed by the vet for local small patches to the face.

 

[esjay]

I thought I'd update you on the vet's advice. After 3 more phone calls I finally got to speak to a vet who told me not to use the Imaverol as it isn't licenced for Guinea Pigs and to back again tomorrow night for some different medication...Mycozole ... which I have to spray on every day for 7 days.....it is priced at £27 for a full bottle which I will have to buy because they don't normally use it....there will be a lot left which I will have to throw away as it won't keep once opened.

Incidentally I've just done some research and I could buy the same bottle online for £17.99 without a vet prescription!

The above advice was given to her by an exotic vet she contacted this afternoon. What a pity they didn't do that 3 days ago!

Thanks for all the advice....I have already ordered F10 after reading up on one of the posts on here....very helpful
My hands are raw from washing them with hibiscrub...I am allergic to rubber gloves but will try to get some plastic ones.

 

[esjay]

Hi fellow Yorkshire Member p

It would be good if you could share information of the exotic vet you know about or a recommended trusted Cavy Savy vet. I feel they are lacking but any good vet in the Yorkshire area would be welcome knowledge

Hello

The vet I will be using in future is Swanfield in a place called Anlaby...they have their own hospital there and I'm told they are very caring and experienced with all small pets and have an expert on Guinea Pigs!. It's a long way from where I live but at least I should be able to trust them to prescribe the correct treatment. Next time I have to visit I'll tell you more.

There is an exotics vet in a practice at Stamford Bridge called Battleflatts but he isn't always available.

 

[Suzygpr]

The majority of meds are not licensed for piggies as the cost involved don't warrant the effort. Imaverol can be bought online from Hyperdrug and you fill in an form to say what animals you want it for - they are allowed to supply it for guinea pigs.

Suzy x

 

[Squidge]

I don't think your vet isn't 'cavy savvy' - rude, but not ill-informed. Very few vets would have prescribed imaverol, and would have instead given you malaseb, or something similar. The instructions are on the bottle, and the information he provided was correct, you just required confirmation. I know a lot of people who recommend imaverol above any other fungal treatments, it always works, regardless of how bad the fungal is.

If you think it's fungal, stick to the imaverol.

 

[Wiebke]

On Suzy's advice, I have used imaverol for my own crowd of piggies with good success. It was also accepted by a guinea pig specialist when I run into complications with one of my fungal piggies and needed to see him.

I found that imaverol is really good at getting to the fungus that sits at the hair roots, as it can come back if those hairs are not removed.

 

[Katie Krafter]

My suggestion would be that you complain (formally) to the original vet and ask for a return of the consultation fee. At the very least, they did not know what to do, and you specifically asked when you made an appointment if they knew about guinea pigs. They said they did but clearly did not. This is misrepresentation. They have admitted several times that they had to ask other vets for advice, so I would think you have a good case.

In Yorkshire, there are a couple of great rescues - Milhaven in Ilkley (not close to East Yorks!), Bramley Cavies in Leeds and BARC in Barnsley (no doubt plus others, these are just the ones that spring to mind - sorry if I have left someone else out...!) All of these are members on here.

Suzy at GPR is one of the people who really know their stuff on this forum, and I would always follow her advice even if this conflicts with what my vet says. Other rescues are also to be trusted as they see more skin problems in a week than my piggies have carrots.

I am so sorry about your problems, and hope your piggies feel a lot more comfortable very quickly. This is a great forum, and can become quite addictive. I hope you learn as much as I have.

 

[Amanda1801]

Re: the above post, complain to the clinical director. Thats the person responsible for this kind of complaint and will have the authority to do something like give refunds

 

[piggyme234]

Hello

The vet I will be using in future is Swanfield in a place called Anlaby...they have their own hospital there and I'm told they are very caring and experienced with all small pets and have an expert on Guinea Pigs!. It's a long way from where I live but at least I should be able to trust them to prescribe the correct treatment. Next time I have to visit I'll tell you more.

There is an exotics vet in a practice at Stamford Bridge called Battleflatts but he isn't always available.

Oooh thats my vet Swanbridge is the Anlaby/ Swanland one. I think Swanfield is the Beverley branch. Paul and Philip are great with piggies and John the practice manager is good too and very nice. Whereabouts do you live because we have meet ups with other piggy people from Yorks and Lincs so you would be welcome to come next time we go for lunch.

 

[esjay]

Oooh thats my vet Swanbridge is the Anlaby/ Swanland one. I think Swanfield is the Beverley branch. Paul and Philip are great with piggies and John the practice manager is good too and very nice. Whereabouts do you live because we have meet ups with other piggy people from Yorks and Lincs so you would be welcome to come next time we go for lunch.

I was given the wrong name...it's Swanbridge, at Swanland! There are a few of these practises all with a Swan prefix! I think Swanland is the main one but there is a branch at Leconfield....I was told that this one only had a guinea pig vet occasionally and it was best to go to Swanland

The exotics vet I used for my rat is in Strensall Near York.....I'm not sure how much a consultation would be now but 4 years ago he charged me £45 to look at a sore on her back prescribed Septrin and told me to go back the following week...for this he charged me another £20 and said it was improving....which I could see!

I wish I'd trained to be a vet instead of a nurse! I'd be worth a fortune!

 

[esjay]

My suggestion would be that you complain (formally) to the original vet and ask for a return of the consultation fee. At the very least, they did not know what to do, and you specifically asked when you made an appointment if they knew about guinea pigs. They said they did but clearly did not. This is misrepresentation. They have admitted several times that they had to ask other vets for advice, so I would think you have a good case.

I am so sorry about your problems, and hope your piggies feel a lot more comfortable very quickly. This is a great forum, and can become quite addictive. I hope you learn as much as I have.

Thanks very much Katie....I rang and complained but was told by the vet in a very off hand manner to put it in writing and they would respond in writing!

My husband then rang again and asked to speak to the Senior Partner...he has an appointment with him tomorrow but I doubt anything will come of it.

We cannot pick up the correct treatment until tomorrow evening so that is another day the poor little things have been left in pain.

 

[Katie Krafter]

Thanks very much Katie....I rang and complained but was told by the vet in a very off hand manner to put it in writing and they would respond in writing!

My husband then rang again and asked to speak to the Senior Partner...he has an appointment with him tomorrow but I doubt anything will come of it.

We cannot pick up the correct treatment until tomorrow evening so that is another day the poor little things have been left in pain.

By this time, my stroppy customer's streak is twitching. You are being given the run around, and now should ask for the cost of medicines to be refunded as well. Trading Standards is your next stop -- but that's more paperwork. I think vets have a professional body too. I just hate it when these kind of tricks are used to prevent people getting redress, fob them off, and generally think they owe you nothing. They are a service business, so where's their service? As I said, my stroppy streak is twitching!

 

[Sue G]

In Yorkshire, there are a couple of great rescues - Milhaven in Ilkley (not close to East Yorks!), Bramley Cavies in Leeds and BARC in Barnsley (no doubt plus others, these are just the ones that spring to mind - sorry if I have left someone else out...!) All of these are members on here.

Also Suze at Cavy Corner, in Doncaster.

http://www.cavycorner.org/

 

[Lady Kelly]

oh my I am so sorry about your bad experience, have you raised a complaint with the vets practice at all. It might not help you out now but they may then be willing to refund some of your cost. Also it might help deal with the excuse for a vet so no one else has the same problem. I must admit I was travelling quite a way to a cavy savvy vet when I asked my local rescue and now have an amazing cavy savvy vet just round the corner who I would recommend to anyone. Its important to have a vets you can trust with your piggies and once they have even not charged me a consultation when I took one in for a third check over

 

[esjay]

The vet said they would only receive a complaint in writing and they would reply in writing!

I've written everything out just as it happened...took me over 2 hours! and my husband has insisted on seeing the principle partner...he has an appointment at 2.30 this afternoon. I shall let him deal with it as he can keep cool...I can't where animals are concerned I'm afraid.

If he gets no satisfaction we will discuss taking it further....in the meantime it is now 4 days with no treatment at all for my poor pigs and their fungal patches are growing....what was a small patch on one girl's face has now spread over the side of her head.

 

[Guinea pig slave]

Any news on your piggies ?/